Through the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a total of 506 players suit up for them, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some were forgettable, some were serviceable, some were good and a select few were flat-out legendary.
During the Lakers’ 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years.
Jerry West may not have been the greatest player in Lakers history, but he probably did more for the franchise than any other human being. The team took him with the No. 2 pick in the 1960 NBA Draft out of West Virginia University, and by his second pro season, he became a monstrous scorer, not to mention a legitimate floor general. The 6-foot-3 guard played 14 seasons, all of them with the Lakers, and had career averages of 27 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
He was surprisingly quick and athletic, and he had about as much determination and will as anyone in the history of the sport, which led to him being nicknamed “Mr. Clutch.” He still ranks seventh all-time in regular-season scoring average and fifth in playoff scoring average, and he’s one of a handful of players to lead the league in both scoring and assists average at some point in their careers.
Unfortunately, West’s playing career was tragic when it mattered most. He reached the NBA Finals nine times during his playing career, but he lost there on eight occasions, four times in Game 7. Six of those losses came against Bill Russell’s dynastic Celtics, and the Lakers’ loss to them in 1969, the season Wilt Chamberlain joined West and Elgin Baylor, hurt the most. To add insult to injury, West was named the 1969 finals MVP, the first and only time a member of the losing team in the championship series won the honor.
His Lakers finally won it all in 1972, but by then, he was so emotionally drained and sullen that he was unable to enjoy the accomplishment.
After retiring in 1974, West became the Lakers’ head coach for three years, and he was eventually named their general manager in 1982. As their executive, he built their Showtime teams into a legitimate dynasty by making moves that ensured the franchise would remain at or near the top of the NBA for the entire decade. After a down period in the early-to-mid-1990s, West laid the groundwork for a new dynasty by bringing in Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in the summer of 1996.
He resigned from L.A.’s front office in 2000, and he went on to have stints as an executive with the Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers. In addition to the five NBA titles L.A. won in the 1980s, West won three more rings as an executive in later years.
He passed away in 2024 at the age of 86.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 44 — Jerry West
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
