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Jerry West and the Lakers’ front office were estranged at the time of his death, adding more sadness to the announcement of his death on Wednesday. (Kelvin Kuo/ Associated Press)
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,” read the Wednesday morning release from the Clippers’ communications department.
The Clippers loved Jerry West, and were loved by him, and he was treated with the utmost dignity and respect during his seven years as their adviser.
But he will forever be a Laker.
He built the Lakers into a Southern California institution as a player. He constructed and nurtured the Lakers’ greatness as a general manager.
Sankara XT pauses to photograph a statue of Jerry West at Crypto.Com Arena after hearing the news of his death Wednesday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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 in the end, for a variety of reasons, the basketball genius and his creation were estranged.
West walked away from the Lakers 24 years ago and never returned.
It was always so bizarre, the best executive in the history of sports living down the street from an organization he helped build into the most celebrated in sports … and yet they didn’t talk.
The Lakers struggled after the trade of Shaquille O’Neal while West watched from Memphis. The Lakers were adrift in the final years of Kobe Bryant while West watched from Golden State. The Lakers were buckling in the early years of LeBron James while West watched from the Clippers.
Read more: Jerry West, Lakers legend and architect of ‘Showtime’ era, dies at 86
He was so close, yet so far.
The Lakers honored him with a statue in 2011 in an event attended by owner Jerry Buss and all sorts of Lakers royalty. But they continued along separate paths until his death Wednesday poignantly reminded everyone of their divorce.
The Clippers…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/plaschke-laker-legend-jerry-wests-233826554.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-06-12 23:38:26
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