1 overall pick in the 1960 NBA Draft, with the Lakers selecting West immediately thereafter. Despite his statistical achievements, and those of Wilt Chamberlain, NBA media voted Bill Russell their 1961-62 MVP. [8] He led the Lakers in scoring in seven seasons,[20] and only Jordan had a higher career scoring average in the playoffs (33.5 versus 29.1). West and Robertson were the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird of their day. Key 1961-62 Fleer Basketball Cards: Wilt Chamberlain RC #8; Jerry West RC #43; Oscar Robertson RC #36; Bill Russell #38; Wilt Chamberlain #47 IA One of the main complaints that many old heads have with the modern game is its statistical, analytics aspect. Robertsons career arc is fairly similar. Oscar Robertson vs Coby White. SG. Robertson reciprocated Wests characterization of him earlier this year. Oscar Palmer Robertson (Big O, Mr. "[8], West ended his playing career with 14 All-Star, 12 All-NBA Team and five All-Defensive Team selections, and scored 25,192points, 6,238assists and 5,366rebounds in 932 games, translating to an average of 27.0points, 6.7assists and 5.8rebounds per game. RELATED: Kobe's Final Game Was The Perfect Farewell. Now, why is it that way? A 112-81 triumph over Italy and finally, a 90-63 victory over Brazil, clinched the gold medal. "[56] At the time of his departure, West had scored more points than any other Laker in franchise history. However, he started at West Virginia, getting 13 rebounds and 25 points for each game. For the rest of his illustrious career, West would average at least 20 points per game each year, including 25+ points per game for the next decade with four seasons above 30 points per game. [ 1] In the 197273 NBA season, the main scoring role was taken by Goodrich, and West was now a playmaker instead of a scorer. Prior to the 1971-72 season, the 33-year-old West was considering retirement. West referred to leaving Golden State as "one of the saddest days of his life," but was excited to find a new challenge. Wilt Chamberlain definitely had an explanation for why fans from his time fell out of love with NBA basketball. West and Oscar Robertson co-captained the U.S. men's basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He also ranked fourth in both assists (6.1 apg) and free- throw percentage (.860). It averaged a whopping 101.9 points a contest. In 1980, West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and named to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team. [37] The Lakers trailed the entire game and were behind 91-76 after 3 quarters, but powered by a limping West, the Lakers closed the gap to 103102 with two minutes to go and had the ball. In 1961-62, West established himself as a deadly scoring threat and averaged 30.8 ppg, marking the first of four seasons in which he 30 ppg or more. But it is less a function of disrespect than of youth. For both Robertson and West, their stellar rookie campaigns were just a sign of things to come over the next decade and a half, both players would continue to dominate the NBA as individual players, though it would take a bit longer for each one to overcome the Boston Celtics dynasty and win an NBA title. And, you know, Oscar said, You right, Jerry.'. Boston won another NBA Finals matchup, prevailing in Game 7 at Boston Garden, 95-93. In particular, in a Finals loss to Boston in 1969 that went the distance, West put up 42 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists in the decisive Game 7, and was named the inaugural Finals MVP despite being on the losing team, the only time in NBA history this has happened. Before Game 1, West privately complained to Bill Russell of exhaustion, but then the Lakers guard scored 53 points on Boston in a close two-point win. He stayed on as a scout for three years and became general manager in 1982, helping to build the Lakers dynasty of the 1980s. He thinks it's going in! NBA Twitter lauds the All-Star for joining the elite company of LeBron James and Luka Doncic in a special feat. It seems to bother the Big O more than West, this dulling of fans' memories of their glory days. He thinks its really going in! It did, sending Game 3 into overtime. [87][88], West is portrayed in the 2022 HBO docudrama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty as a temperamental, foul-mouthed executive prone to angry outbursts and mood swings. [8] West led East Bank to a state championship on March 24 that year, prompting East Bank High School to change its name to "West Bank High School" every year on March 24 in honor of their basketball prodigy. According to StatMuse, only West, Oscar Robertson, John . He believes sports connect us to our best selves, and he hopes to help people experience sports more holistically. [85], Early in his career, West's West Virginian roots made him a target for some mild jeering. [50][51] West conceded that he had played a terrible series, and credited the team for the success. [8], In the summer of 2000, the city of Morgantown, West Virginia, and West Virginia Governor Cecil Underwood, dedicated the road outside of the West Virginia University Coliseum, "Jerry West Boulevard". Triple Double, Ozzie, Oscar the Grouch) Position: Point Guard Shoots: Right 6-5, 205lb (196cm, 92kg) . Robertsons last 30+ points per game season came in 1966-1967, though interestingly, he would win his lone scoring title the next season at 29.2 points per game (50.0% shooting), while also leading the league in assists at 9.7 per game. In his final NBA season in 1973-1974, West was still a highly productive player (20.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game), but injuries limited him to only 31 games played and at the conclusion of the season, he would retire from the NBA at age 35. On the international stage, before jumping to the NBA, Robertson and West were co-captains of the US Basketball Team at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome (professionals would not be allowed to play until the Dream Team in 1992); considered by many pundits to be the best collection of amateur basketball talent in history (in addition to Robertson and West, Jerry Lucas and Walt Bellamy would also become Hall of Famers), the team easily won the gold medal at the Games and was collectively elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Clutch." Before that, the Oscar Robertson Rule was established in 1976, and the ABA-NBA merger allowed the NBA to expand for the 1976-77 season. "Why does everybody say the game has changed? Isiah Thomas potentially snubs Michael Jordan as he labeles The Flash as the best Chicago athlete. Across their respective decades of dominance, Robertson holds the edge in essentially every category, from health (games played) to counting statistics to shooting ratios to advanced metrics; this is of course no knock on West (whose best-decade numbers are still scintillating), but speaks to how truly dominant the Big O was at his peak. He explained his decision with the desire for exploring something new: "After being a part of the Laker's success for so many years, I have always wondered how it would be to build a winning franchise that has not experienced much success. Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas recalls the conversation quite well. Fittingly, Thomas remembered the Big O agreeing with Wests assessment. "I told coach Wooden, 'I'll play him for lunch every day, and he'll pay.' But his all-around excellence was unprecedented for a guard. From college to the pros, Robertson and West shared a unique bond and reverence. "I'm very fortunate that I was one of those athletes.". [23] However, West soon impressed his colleagues with his defensive hustle, with his vertical jumphe could reach up 16 inches above the rim when he went upand with his work ethic, spending countless extra hours working on his game. One of the game's most gifted players, Elgin Baylor made 10 appearances on the All-NBA first team. On the most recent episode of his podcast, Simmons named (in order) his top 15 in the "Pantheon." Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon . Jerry West Chris Webber Oscar Robertson Mark Jackson. [21] This team perennially had strong forwards and guards, but was constantly weak at center, giving them a disadvantage against the Boston Celtics with their Hall-of-Fame center, Bill Russell. Basketball, Thinking, Able. The Royals made Robertson with the No. [41] After the loss West was seen as the ultimate tragic hero: after the game, Bill Russell held his hand, and John Havlicek said: "I love you, Jerry". They gotta keep people watching, so theyre gonna say wonderful things about these teams, and wonderful things about players., Wilton Norman Chamberlain speaks on how the @NBA and other media outlets market its players and what kind of tactics they use. "I did that once or twice. The Lakers seven-game defeat at the hands of the Celtics in the 1962 Finals was particularly heartbreaking. "In my era, they were afraid to foul you then, because the officials were right on top of every play.". Oscar Robertson weighs in as Russell Westbrook attempts to join the Big O's one-man club. Following another five-game loss to Boston in 1963-1964, Cincinnati would never again make it past the first round with Robertson. They needed all five games to put away the Detroit Pistons but then lost to the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, losing the final game 105103. Laker Legend Jerry West calls Redick out for his reckless. He was named All-State from 1953 to 1956, then All-American in 1956 when he was West Virginia Player of the Year, becoming the state's first high-school player to score more than 900 points in a season, with an average of 32.2 points per game. FantasyPros considers the best player values for DraftKings and FanDuel NBA DFS. The Americans' average margin of victory was 42.4 points per game. During an interview on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, West revealed that as a child he was the victim of physical abuse from his father and has suffered from depression ever since. The East Bank High School legend and Oscar Robertson also led the United States basketball team to the gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Every athlete says that. Although West suffered a terrible shooting slump during Games 1 and 2, the Lakers tied the series at one win each, and in Game 3, he scored 21points and helped L.A. win Game 3. I will say that Oscar fits the 'all around' definition better - he was *almost* as good at scoring as Jerry although not quite matching up to West's peak scoring abilities, he was a better rebounder and also a better passer (both by . [37] While West himself got on well with the recruit, Chamberlain often argued with team captain Elgin Baylor and had a poor relationship with Van Breda Kolff. Both men won gold medals at the 1959 Pan American Games and led Team USA to a gold medal in the Olympics the following year, forming perhaps the greatest backcourt in the history of basketball. Robertson named West among his top five. Clutch". Robertson played point guard and was a 12-time All-Star, 11-time member of the All-NBA Team, and one-time winner of the MVP award in 14 seasons. West never thought he had been handed a burden, however. [82], As a person, West was often described as an introverted and nervous character, but who also drew the highest praise for his uncompromising work ethic. They were also both on the gold medal winning team at the 1959 Pan American Games. [34] Veteran coach Fred Schaus retired, and Butch Van Breda Kolff took over; under his reign, the Lakers won 52 games in the 196768 NBA season in their first season in The Forum. He was an All-Star every year of his career and led Los Angeles to the NBA Finals nine times. [17], During his junior year (195859), West scored 26.6 points per game and grabbed 12.3 rebounds per game. He said at the ceremony that athletes should not pass up a chance to represent their homeland. Combine a deadly jump shot, tenacious defense, obsessive perfectionism, unabashed confidence, and an uncompromising will to win, and youve got Jerry West, one of the greatest guards in NBA history. The USA had plenty of firepower at the Rome Games. Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As the game ended, veteran Celtics playmaker Bob Cousy threw the ball high into the rafters of the L.A. Sports Arena. For the children's author, see, In the summer of 1996, West traded for shooting guard. [38] There was an altercation in which Chamberlain was about to punch Van Breda Kolff before Baylor had intervened. A loss just ripped his guts out., Its no wonder. West was the second pick of the 1960 NBA Draft. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a decade of dominance. The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFLs All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years. St. Joseph's Joe Spratt: "I give a somewhat hesitant edge to Jerry West over Oscar Robertson. "There's all the publicity today for a 19-year-old player who might not be that good a player. [45] However, more frustration awaited West in Game 5, when Reed pulled his thigh muscle and seemed out for the series; instead of capitalizing on a double-digit lead and reeling off an easy win, the Lakers committed 19 second-half turnovers, and the two main scorers Chamberlain and West shot the ball only three and two times, respectively, in the entire second half and lost 107100 in what was called one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Finals history. [36] In Game 1, West only hit seven of 24 shots, and the Lakers lost 107101, but L.A. evened out the series at two games each. 1961 Fleer #36 Oscar Robertson Rookie Card. [35] The 52 wins were accumulated despite West playing only 51 regular season games due to injury[22] and scoring 26.3 points, the lowest average since his rookie year: after being a First-Teamer for six times en bloc, he only made the All-NBA Second Team. This includes rookie cards for Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor and Len Wilkens (misspelled Wilkins). After the Lakers heartbreaking loss to the Boston Celtics in the 1969 NBA Finals, John Havlicek walked up to West and said, Jerry, I love you. Such comments were not uncommon. His first nickname, Zeke from Cabin Creek, was actually based on faulty information. Additionally, in the 1974 Western Conference Semifinals, the Bucks would get revenge and defeat the Lakers 4-1, though West only played one game in the series. He would sit by himself and stare into space. [41] In Game 3, Russell opted to double-team West, and the guard's exhaustion began to show: West twice asked to be subbed for longer periods, and both times the Lakers fell back by double digits and finally lost by sixpoints. Playing the guard position, he was voted 12 times into the All-NBA First and Second Teams, was elected into the NBA All-Star Team 14 times, and was chosen as the All-Star MVP in 1972, the same year that he won the only title of his career. The Big O appeared on the Knuckleheads podcast to discuss his favorite players in league history. Wests statistical record only begins to tell his story. He was the third player in league history to reach 25,000 points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). The triple-double is just a stat. [8] Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn once said: "He took a loss harder than any player I've ever known. Although injured captain Elgin Baylor ended his career, the Lakers had a season for the ages. [5] West was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996, and to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.[6][7]. LA Clippers executive board member Jerry West attends a game between the Orlando Magic and the Houston Rockets during the 2022 NBA Summer League at the Thomas and Mack Center July 7, 2022, in Las . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. It seems that tons of viewers from certain generations uniformly avoid the contemporary NBA in a conscious fashion. In the 1960 Olympics, Jerry West teamed with Oscar Robertson to form what may be the greatest guard tandem to ever play on a basketball team - amateur or pro. Naturally, West must have felt a . West spent days shooting baskets from every possible angle, ignoring mud and snow in the backyard, as well as his mother's whippings when he came home hours late for dinner. Over time, Robertson became more of a complementary player to Abdul-Jabbar, though was still effective in his own right, and made his last All-Star Game in 1971-1972 before retiring after the 1973-1974 season at age 35. Amulya Shekhar is a sports junkie who thrives on the thrills and frills of live sports action across basketball, football (the American variant works too), parkour, adventure sports. Jerry West (L) and Oscar Robertson. In three years, he led the Lakers and star center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to a 145101 record, making the playoffs all three seasons and reaching the Western Conference Finals in 1977. Also, Oscar declined more rapidly than West so the seasons where Robertson was better early in their careers are partially balanced by the seasons where West was better later in their careers. [20] In March 2008, ESPN voted West the third greatest shooting guard of all time. Jerome Alan West (born May 28, 1938)[3][4] is an American basketball executive and former player. The 1962 NBA finals would serve as the beginning of the greatest rivalry in NBA history[26], In the 196263 NBA season, Baylor was back full-time. Oscar Robertson: Cincinnati Royals (1960-1970) Milwaukee Bucks (1970-1974) Jerry West: Los Angeles Lakers (1960-1974) Years after a game in which he hit 16 of 17 shots from the field, sank all 12 free throw attempts, and notched 12 rebounds, 12 assists and 10 blocked shots, West told the National Sports Daily, Defensively, from a team standpoint, I didnt feel I played very well. > Archive 75: Jerry West| 75 Stories: Jerry West. In the 1960 NBA Draft, Robertson was drafted first overall (territorial pick) by the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) and dominated from the get-go, averaging 30.5 points (47.3% shooting), 10.1 rebounds, and a league-high 9.7 assists per game as a rookie; as a result, he was Rookie of the Year, made the first of his 12 consecutive All-Star Game appearances, and earned the first of nine straight First Team All-NBA selections. [76] On February 17, 2011, a statue of West was unveiled outside Staples Center at the Star Plaza in Los Angeles, California. In three campaigns with West at the helm, the Lakers went 145-101 and returned to the playoffs after missing the postseason during Wests retirement. [84] His first wife Martha Kane recalled that her husband often had difficulties opening up to her. [27], In the following 196364 NBA season, West became the Lakers' scoring leader for the first time. [39], In the 1969 NBA Playoffs, the 55-win Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks and the San Francisco Warriors, setting up the sixth finals series versus Boston in eight years. Emboldened by the success of the westward-bound Brooklyn Dodgers and faced with the dilemma of finding a site for its home games, the Lakers franchise moved to Los Angeles for the 1960-61 season. the Lakers held a "Jerry West Night", and eleven-time NBA champion and perennial rival Bill Russell appeared and said: "Jerry, you are, in every sense of the word, truly a . O as in the Only player to average a triple-double for a whole season. High 49F. After taking the series lead on Baylors then record 61-point performance in Game 5, Los Angeles dropped the next two. [33], The 196667 NBA season saw West playing only 66 regular-season games due to injury;[22] his averages fell slightly to 28.0points, 5.9rebounds and 6.8assists per game. [15] He tied the NCAA five-game tournament record of 160points (32.0points per game) and led all scorers and rebounders in every West Virginia game, including getting 28points and 11rebounds in a 7170 loss to California in the final. Finally, in his last playoff appearance in 1973-1974, Robertson would make it back to the NBA Finals, but fell once again to his old nemesis the Celtics in seven games. [8], West attended East Bank High School in East Bank, West Virginia from 1952 to 1956. Oscar Robertson, however, demurred about change in general in basketball. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. Paolo Banchero leads the way as the Kia Rookie of the Year chase begins to head for the finish line. "[48], Having vanquished this long-time bane, West entered his 13th NBA year. Height: 6-2 (188cm) Weight: 185 (84kg) Boston won in overtime, 110-107. [23] However, West seamlessly took over the role of team leader and established himself as the main Lakers scorer, averaging 30.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game, winning All-NBA First Team honors. Inside" (the low-post scorer, Baylor) and "Mr. Outside" (the long-distance shooter, West). Asked who he likes to win it all this year, West remained loyal to the Lakers dynasty he built as a general manager. Robertsons response might seem arrogant. Three of the Finals went seven games, with the Lakers losing two of those Game 7s to the Celtics by a single basket. [20] His college coach was also hired to coach the Lakers. Regular season: PTS, FG, FT, 3P complete all-time. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. West logged similar averages as a rookie after the Los Angeles Lakers drafted him second overall behind Oscar Robertson, but his scoring nearly doubled in his second season. "We got one dollar a day per diem," West recalled, when he spoke at the team's induction ceremony at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. The answer is "yes," according to The Ringer's Bill Simmons. [46] With his injured hands, West still hit nine of his 19 shots, but was outplayed by Walt Frazier, who scored 36points and 19assists and was credited with several crucial steals on Lakers guard Dick Garrett. However, due to the dynastic dominance of the Boston Celtics, who won 10 NBA titles between 1959 and 1969, including eight straight from 1959 to 1966, both players would fall short of a ring time after time again until finally reaching the NBA pinnacle in the early 1970s. [8] Instead of being proud, West merely commented: "Defensively, from a team standpoint, I didn't feel I played very well. Born: May 28, 1938 (84 years old) Nationality: United States. Jerry West. This also marked the first of three straight seasons leading the NBA in assists, with Robertson putting up at least 11.0 assists per game each year, including a career-high 11.5 in 1964-1965. "[86], In 2011, West and bestselling author Jonathan Coleman wrote a memoir entitled West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life. Jerry West is one of the most revered players in NBA history. Those two players formed the nucleus of three consecutive championship teams beginning with capturing the 2000 NBA Finals. Wilt Chamberlain talks about how his contemporaries Jerry West and co wouldn't pursue stats He spent five years at that post, helping build Memphis into a playoff team in 2004, 05 and 06 before stepping down in 2007. In the playoffs he kept up his torrid scoring pace, averaging 34.2 ppg over 14 contests. With continued individual excellence and improved team play, he earned MVP honors in 1963-1964 on the strength of a career-high 31.4 points (48.3% shooting), 9.9 rebounds, and 11.0 assists per game, once again nearly averaging a triple-double for the season; in fact, over his first five seasons, Robertson averaged a triple-double (30.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 10.6 assists per game). The following year he and Oscar Robertson led an extremely talented U.S. squad to a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; from Robertsons complementary role on the Bucks to Wests proneness to injury, both players were eventually affected by these factors. As a player with the Cincinnati (Ohio) Royals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1961-62, he averaged . Robertson's last All-NBA first team was in 1969 and West made first team from 1970-1973. Answer (1 of 15): I would Jerry West because he was on the All Defensive Team five times and Oscar was on none. Clutch, but none of them lived up to it as well as West did. [60], Those championship-winning Lakers were coached by Pat Riley, and featured superstar players Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy. While it has been nearly 50 years since either Oscar Robertson or Jerry West last set foot on an NBA basketball court and not too many of us actually got to see them play live, the duo remain two of the most iconic players in NBA history. FGA, TRB, AST, PF, GS over 99% complete back to 1975-76. Luckily, both legends got their just due. said "Mr. During halftime of Sunday's All-Star Game, 45 members of the 75th Anniversary Team including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stood side by side on a circular stage in the middle of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages, NBA Legends: Profiling the league's greats, 5 takeaways from Durant's debut with Suns, Durant expected to make Suns debut tonight, David Benner, Pacers longtime PR director, dies, NBA DFS Picks: Yahoo plays & strategy for March 1, Kia Rookie Ladder: State of chase after All-Star, NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer Wednesday 3/1. Oscar Robertson vs Hassan Whiteside. The game, which was the Lakers' first home game of . Meanwhile, as Robertson was dominating night in and night out in Cincinnati, West exploded in his second NBA season, averaging 30.8 points (on 44.5% shooting), a career-high 7.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game in 1961-1962, which resulted in the first of 10 First Team All-NBA selections. [78] On June 1, 2019, President Donald Trump announced West would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 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