Jerry West, inspiration for the NBA logo, dies at 86

Former United States basketball player Jerry West, whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died Wednesday, the Los Angeles Clippers announced.

He was 86.

West, nicknamed “Mr. Clutch” for his late-game exploits as a player, was an NBA champion who went into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1980 and again as a member of the gold medal-winning 1960 US Olympic Team .

He will be enshrined for a third time later this year as a contributor.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called West “one of the greatest executives in sports history". 

“He helped build eight championship teams during his tenure in the NBA — a legacy of achievement that mirrors his on-court excellence,” Silver said.

West was “the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him,” said the Clippers, who employed him as a consultant for the last seven years. West's wife, Karen, was by his side when he died, the Clippers said.

West was an All-Star in all 14 of his NBA seasons, a 12-time All-NBA selection, part of the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers team that won a championship, an NBA Finals MVP when the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in 1969 — the first year that award was given out, and still the only time it went to a player on the losing team — and was selected as part of the NBA's 75th anniversary team.

NBA legend Michael Jordan said he considered West “a friend and mentor — like an older brother to me.”

“I valued his friendship and knowledge,” Jordan said. “I always wished I could have played against him as a competitor, but the more I came to know him, I wish I had been his teammate. I admired his basketball insights and he and I shared many similarities to how we approached the game.”

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