In the 1965 playoffs, West averaged 40.6 ppg over 11 contests; his 46.3 ppg average against Baltimore in the division finals was a record for a six-game series. Indeed, Jerry West looked at Oscar Robertson and saw what he thought was the best player in the game. [79], West married his college sweetheart Martha Jane Kane in April 1960 in Morgantown;[80] they divorced in 1976. [12][63] Jonnie played guard for West's college team, the West Virginia Mountaineers and married professional golfer Michelle Wie in 2019. Jerry West Chris Webber Oscar Robertson Mark Jackson. Robertson was a broadcaster for CBS for the 1974-75 season. Jerry West's NBA Finals Record. [60], Those championship-winning Lakers were coached by Pat Riley, and featured superstar players Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy. It is an honor to know him and to have competed against him. [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". This practice remained in effect until the school closed in 1999. No one was affected more by those defeats than West. [43] L.A. and N.Y. split the first two games, with both games respectively decided by centers Reed and the still-hobbling Chamberlain. Despite being listed at 6feet 3inches (1.91m), Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 15:05, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, finals series versus Boston in eight years, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders, List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association annual scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game, List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game, List of National Basketball Association players with most steals in a game, List of National Basketball Association single-game playoff scoring leaders, List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds, List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, "NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team | Basketball-Reference.com", "Jerry West talks about abusive father and lifelong struggle with depression", "1960-61 Los Angeles Lakers Roster and Statistics", "New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, January 17, 1962", "Celtics, Lakers work OT to start Rivalry", "Baltimore Bullets at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, April 5, 1965", "Red Lights Cigar to close coaching career", "West's heroics can't deprive Russell of 11th title", "Laker's Legendary Season Leads To Elusive Title", "Los Angeles Lakers 1971-72 Game Log and Scores", "New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, May 7, 1972", "Owning Up to the Truth: Cooke Was the Best", "Los Angeles Lakers Owners, GM, Coaches", "Jerry West: Biography, Accomplishments & Awards", "Memphis Grizzlies Announce the Hiring of Jerry West as Franchise's New President of Basketball Operations", "Jerry West set to join Warriors front office, according to multiple NBA sources", "Hall of Famer Jerry West joins L.A. Clippers as consultant", "Looking for a new challenge, iconic executive Jerry West will join Clippers", "Jerry West explains his move to the Clippers", "NBA investigating Clippers' recruitment of Kawhi", Career Playoff Leaders and Records for Points Per Game, "Special Dime: Greatest Shooting Guards Ever", "WVU legend has a Morgantown street named in his honor", "That iconic NBA silhouette can be traced back to him", The Great Jerry West will be receiving our Nation's highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his outstanding career, both on and off the court. Estimated PSA 8 Value: $3,500. 1 overall pick in the 1960 NBA Draft, with the Lakers selecting West immediately thereafter. Isiah Thomas potentially snubs Michael Jordan as he labeles The Flash as the best Chicago athlete. Six of the losses came at the hands of the powerhouse Celtics. No portion of FIBA.basketball may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form.By accessing FIBA.basketball pages, you agree to abide by FIBA.basketball terms and conditions. During has remaining 13 seasons, the Lakers missed the Finals only four times. Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar helped lead the Bucks to the 1971 championship, beating West and the Celtics in the Conference Finals in the process. 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. Ended: Feb 21, 2023. In Game 6, Havlicek shredded the Lakers with 40 points, and after yet another Finals loss to Boston, West commented that the Lakers lost two games they should have won: "We gave them the first game, and we gave them the fifth. RELATED: Kobe's Final Game Was The Perfect Farewell. At such a time, Oscar Robertson set the game afire with his spate of triple-doubles for the Cincinnati Royals. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Lakers swept the Bulls and beat the Bucks in six games to reach The Finals. He died aged 67. When West and Robertson played, the Boston Celtics were winning everything. Every bit West's equal was Baylor. West averaged 27 points for his career to Robertson's 25.7. After his playing career ended, West took over as head coach of the Lakers for three years. The USA had plenty of firepower at the Rome Games. 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. Having come this far, West would not be denied an NBA title. The 1960 US Olympic team was one of the great ones, as good as any prior to the Dream Team in 1992. [8] Having played forward early in his career, West was also a capable rebounder, and gifted with long arms, quick hands, and strong defensive instincts, West was also once described as one of the best ballhawks, man-to-man defenders and shot blockers among NBA guards:[23] when the All-Defensive Teams were introduced in 1969, West made every one of them until his career ended in 1974. Their checks kinda depend upon that. "We stayed in dorms. Damian Lillard became the 4th player in NBA history with 200 points and 60 assists in a playoff series, joining LeBron James, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. [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. Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and Dave Cowens honored at halftime of NBA All-Star Game. He took a loss harder than any player Ive ever known, said longtime Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn in the National Sports Daily. Neither Chamberlain's 50 point, 25.7 rebound average nor Oscar's triple-double average swayed the media from such a view. Unfortunately for West, individual success could not prevent. All of these rookies except for Wilkens are also featured on the action cards. The players are bigger and more athletic now. The USA had a team to envy. [31] However, in the 1965 NBA Finals, the Celtics easily beat the short-handed Lakers, 41. 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. Moreover, the duo had two playoff matchups first, in the 1972 Western Conference Finals, the Lakers beat the Bucks 4-2 behind Wests 21.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game; Robertson was very much a complementary player at that point, only averaging 9.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game during the six-game series. [41] In Game 7, Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke had put up thousands of balloons in the rafters of the Forum in Los Angeles. Both are the most prolific assist men of their periods. Neither Chamberlains 50 point, 25.7 rebound average nor Oscars triple-double average swayed the media from such a view. [12] In Game 4, the guard scored 37 points and 18 assists, and the Lakers won. The tragedy turned young Jerry inward, forcing him to develop his own coping mechanisms. 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. 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. Both entered the league via the 1960 NBA Draft - Robertson was the No. Head to Head: Oscar Robertson vs. Jerry West. [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. Additionally, Robertson also remains #1 all-time in career triple-doubles with 181; the only other players in NBA history with more than 100 career triple-doubles are Russell Westbrook (138, as of the end of the 2018-2019 season), Magic Johnson (138), and Jason Kidd (107). I want to help make a difference. The Big O's best statistical season came in 1961-62 when he averaged a . One of the main complaints that many old heads have with the modern game is its statistical, analytics aspect. 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. [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. Of the 87 regular season matchups, West holds a 50-37 lead, though Robertson outscored his counterpart by 28.5 to 27.7 points per game. Kevin Durant shows no signs of rust in his 1st game with Phoenix, meshing quickly with his new teammates. 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. [15] After ending the regular season with 49 wins, L.A. played the Baltimore Bullets in the first round of the 1965 NBA Playoffs, but then team captain Baylor suffered a career-threatening knee injury. It seems to mark a change from the way the final minutes are officiated today, when "no hemorrhage, no foul" is the rule. He must have blocked at least a half . Said Jerry West, a fellow Hall of Famer and Warriors . In addition to their regular season performances, Robertson and West were both consistent presences in the postseason and led their teams admirably for a number of years. Perhaps fittingly, the two players also went into the Hall of Fame together in 1980, and Wests silhouette continues to grace the NBA logo today. Luckily, both legends got their just due. In the rainy spring he dribbled in mud. Oscar Robertson vs Andrew Wiggins. This site contains affiliate links to products. If Im not nervous, if I dont have at least a little bit of the same self-doubt and anxious feelings I had when I started playing, then it will be time for me to go on, he told the Orange County Register in 1990. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. During that time, West was the better scorer (27.0 to 25.7), but Robertson grabbed more rebounds (7.5 to 5.8) and averaged more assists (9.5 to 6.7) and also had slightly better shooting percentages. Gail Goodrich's all-around play from the backcourt made him a perennial All-Star and, eventually, an NBA champion. In Game 2, Baltimore was unable to stop the Lakers guard, who scored 52 points, nearly half of L.A.'s total, in the 118115 win. His average of 27.0 ppg game stands as the fourth highest among retired players, behind Michael Jordan, Chamberlain and Baylor. Countdown 4: Top 10 Five-Tool Players in MLB History, Countdown 153: Top 10 Minnesota Twins of All Time, Countdown 152: Top 10 Dallas Mavericks of All Time, Countdown 151: Top 10 Tampa Bay Lightning of All Time, Countdown 150: Top 10 Kickers in NFL History, Countdown 149: Top 10 Left-Handed Pitchers in MLB History. Additionally, as President of the Players Association, he was involved in the landmark Robertson vs. National Basketball Association antitrust suit that led to reforms for the college draft and free agency rules, and also finally allowed the completion of the ABA-NBA merger to take place in 1976 (the suit was filed in 1970). When it snowed West played wearing gloves. "Who else would you want to take it but Kobe?" [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]. FTA complete back to 1948-49. He averaged 24.8points per game and 13.3rebounds. Sure did," said Jerry West. The 13-time All-Star, who was dealt to Phoenix on Feb. 9, has not played in a game since Jan. 8 when he was with the Nets. West remained as uptight in the front office as he had been on the court. They were 39-3 at midseason and finished at 69-13, the best single-season record in NBA history until the 1995-96 Bulls (72-10) bested it.. Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Hal Greer, the Boston Celtics became the most dominating team in the league. There were fewer jobs, and the ones that were open were filled by players who had spent multiple years in college. After helping the Golden State Warriors win the championship against the Cleveland Cavaliers, on June 14, 2017, West announced that he would go to the Los Angeles Clippers as an executive board member and consultant. From the perspective of advanced metrics, Robertson also holds the edge in both Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and Wins-Shares. Sometimes you get involved in situations like that, you don't realize the importance of it until you get out of it. "I would never bet against the Lakers," he said. Jerry West was a 12-time All-NBA performer who knew how to elevate his game when the lights shined the brightest. Selvy then missed an open 8-foot shot which would have won the Lakers their first title. West held himself to seemingly impossible standards. West and Robertson were the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird of their day. His high-pitched voice earned him the nickname "Tweety Bird", and he spoke with such a thick Appalachian accent that his teammates also referred to him as "Zeke from Cabin Creek" (his nickname acknowledged his country roots, and his accent was so thick that he squeaked his nickname sheepishly "Zeek from Cab'n Creek"). Beginning his career as a sportswriter, Benner then served with the Pacers for 28 years, retiring last season. [53][54], The 197374 NBA season was to be West's last as a player. He made the varsity squad at East Bank High School, although he mostly sat on the bench during his junior year. [22] Again, the Lakers reached the finals, and again, they battled the Celtics. Answer (1 of 15): I would Jerry West because he was on the All Defensive Team five times and Oscar was on none. The game, which was the Lakers' first home game of . Baylor's tip-in attempt was thwarted by Sam Jones. In the playoffs he kept up his torrid scoring pace, averaging 34.2 ppg over 14 contests. Fittingly, Thomas remembered the Big O agreeing with Wests assessment. This display of arrogance motivated the Celtics and angered West. LeBron James. [15] The NBA commented that the Lakers now had a potent one-two-punchwith "Mr. Basketball had not yet sacrificed fundamentals for potential. MIES (Switzerland) - It happened more than half a century ago, yet for two of the biggest legends in the sport, USA's Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, memories of the gold-medal winning run at theOlympic Games in Rome are crystal clear. [38] In return, the center blasted Van Breda Kolff as "the dumbest and worst coach ever". Oscar Robertson was the only college player to finish the March Madness career with four triple-doubles. 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. Today, both are remembered as among the all-time greats, with Wests silhouette gracing the NBAs logo, but it is impossible not to compare the two players and ask: Who was better Oscar Robertson or Jerry West? https://youtu.be/JXQniGgIIwM https://youtu.be . [25] West became known especially for hitting important late-game shots, and Lakers' announcer Chick Hearn named him "Mr. sk* pam* rbtsn; Charlotte, 24 novembre 1938) un ex cestista statunitense di ruolo guardia.. Soprannominato The Big O, disput 14 campionati NBA con le maglie dei Cincinnati Royals e dei Milwaukee Bucks, vincendo con questi ultimi il titolo nel 1971.Nel 1962 fu il primo giocatore nella storia dell'NBA a concludere una stagione con una tripla . To hear Jerry West and to see Jerry West talk about Oscar Robertson Ill never forget it. "[36], On July 9, 1968, the Lakers made a trade that brought reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers to Los Angeles at the beginning of the 196869 NBA season. His best opportunity for a title with the Royals came in 1962-1963, when they advanced to the Eastern Division Finals, but lost to the eventual champion Boston Celtics in seven games despite the Big Os 31.8 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game in the postseason. But West committed costly turnovers and L.A. lost the game 108106 despite a triple-double of 42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists from West, who became the only recipient of the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award from the losing team. Clutch" a handle which stuck with West for his entire career. ". [28] The Lakers struggled during the entire season, winning only 42 games, and were beaten by the Hawks in five games during the first round of the 1964 NBA Playoffs. In the 197273 NBA season, the main scoring role was taken by Goodrich, and West was now a playmaker instead of a scorer. The 1960 USA Olympic team has been described as the best amateur side ever assembled. 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