Jerry West
Jerry West
Jerry Alan Westis an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. His nicknames include "Mr. Clutch", for his ability to make a big play in a clutch situation, such as his famous buzzer-beating 60-foot shot that tied Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks; "The Logo", in reference to his silhouette being incorporated into the NBA logo; "Mr. Outside", in reference to...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth28 May 1938
CityCheylan, WV
CountryUnited States of America
The support this city and our fans have shown the Grizzlies made my decision to stay in Memphis an easy one. Memphis deserves a championship team, and I am committed to that.
I don't know anything else but the Lakers. This has certainly been more than a job for me as a player. It has certainly meant more to me than just an occupation.
It's discouraging for me to come out there and watch the lack of fan support for a good team.
To be candid with you, free agency hurts all sports. It's great for athletes making an enormous amount of money. But to say it helps the sports, I don't believe that.
The trick in writing children's books is to set up danger, mystery and excitement on page one. Force the kid to turn the page . . . Then in the middle of each chapter there's a dramatic point of excitement, and at chapter's end, a cliffhanger.
Basketball came to me and for some reason it gave me an opportunity to live a life that I didn't dream possible. But it did let me live my dreams.
I would hope that racism is something that just does not work in this day and age, but I know otherwise.
Personalities seem in many cases to dominate the lucrative endorsement market. But that doesn't upset me. What upsets me is when not enough attention is paid to the product-the game.
The marketing of players has created untold wealth for many sports stars. You can't blame them or the company that covets the relationship with them, but that doesn't mean the player is good.
You can't imagine how much good luck is involved in winning, but all of a sudden, you get in a situation where every break goes your way, every call goes your way, every ball that rolls around drops in instead of out. It feels magical.
As a player all you can do is play within yourself, even in the context of a team sport.
It was clear to me that I was never going to be the same kind of player I had been. It was time to quit.
I enjoy winning, but more importantly I enjoy the people I'm around.
Coaches who have been players in the league, they get so attuned to playing how they were successful, and who their coaches were.