Jerry West's basketball career is filled with so many highlights it is difficult to decide which is most noteworthy.

I guess it depends on the generation.

Older fans may remember West as the poor kid from Cheylan W. Va., the gangly guard who entered the University of West Virginia as a scrawny kid and left four years later as one of the greatest college basketball players of all-time.

Others probably recall West as a 14-time All-Star for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1960's and into the 70's.

If you ask your parents about West, they will most likely explain that he was the mastermind behind the "Showtime" Lakers of the 1980's, featuring Magic, Kareem and James Worthy, that rolled to five NBA championships during the decade.

Perhaps he is better known for pairing Kobe Bryant with Shaquille O'Neal in 1996, a duo that led the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 1998-2000.

Even non-basketball fans are probably familiar Jerry West, or at least his likeness. It is West's silhouette that graces the current NBA logo.

Born in 1938, West was a three-time all-stater at East Bank High School in East Bank, W. Va. In 1956 he accepted a scholarship to West Virginia where he was a two-time All-American. In 1959 West led the Mountaineers to the NCAA National Championship Game. West Virginia lost to champion California but West was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

1960 was a banner year for West. He was named to his second NCAA All-American team and was selected with the second pick of the NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, which had just moved to L.A. from Minneapolis. West would be a key part of the Lakers organization for the next 40-plus years.

Later in 1960 West and his hoopster teammates won the gold medal at the Rome Olympic Games.

West was an All-Star in 14 of his 15 seasons as a member of the Lakers, the only team he played for. He paired with center Elgin Baylor to form the famous "Mr. Inside, Mr. Outside" tandem that led the Lakers to nine NBA title games during his career. Unfortunately, Red Auerbach's dominating Celtics teams of the 60's prevented the Lakers from capturing a championship, beating L.A. six times from 1962-1969. But West and the Lakers finally broke through with a championship in 1972.

West retired after the 1974 season with 25,192 career points which at the time was the third-highest total in history. Currently he is ranked 15^th on the all-time list, having recently been passed by Kobe Bryant - one of the players he brought to Los Angeles. West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980 and was voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1997.

In 1976 West was named coach of the Lakers, a position he held until 1979. Three years later he was hired as the Lakers general manager and helped build a team that was partially responsible for the NBA's boom in popularity during the 1980's.

L.A. won five NBA titles in the 80's and lost in the Finals on three other occasions. The Lakers vs. Celtics, and more importantly to the NBA, the Magic/Larry Bird matchups led to skyrocketing ratings for the fledgling League.

In 1996, West traded for Bryant, a rookie who had been drafted straight out of high school, and signed free-agent O'Neal and the Lakers were a dynasty once again. Kobe and Shaq formed a new version of "Mr. Inside, Mr. Outside" as the Lakers rolled to a three-peat from 1999-2000.

West resigned as L.A. General Manager in the summer of 2002 and took the same job for the Memphis Grizzlies. He was a member of the Grizzlies, winning his second NBA Executive of the Year along the way, until he retired after the 2007 season.

Photo by jgrove

By John Schneider

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