Jerry West is one of the biggest names in the history of the Los Angeles, Lakers. In fact, it can be argued that the Lakers wouldn’t have a lot of the success that has made them arguably the biggest franchise in the NBA if it weren’t for West’s contributions. As a player, he was phenomenal and brought a championship to the team, but he truly excelled as an executive as the man responsible for two of the greatest eras in the history of the team, the 80s and the early 2000s.
Despite this, the Lakers and West now have quite a tenuous relationship. He recently revealed that the lifelong season tickets promised to him by the late Jerry Buss were revoked by the Lakers. He explained to The Athletic that he felt great disappointment in the way he has been treated, even wondering if it would have been better for him to have given his life to a franchise that would have been more grateful than the LA team.
“One disappointing thing about my career is that my relationship with the Lakers is horrible. I still don’t know why. And at the end of the day, when I look back, I say, ‘Well, maybe I should have played somewhere else instead of with the Lakers, where someone would have at least appreciated how much you give, how much you cared.’“
West was responsible for bringing Kobe Bryant to the Lakers after having previously been heavily involved in constructing the ‘Showtime Lakers’ during the Magic Johnson-era. However, the fact that he has since been key to building incredibly strong teams for the Golden State Warriors and even cross-town rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers, seems to have deteriorated the relationship.
The man on the logo of the NBA, West will always been considered one of the most, if not the most influential figures in the history of the league. The way things have shaken about between him and the Lakers is a shame, and it remains to be seem if his strong words will nudge the organization into extending an olive branch to one of the biggest legends in their history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe-HXyzmOf8
