Jerry West: In Defense Of “The Logo”
His story and the history of the NBA are indistinguishable. No one has experienced as much as him. No one has left such an impression.
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Recently on “First Take,” Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith had a rare moment of agreement. Both were of the opinion that the logo should be changed from Jerry West to Michael Jordan, and their reasoning was that Jordan was the greatest player ever. Ergo, his figure should be the one which represents the league.
It was not the first time the subject was raised by someone, and it won’t be the last. Mark Jackson made the claim a few years ago. Eric Neel suggested it in an undated column that was written while ESPN still had a “Page 2.”
West is famously, albeit unofficially, the player dribbling the ball in the official NBA logo. While the NBA has always been reluctant to confirm this reality, the actual designer has. Jerry Crowe, writing for the Los Angeles Times in 2010, spoke with Alan Siegel, the man who designed the iconic image.
“It’s Jerry West.”
Sigel, who designed the logo in 1969, doesn’t just claim that West is the logo, he recounts how he came to choose West for it:
“I found this picture of Jerry West dribbling down the court, and, of course, growing up in New York and my father having season tickets for college and pro games at Madison Square Garden, I’d seen West play a lot.
“It had a nice flavor to it so I took that picture and we traced it. It was perfect. It was vertical and it had a sense of movement. It was just one of those things that clicked.”
There’s a happy irony here that the man whose image was almost randomly selected to be the picture of the Association has become synonymous with success in it over the last 55 years, but amazingly, that’s exactly what happened.
West’s Playing Career
When the Minneapolis Lakers moved west to Los Angeles, they got West, their first-round pick out of West Virginia. He went on to have a Hall of Fame career and establish himself as one of the greatest players in the history of the game.
I usually hate it when people say “so and so is underrated.” I find that such arguments are typically, “I disagree with what I feel the majority of people think. Therefore, everyone else is wrong.” The problem with that is it usually precludes the possibility that everyone else is right and you’re just wrong. Ergo, I’m normally reluctant to say such things. I find it arrogant.
And I say all this because I want to clarify that when I say that West might be the most underrated Hall of Famer, it’s not off the cuff.
He’s underrated for several reasons.
1. There’s the increased (albeit specious) emphasis on “rings.” West lost eight times in nine Finals tries, therefore he must not be that great. That’s nonsense. Teams win rings, not individuals, and West’s Lakers were going against one of the greatest teams in history.
2. The most passionate portion of a fan base is typically the group that will normally defend its greatest players. However, this is an anomaly. There’s a segment of Kobe Bryant fans, who, in defending the Mamba as the greatest Los Angeles Laker of all-time, throw shade on West. Thus, those who would normally defend West do the opposite.
3. He’s white. I’m not saying that to be controversial. I’m saying that because it’s true. Caucasian athletes, especially from the past, are viewed as succeeding because of a lack of (full) integration.
4. Athletes in general have vastly improved. This pervades all sports. Athletes from the 1960s wouldn’t compete in the present because of advances in nutrition and training. The obvious hole in this argument is that if the athletes from the ‘60s were in the present, they would have access to the same nutrition and training.
The Numbers
Look at what he actually accomplished.
West, who made the All-Star game every year of his 14-year career, averaged 27.0 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game for his career. Per Basketball-Reference.com, the only other players to average 25.0, 7.,0 and 5.0 are LeBron James (still active, obviously) and Oscar Robertson.
West, Robertson, Bryant and John Havlicek are the only four players to surpass career totals of 25,000 points, 6,000 assists and 5,000 rebounds.
But here’s the most remarkable statistic about West: He shot 47.4 percent from the field for his career. That might not seem very good in 2015, but it was remarkable for when West played when you consider the details.
The Eye Test
West played in an era where hand-checks were allowed. Typically, we think of that as impacting players who drive the ball a lot, but it affects shooters, as well. Making hand-checks illegal forces defenders to back away from the dribbler because it’s harder to prevent the ball-handler from driving past them.
Sagging off gives players like Stephen Curry more space to get off open shots. Prior to the change in rules, defenders could blanket the ball-handler without fear of consequences.
Furthermore, there was no three-point line in West’s career, which apart from the obvious benefit of that extra point, has another advantage. It demarcates the point of attack. By necessity, defenders have to step further out from the basket to defend the shot.
In the present, it’s not merely the three-point shooter who stretches the court; the actual line does.
Between the “larger” half court and the extra distance between the ball-handler and the defender, a tremendous advantage goes to the shooter of 2015 over those of the 1960s.
Furthermore, the pick-and-roll wasn’t yet established. Shot charts weren't a thing. Using screens to create spacing and other analytics-oriented concepts were decades away. All these add advantages to the contemporary shooter.
And yet, in spite of all those encumbrances, West carved out a career with the nickname “Mr. Outside” because the predominant portion of his scoring was built around what we now know is the most difficult shot in basketball: the contested, pull-up, long-two jumper. And he still shot 47.4 percent for his career.
Putting that in perspective, according to NBA.com, only Chris Paul had a better field-goal percentage on pull-ups last season.
The surest thing in basketball is a true jump shot. It doesn’t matter how athletic you are. You can be Curry or Kyle Korver. The ball and the rim don’t care how athletic you are. All that matters is the shot.
And West’s form was as pure as it comes.
See how this:
Compares with this:
West would be just as effective today, arguably more so.
And, while they only won the one Finals, West led the Lakers to an average of 49.4 wins over 14 years. They made the playoffs every season, and went to the Finals nine times.
And he did that in the age of big men.
The point of all this is not to establish that West is greater than Jordan; just that he’s still among the best to ever play the game. And while Jordan’s legacy case rests entirely on his playing days, West’s goes well beyond that.
Post-Playing Career
What separates West from Jordan and all the other greats is that what he did after his playing days exceeds what he did during them.
The Showtime Lakers
The first two years after he retired, West stayed away from basketball. Then he returned to the Lakers as the head coach. His brief stint was unremarkable, but the Lakers did make the playoffs each year.
In his first year at the helm, in the 1976–77 season, the Lakers made it to the Western Conference Finals. They lost in the first round the next year, and the second round the year after that.
The next three years, he served as a player scout. During that time, the Lakers drafted Magic Johnson and James Worthy, who along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, formed the core of the Showtime Lakers.
There is some dispute over how much credit he deserves for Johnson, as it is rumored his preference was Sidney Moncrief, but once Johnson was in, West was committed to him, and he traded Norm Nixon so Johnson could have the keys to the team.
In 1982, West was promoted to assistant general manager, and the Lakers were a dynasty.
It was a regime that may not have happened if it weren’t for a choice made by West. Johnson, displeased with the pace that head coach Paul Westhead was running, complained to Jerry Buss and Westhead was fired.
Buss’ first choice for a new coach was West, but the GM had a better idea, per BallNRoll:
Magic Johnson, who everyone could see was going to be a franchise star for the Lakers, was agitated playing under current head coach Paul Westhead. Jerry Buss tried to appoint Jerry West head coach, but West instead took the job of assistant coach, and deferred to one of the assistant coaches under Westhead, Pat Riley.
In the 12 years from Johnson’s rookie season in 1979–80 to the time he announced his retirement after contracting HIV, the Lakers averaged 59.3 wins and made the postseason every time. They reached the Western Conference Finals 10 times, the Finals nine times, and won five rings.
After Magic’s devastating announcement, the Lakers made the playoffs twice more. Then, with the remnants of the Showtime Lakers at the end of their careers and no new stars, the Lakers missed the playoffs for first time when West played any part in the team.
The Rebuild
The “downfall of the dynasty” lasted an entire season. West traded 1995's draft pick for Cedric Ceballos to replace the retiring Worthy. That, the play of big men Vlade Divac and Elden Campbell, and the growth of Nick Van Excel, was enough to vault the Lakers back into the postseason the following season. West won Executive of the Year for his management.
The following season, Johnson made a temporary return (much to West’s chagrin) and the Lakers won 53 games, but were ousted by the reigning champion Houston Rockets, 3–1 in the first round of the playoffs.
It was time to do something, and West arguably had the most successful summer in NBA history, making two brilliant (and related) moves.
He first managed to clear out considerable cap space by sending Divac to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for teenage draft pick Kobe Bryant. That enabled the Lakers to extend a $95 million offer to Shaquille O’Neal.
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times explains how even that wasn’t enough, though.
On June 26, draft day, the Lakers traded starting center Vlade Divac to Charlotte, a move that secured a player named Kobe Bryant and enough room to offer O’Neal a seven-year, $95-million offer. O’Neal recalled in his recent autobiography that he was ready to take the deal, but the Magic immediately topped the offer.
That didn’t deter West. He persuaded the former Vancouver Grizzlies to take Anthony Peeler and George Lynch, enabling the Lakers to offer O’Neal a deal worth $120 million.
In essence, he laid the groundwork for adding two of arguably the 10 greatest players in history in one trade!
That season, the Lakers won 56 games and made it to the second round of the playoffs. In 1997–98, they won 61 games and were back in the Western Conference Finals, but for the second straight season were sent home by the Utah Jazz. In 1998–99, they used three coaches, went 31–19, and made it to the second round before getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
Then, West put the finishing touch on creating the next Lakers dynasty by signing Phil Jackson to coach the team. Jackson said in taking the job, “I think in looking at this basketball team. This is a team that is talented, it’s young, it’s on the verge.”
The Lakers won the title in each of the following three years. The dissolving relationship between Bryant and O’Neal doomed the dynasty, though, and in 2002, West left for the Grizzlies. The Lakers made the Finals one more time, then O’Neal was traded off and Jackson retired, albeit temporarily.
Memphis
West’s immediate moves included acquiring Pau Gasol, Brevin Knight and Lorenzen Wright in a draft-day trade for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Jamaal Tinsley. Then he made Hubie Brown the head coach.
By West’s second season, the Grizzlies were in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. They spent three seasons there. In 2004, he won his second Executive of the Year award and Brown won Coach of the Year.
However, in 2007, with the team up for sale and in disarray, West retired from general managing. That doesn’t mean his influence stopped in the NBA, though.
The L.A. Influence
Back in Los Angeles, the Lakers were starting to rise again. That said, their second-best player was Smush Parker, and Bryant was longing for help.
Appeasement came in the form of a trade on Feb. 1, 2008, which sent ripples through the NBA. The Lakers were sending what seemed at the time to be yesterday’s lunch and a bag of popcorn for Gasol, arguably the best center in the NBA at the time.
The trade with Memphis made conspiracy theories easy to arrive at. One of West’s old teams working out such a favorable deal with his other old team had all the feel of “wink, wink, hush, hush” to it. West, though, has always denied having any part in it, and even criticized it.
That said, at the very least, his protégé in L.A. worked out an arrangement with his protégé in Memphis to send an All-Star he traded for on draft day in Memphis to pair with an All-Star he traded for on draft day in Los Angeles to play under a coach he initially hired to lead the Lakers.
The ensuing runs to the Finals may not have been officially the result of West’s work, but it certainly had his fingerprints all over it, whether he was involved in the trade or not. The Bryant/Gasol duo made the playoffs each of the next five seasons and the Finals the following three. That included two more banners which, at least in part, can be attributed to West’s influence.
The Golden State Warriors
And, it was during that run that West agreed to sign on with the Golden State Warriors to help turn around one of the most destitute franchises in the NBA. Since last winning a title in 1975, they had made the playoffs only eight times, and only once since 1995.
Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated highlighted some of the decisions West influenced in the following years. He’s the reason for Klay Thompson:
Like (Owner Joe) Lacob and (GM Bob) Myers, West was fond of hybrid players who could guard multiple positions. In 2011, he lobbied hard to draft Klay Thompson, whom he’d known since he was a boy (Klay’s father, Mychal, played under West with the Lakers)….
For Andrew Bogut:
…Next came the March 2012 trade that sent Ellis to the Bucks and returned Andrew Bogut. Ellis was a fan favorite. His wife was close with Lacob’s fiancée, Nicole Curran. The team would catch hell for trading him. None of that mattered, argued West….
For Steve Kerr:
…In the years that followed, West weighed in often. He advocated for hiring Steve Kerr after things went sour with Mark Jackson. In Kerr, West saw the type of big picture, tempered leader he knew the Warriors needed to make the next step….
And for not getting Kevin Love:
Perhaps West’s biggest contribution came last summer, though, when, along with Kerr, he adamantly opposed a trade centered around Thompson and Love. West argued that trading Thompson would be an enormous mistake. The Warriors were built on defense and Love, while a skilled offensive player, was a subpar defender. What’s more, West was certain Thompson would continue to improve, giving the Warriors a potential Hall of Fame backcourt for the next decade.
West felt so strongly that, according to one person close to the negotiations, he threatened to resign if the team made the trade.
It’s safe to say that the Warriors would not have won the title this year without West’s input.
He may not be the greatest player in NBA history, but he is the greatest executive (with apologies to Red Auerbach). But if you disagree with that, at a minimum, he is the one player who is in the top-10 discussion who also would be in the Hall of Fame even if he’d never played a game.
The Sum of it All
It’s when you put it all together you start to realize what an impact West has had on the NBA. He has been involved, in some way, for most of his (and its) life. It has been 55 years since his rookie season, and he has had an influence on at least one team 53 of those years.
Of those 53 years, a team heavily influenced by him has been in the playoffs 52 times. In fact, due to overlap, teams he’s influenced have made the playoffs 55 times.
Here’s a snapshot of what those teams have done:
In 55 years, a total of 55 playoff teams, 32 Conference Finals, 27 NBA Finals and 13 NBA Champions. It’s mindboggling.
West played with Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain. He coached Kareem Abdul-Jabber. He scouted Magic Johnson and drafted James Worthy.
He traded for Kobe Bryant and recruited Shaquille O’Neal.
He gave Pat Riley his first head coaching job and built the last team Phil Jackson helmed.
He was the architect of three different dynasties, and an influencer on maybe four, depending on what happens with the current Warriors.
His teams played against the greatest he wasn’t personally a part of: the Bill Russell-Celtics, the Larry Bird-Celtics, the Michael Jordan-Bulls and the Tim Duncan-Spurs.
In short, his biography is so interwoven with the annals of the NBA, it is impossible to separate one from the other. His story and the league’s history are indistinguishable. No one has experienced as much as him. No one has left such an impression.
How appropriate then, is it that man whose life has helped to form the very structure of the NBA would be the image for its logo? It had to be the providence of the basketball divinities guiding Siegel’s hand so many years ago, and who are we to argue with that?
