I Los Angeles Lakers will celebrate throughout the 2024-2025 season Jerry West with a special patch with the number 44 on the left shoulder of each jersey. This is the news announced by the Lakers themselves on their social channels.
The NBA legend, who played his entire career (from 1960 to 1974) wearing the yellow and purple jersey, passed away last June 12 at the age of 86 and the Lakers intend to pay homage to him not only with the aforementioned patch, but also with a ceremony in his honor. The ceremony will be held next October 22 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, on the evening ofopening night NBA against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“The Logo”nicknamed for having inspired the silhouette of the American basketball league, after finishing his career in which he won only one NBA title, had a three-year stint on the bench of the Lakers (from 1976 to 1979) with a record of 145 victories and 101 defeats. But it is from general manager which has achieved the greatest successes, winning 6 titles always with the Los Angeles Lakers (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001 and 2002) and 2 more with the Golden State Warriors (in 2015 and 2017). He also won theNBA Executive of the Year Awardaward given to the best general manager of the season, twice (in 1994-1995 with the Los Angeles Lakers and in 2003-2004 with the Memphis Grizzlies). Jerry West also participated in 14 NBA All-Star Games, won an Olympic gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, was the only player in NBA history to win the Finals MVP award as an underdog in 1969, was included among the 50 greatest players in history in the NBA’s fiftieth anniversary and then among the 75 greatest in history, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980 and his number 44 jersey was retired by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1983.
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