The sadness was compounded by the strangeness.
The announcement of the death of the greatest Laker was made by the Clippers.
“Jerry West, the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him, passed away peacefully this morning at the age of 86,” the Clippers communications department said in a statement.
The Clippers loved and were loved by Jerry West, and he was treated with the utmost dignity and respect during the seven years he was their advisor.
But he will always be a Laker.
As a player, he built the Lakers into a Southern California institution. He constructed and nurtured the Lakers’ greatness as general manager.
He was their conscience. He was their heartbeat. He was their soul. He was the most important person to ever walk through their gym doors.
But ultimately, the basketball genius and his creation became estranged for several reasons.
West walked away from the Lakers 24 years ago and never returned.
It was always so bizarre, the best director in the history of the sport, living near an organization he helped build into the most celebrated in the sport… and yet they weren’t talking to each other.
The Lakers struggled after trading Shaquille O’Neal with West watching from Memphis. The Lakers were adrift in Kobe Bryant’s final years as West watched from Golden State. The Lakers nodded in the early years of LeBron James while West watched from the Clippers.
Read more: Jerry West, Lakers legend and architect of the ‘Showtime’ era, dies at 86
He was so close and yet so far.
The Lakers honored him with a statue in 2011 at an event attended by owner Jerry Buss and several members of the Lakers. But they went their separate ways, until his death on Wednesday was a poignant reminder to everyone of their separation.
The Clippers were the first to issue a statement early Wednesday morning, saying: “The Clippers have lost a mentor, a confidante and a friend.”
At the same time, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer issued his own statement, writing: “From the first day I met Jerry seven years ago, he inspired me with his intellect, honesty and enthusiasm. He never stopped. I spent a lot of time with him, some of the best times of my life. He always lent an ear and always made a joke. He always made me laugh. I will miss him.”
The Lakers’ statement came later and read in part, “Jerry West is forever a basketball icon…Jerry West will always be a Lakers legend.”
Read more: NBA stars mourn the death of Jerry West, ‘one of the very best players’
It was nice, but it was four sentences and there was no personal tribute from a Lakers official until Jeanie Buss posted a short statement on Instagram early in the afternoon.
“Today is a difficult day for all Laker fans,” she wrote. “I know if my dad were here, he would say Jerry West was the core of everything that made the Lakers great. He was an icon to everyone, but he was also a hero to our family. We all send our condolences to Karen and the West family.”
Again, it was nice, but compared to previous Lakers tributes for fallen stars like Elgin Baylor and Tex Winter, the team’s response was disappointing for a man who deserved so much more.
West was essentially the first draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers, as he was the first round selection of the Minneapolis Lakers shortly before they moved to Los Angeles.
It was West and Baylor who became this city’s first professional basketball stars. It was West’s 65-foot basket that forced overtime in the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks that became one of this city’s first great sports moments.
He had this city’s first major sports nickname: “Mr. Clutch.” He garnered perhaps the highest honor of any athlete in this city’s history; his silhouette is the NBA logo.
Then, after fifteen years as a Lakers star, he became this city’s first dynasty builder, nurturing the “Showtime” era and then personally building the O’Neal-Bryant era by signing Shaq and signing for Kobe to act.
Byron Scott tweeted: “It’s because of Jerry West that there even was ‘Showtime’.”
Magic Johnson tweeted: “Laker Nation, the only reason we have 17 championships is because of Jerry West and his expertise in drafting players, trading players and hiring the right coaches.”
That expertise has been sorely lacking from the Lakers in recent years. In fact, his departure is one of two events that led to the current struggles of the once-strong front office.
You could say the slow decline started with the departure of West and the death of Jerry Buss.
Read more: Eye for talent ‘unparalleled’: Magic Johnson shares memories of Jerry West
When West abruptly left the Lakers after their 2000 championship, he said his body could no longer handle the stress.
“Everything here has taken its toll,” he told me at the time. “You see my outside, but you don’t see my inside, and it’s just horrible in there. This need to win is a disease.”
But it was about more than winning, it was about how they won. Coach Phil Jackson gained more power. He also had a relationship with the owner’s daughter, which raised Jackson’s profile. West became increasingly uncomfortable with the dynamics that seemed to marginalize his presence.
When West talked about “Everything Here…”, a lot of it was focused on Jackson and Buss.
As the years passed, West became more bitter, and the Lakers grew more resentful of his bitterness, and when Jerry Buss died in 2013, West’s ties to the club were seemingly gone forever.
One of the last breaking points came in 2017, when Jeanie Buss cleared out the front office and hired Rob Pelinka and Johnson to lead the team. West publicly said he would be interested in returning home to join them, but nothing was offered, so he joined the Clippers.
During his introductory Clippers news conference, he made a veiled attack on the Lakers, saying, “My last stop along the way, [I want] to be associated with people who are true basketball people, people I respect and, more importantly, I think, an incredible owner.”
Four years later, the relationship was ruined forever when Jeanie Buss named her the top five Lakers on a podcast.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bryant, Johnson, James and Jackson.
West, undeniably the most important Laker ever, wasn’t even on the roster, and he was furious. He was so offended that he told a media organization that he sometimes wished he had never played for the Lakers.
Read more: How Jerry West Became the NBA Logo – and Why David Stern Never Admitted It
“One disappointing thing is that my relationship with the Lakers is terrible,” West said in a 2022 interview with the Athletic. “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 the Lakers, where someone would have at least appreciated how much you care, how much you cared. ‘ “
Add to all this animosity the fact that the Lakers parted ways with West’s son Ryan, who was their director of player personnel, in 2019. Then there was Jerry West’s claim that the Lakers took away his season tickets, which irritated him even more.
Amid Wednesday’s gloom, it was inspiring to see the Clippers supporting West, with lengthy tributes not only from Ballmer, but from team president Lawrence Frank and coach Tyronn Lue.
But it was just as sad to see how distant West seemed to be from the organization he had built.
The Lakers still have room on their jerseys for a patch, right? Next season they should wear JW in his honor.
The Lakers never dedicated their hardwood, right? Next season they could call it “Jerry West Court.”
The greatest Laker is gone, but his legacy should not be forgotten.
Especially with the Lakers.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
