Jerry West, le «emblem» de la NBA, s’est effacé – Libération

2024-06-12 17:09:48

La légende des Los Angeles Lakers, sur les parquets puis en tant que supervisor, est morte ce mercredi 12 juin.

Personnage tormenté qui fut pouruivi toute sa vie par la despair, Jerry West est mort ce mercredi juin 12, à l’âge de 86 ans. he was there«incarnation of basketball excellence», mentioned the Clippers – second group of Los Angeles – the place he labored since 2017 as a advisor, with out revealing the reason for his dying. But it surely’s good with their rivals of the Lakers, his core group, that the person marked the NBA for his expertise as a scorer, to the purpose of serving because the mannequin for the official emblem of the North American basketball league since 1969.

Jerry West, the personification of basketball excellence and a buddy to all who knew him, handed away peacefully this morning on the age of 86. His spouse, Karen, was by his aspect. pic.twitter.com/iMwOXmCT2B

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 12, 2024

Killed by a troublesome childhood, Jerry West can even escape by means of an unimaginable sequence of seven failures within the NBA last. The final word title clinched along with his membership of toujours, the Lakers, two years earlier than the top of his profession (1960-1974), by no means compensated for the frustrations of the previous: «Il ya un gouffre dans mon cœur qui ne pourra jamais être complé”, disait ce redoutable shooter, do not l’un des rares moments de pur bonheur fut la médaille d’or olympique gained à Rome en 1960.

Jerry West was born in Cabin Creek, a village in Western Virginia, in a household of six kids the place he was crushed by his father. In 1951, on the age of 13, he was traumatized by the dying of his older brother through the Korean Conflict. Il se réfugia dans la solitude, le mutisme et… le basket, chaque jour pendant des heures.

Joueur malheureux, «normal supervisor» à succès

Recruited in 1960 by the Lakers, who got here to maneuver from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, he shaped a flamboyant duo with one other nice participant, Elgin Baylor. Mais à six reprises, ses espoirs se fracasserent sur l’invincible équipe des Boston Celtics de Invoice Russell. Jusqu’à la fin de sa vie, il détesta se rendre dans la métropole du Massachusetts.

His private status ne cessa de monter, mais ne s’est que tardivement concrétisé par un succès collectif. In 1969, he was the one participant in historical past to be voted the very best participant within the NBA finals regardless of the loss, because of his 42 factors within the final recreation. «C’était affreux, je voulais vraiment arrêter le basket, c’était trop douloureux»admit-il plus tard.

Après les Celtics, ce furent les New York Knicks qui devinrent ses grands rivaux lors de trois finales en quatre ans au début des années 1970. À la deuxième, West souleva enfin le trophée tant voité, mais cette joie «n’effaça jamais la douleur de certaines defaites». The next 12 months, he misplaced the eighth last towards the Knicks.

De taille moyenne pour son sport (1.91 m), celui qui alternait entre les postes d’arrière et meneur avait le don de marcer dans les moments les plus tendus. Quatorze fois sélectionnée au All Star Recreation, le match amical réunissant les meilleurs joueurs de la ligue, il était aussi un wonderful défenseur. His profession ended with a mean of 27 factors per match, at a time when capturing three factors did not exist.

After his retirement as a participant in 1974, he coached the Lakers from 1976 to 1979 after which grew to become normal supervisor from 1982 for 20 years that corresponded to the golden period of the franchise (8 titles between 1980 and 2002) – amongst others l’immense Magic Johnson. Il orchestra également les recrutueux fructueux de Kobe Bryant puis de Shaquille O’Neal. He then joined the Golden State Warriors board in 2011, with whom he gained two NBA titles, then the Clippers in 2017.

In 2011, married and father of 5 kids, he introduced a really darkish picture of himself in an autobiography titled «My charmed, tormented life (Ma vie bienheureuse et tormentée)»où il se décrivait comme une «personne distante, unsondable et imprevisible» que ses “interior demons” avaient toujours empêchée d’apprecier ses réusisseurs.