Jerry West, the iconic NBA player whose silhouette graces the league’s logo, died on Wednesday morning, according to an announcement by the Los Angeles Clippers. West, 86, died with his wife, Karen, by his side.

In a statement, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver lauded West’s unparalleled contributions to the sport, calling him a “basketball genius” and a “defining figure in our league for more than 60 years.”

Silver highlighted West’s dual legacy as both an exceptional player and a visionary, “He distinguished himself not only as an NBA champion and an All-Star in all 14 of his playing seasons but also as a consummate competitor who embraced the biggest moments,” Silver said to CNN.

West, affectionately known as “Mr. Clutch” for his ability to perform under pressure, was drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers in 1960. Over his 14-year career, West established himself as one of the game’s greatest point guards and shooting guards, earning 14 All-Star selections and leading the Lakers to the NBA Finals nine times. His legendary status was further cemented when he became a co-captain of the gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1960.

West’s strategic mind was seen through his executive roles, where he played a pivotal part in assembling championship-winning teams. His contributions to the sport will be formally recognized this October when he is inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor, making him the first person to receive this honor as both a player and a contributor.

The basketball community mourns the loss of a figure whose impact was felt across generations. West’s legacy is not only etched in the history books but also in the hearts of fans and players who revered him.

“On behalf of the NBA, we send our deepest condolences to Jerry’s wife, Karen, his family, and his many friends in the NBA community,” Silver said.

There’s at least one person who is not a fan of HBO’s Winning Time docuseries chronicling the Lakers teams of the Magic Johnson era: the team’s former executive Jerry West, who serves as one of the show’s main characters.

He’s so livid, in fact, that he’s threatening legal action and demanding a retraction and apology for “a baseless and malicious assault” on his character via his portrayal on the show.

Skip Miller, of West’s legal team, sais:

The portrayal of NBA icon and L.A. Lakers legend Jerry West in ‘Winning Time’ is fiction pretending to be fact—a deliberately false characterization that has caused great distress to Jerry and his family. Contrary to the baseless portrayal in the HBO series, Jerry had nothing but love for and harmony with the Lakers organization, and in particular owner Dr. Jerry Buss, during an era in which he assembled one of the greatest teams in NBA history.

Jerry West was an integral part of the Lakers and NBA’s success. It is a travesty that HBO has knowingly demeaned him for shock value and the pursuit of ratings. As an act of common decency, HBO and the producers owe Jerry a public apology and at the very least should retract their baseless and defamatory portrayal of him.

His lawyers add that HBO’s dramatization disclaimer at each episode’s conclusion does not protect the company from liability.

“Instead of exploring his issues with compassion as a way to better understand the man, they turn him into a Wile E. Coyote cartoon to be laughed at,” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then-Laker and character on the show, said in a statement. “He never broke golf clubs, he didn’t throw his trophy through the window. Sure, those actions make dramatic moments, but they reek of facile exploitation of the man rather than exploration of character.”

West’s lawyers want a retraction, apology and damages from HBO and the show’s producers because “the show goes out of its way to denigrate Jerry West despite his accomplishments as an executive.”

On Monday, the NBA and Los Angeles Lakers lost a legend. Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor passed away due to natural causes. He was 86 years old.

Baylor spent his entire 14-year career season with the Lakers. He was drafted by the Lakers as the first pick in the 1958 NBA Draft. Baylor became an instant star, making the All-Star Game on his way to winning Rookie of the Year in his first season.

The Lakers legend accumulated 11-All Star appearances and produced 23,149 points, 11,463 rebounds and 3,650 assists throughout his career. Baylor was inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977 and had his No. 22 Lakers jersey retired in 1983.

Fellow Laker teammate Jerry West was heartbroken to hear the news of Baylor’s passing. West Baylor’s teammate for 11 seasons. Off the court, West and Baylor established a very close and special friendship.

“I don’t think he ever got his credit,” West said of Baylor. “I don’t think anyone ever got their credit back then, the game was a completely different game… He was one of the game’s modern players. I think I was, too. We were athletic, could run and jump and do things other people couldn’t do, yet people look at his accomplishments, and because there weren’t championships associated with it, there wasn’t that kind of recognition,” West added.

Baylor appeared in eight NBA Finals but was unable to win a championship during his playing career. The Lakers honored him by installing a statue of him outside of Staples Center. “He was beyond thrilled when they put the statue up of him,” West remarked. “I knew how proud I was for him and how it made me feel. He should’ve been the first statue up there before anyone else. It just took so long. Finally, people can relive him forever with that statue down there and look at his accomplishments as a player.”

Beyond the court, West learned a lot from his friend and teammate. West described how Baylor taught him to understand losing games better. However, one of the most important lessons that was bestowed upon West was racism. “I learned a lot from him on how to interact with people and learned a lot from him about racial issues at that point in time,” West stated. “The only thing I really cared about was just being a basketball player and trying to win.”

West said that Baylor never complained about anything.  “I never saw him attempt to capture the limelight, he just played and let his play do his talking,” he said.

“I was blessed to share so much with him. I absolutely love that man,” West said. “In my lifetime, I’ve never met a teammate like him. I’ve never met a nicer person than Elgin Baylor.”

The NBA is opening an investigation into how the Los Angeles Clippers and team consultant Jerry West recruited Kawhi Leonard during the 2019 offseason.

The league is investigating the recruitment done by West after he and the Clippers are being sued by Johnny Wilkes, a man who claimed that he is a close friend to Leonard and is best friends with Leonard’s uncle Dennis Robertson. Robertson filed a lawsuit against the team and West because he is owed $2.5 million from an oral agreement made with West after helping them land Leonard.

The plaintiff Wilkes alleged that in April 2019 that he had informed West that he is best friend with Robertson and could help provide vital information to sign the All-Star during the 2019 offseason. He would help them on the condition that he would be paid $2.5 million for his service. The plaintiff alleged that West agreed verbally to the deal.

The lawsuit adds that Wilkes was informed that he told a man named Sam Watson “that the Clippers needed to sign Paul George in order to get Kawhi Leonard to sign.” Furthermore, the lawsuit adds that the plaintiff told what the Clippers and West needed to say and empathize in their pitch to the former two-time NBA Champion. The plaintiff goes on to allege that he told the team and team consultant that they needed to provide Leonard’s uncle a home, travel expense, and the Clipper’s owner Steve Ballmer had to fund a $100 million campaign to sign the All-Star.

This lawsuit and the allegations prompted the league to investigate on the basis of the NBA Constitution’s Article 35A (3) which is known as “Other Indirect Contact.” According to the NBA Constitution, it “prohibits indirect communications, such as those made through intermediaries.” If the Clippers are found to have violated the clase, then they could face a hefty $10 million fine and lose draft picks.

Following the Chicago Bulls’ sixth championship in 1998, the future of the team was up in the air. As we now know, Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan retired, Dennis Rodman was released, and Scottie Pippen among other players were traded. It is the trade of Pippen that had a lot of moving pieces and numerous possibilities.

Back in 1999, one of the rumors about a Pippen trade to the Los Angeles Lakers was that was where Pippen wanted to be traded to – so that he can play for a winner. At the time, the Lakers had Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, who knew what they would have had to trade to the Bulls for Pippen, but it seems that those two would be untouchable. 

In a recent interview, Laker great and former general manager Jerry West clarified that there was no deal in place for the then 33-year old Pippen. “There wasn’t one conversation in my mind about him,” West said. “I’ve always admired Scottie Pippen as a player. But listen, we did fine. Ok? We did fine.”

The Lakers did do fine as O’Neal and Bryant led the Lakers to three straight championships from 2000 to 2002 with Jackson as the team’s head coach. One has to wonder though how Pippen would have meshed with the two Laker stars, instead of playing with an aging Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston.

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Jerry West announced on Wednesday that he is abandoning his post as an executive with the Golden State Warriors to join their in-state rival Los Angeles Clippers, and on Thursday, he explained the reason behind his move.

Jerry West Explains Move to Clippers

According to the Los Angeles Times, the 79-year-old West said it was the fact that he likes the members of the Clippers’ executive team that drew him to the team.

West — who has served as an adviser and executive board member for the Warriors since 2011 — says the appeal of working alongside Clippers owners Steve Ballmer and Dennis Wong, as well as head coach Doc Rivers, is what drew him back to Los Angeles.

West previously served as coach of the Lakers from 1976-79.

Ballmer and Wong both played a key role in bringing West to their team, Wong especially.

Wong, who is part-owner of the Clippers, also previously held an ownership stake with the Warriors and saw how much West accomplished in his six years with Golden State.

Following Wong’s perseverance, West finally agreed and will now work as a consultant/adviser for the Clippers. His role will be similar to the one he had played with the Warriors up until now. No official contract has yet been signed, however.

“For me, life is about passion. Life is about being around people you want to be around,” West said. “In my meeting with Steve and Dennis Wong, they were great.

“I think [Ballmer] is going to be one of the great owners that this league has. For a man who has had enormous success, you would never know if you’re around him, unless you knew. He’s just down to earth.”

West met with Ballmer, Wong and Rivers — who is also the Clippers’ president of basketball operations — on May 30 at the team’s practice venue in Playa Vista.

The Hall of Famer expressed admiration for the trio’s vision for the organization. West praised not only Rivers but the rest of the franchise’s front office, particularly executive vice president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank.

“The connection I made with the Clippers, immediately I felt great after that meeting,” West said. “From Doc and Lawrence and the rest of the basketball people, I just felt great.”

The Clippers have reached the playoffs six straight years but have never advanced beyond the second round.

Veterans Chris Paul and Blake Griffin could opt out of their contracts soon and become unrestricted free agents, while J.J. Reddick is an unrestricted free agent who may become too expensive to retain.

The Clippers don’t have any picks in the 2017 NBA Draft — which will take place June 22 — although they may be interested in acquiring a second-round pick.

West emphasized how much of an honor it was for the franchise to hire him.

“I want to see the Clippers get to where the owner and the people who work there internally want to go,” West said. “They have some really lofty goals over there, really lofty goals, and they thought I can help. I’m thrilled that I was wanted. I’m thrilled that they thought I could help and I’m hopeful that I can.”

Some Lakers fans were hoping the team would hire West as a top executive, but the organization ultimately chose Magic Johnson as their president of basketball operations and Rob Pelinka as their general manager.

West insisted that his move to the Clippers was not intended as a way to compete with the Lakers, whom he led to five NBA championships in the 1980s and also helped them win three straight titles from 2000 to 2002.

“People will ask questions about the Lakers,” West said. “I don’t really have anything to say about the Lakers. I don’t. I’m not going to say anything derogatory about the Lakers. This is not about me being in competition with the Lakers.

“It’s about me wanting to try to see if I can help make a difference with the people the Clippers have in place. I’m not going to be the out-front person.”

West added, however, that he will miss the Warriors enormously after seeing them win two of the last three NBA Championships.

“I will really miss that Warriors organization. I really will,” West said. “But honestly, there was nothing left for me to do. When I left there Monday night after they won the championship, it was probably the worst feeling I ever had in my life as a basketball person. I knew I wasn’t going to be part of that anymore.”

JOLIET, IL – SEPTEMBER 18: (L-R) NBA Hall Of Famer and race grand marshal Jerry West speaks to the media after practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series MyAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 18, 2015 in Joliet, Illinois. As part of AFib Awareness Month this group is encouraging people with AFib to visit MyAFibRisk.com and calculate your stroke risk. With each risk calculated Janssen will make a donation to the non-profit organization Mended Hearts. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)