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Jerry West's contribution to the LA Lakers franchise and the league has been far too great to quantify. The man whose very image forms the base for the NBA Logo did it all and achieved all the league had to offer. In his illustrious career, his loyalty to the Lakers was unquestionable.
Emerging reports, however, said West may have some ill feelings for the team. According to The Athletic's Sam Amick, West feels the Lakers were wrong to revoke his lifetime season tickets promised by the late Dr. Jerry Buss.
"It was a cold phone text to my wife," West said. "No one had the nerve to call me, but that’s how petty they are, OK? And I love the Lakers, OK? I love to see them do well. It’s great for basketball. I’m proud of everything that happened when I was there. I’m proud of everything that happened when I wasn’t there — the positives.
“But sometimes you feel like you’re discarded, like a piece of trash. And there’s a couple of people over there — not (ownere) eanie (Buss) — but there’s a couple of people over there that, uh … I don’t get it. I don’t. … I always had a great relationship with Jeanie — at least I thought I did. I don’t know where it is now.”
Jerry West vs the LA Lakers
The feud supposedly began in 2017, when "Mr. Clutch" was working as a Golden State Warriors consultant. According to Tim Kawakami's article in the Mercury News on March 3, 2017, West was intrigued by the idea of joining the LA Lakers front office. The offer never came, and Jerry West joined the gold and purple's rivals – the LA Clippers – in June 2017.
The man who played with the Lakers for 14 seasons as a player, taking them to nine Finals and winning a championship, had a fallout with the franchise. He had also worked for the same team as a successful coach and one of their greatest executives. He is widely regarded as the creator of the phenomenon known as the Showtime Lakers.
He was involved in bringing the legendary trio of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and James Worthy together. Later on, he acquired Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal and signed Phil Jackson as the coach to form a team that would go on to register a three-peat.
So when Lakers owner Jeanie Buss appeared on the "All The Smoke" podcast in April 2021 and left "The Logo" off her list of the top five most influential Lakers of all time, West was deeply offended.
The final nail in the coffin in this rift that began with a refusal to offer him a job was the cold text to Karen West last year. Incredible to know that a text led to the severing of the long-standing bond between West and the Lakers.
Guess the Lakers players!
