Jerry West is one of the greatest minds to have been involved in the NBA. The 84-year-old is a pivotal figure throughout the league’s history for his vast accomplishments as a player, but most importantly for his phenomenal achievements as a coach.
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West was lauded as a prominent figure over his 14-year tenure in the sport, having represented the Los Angeles Lakers. Although he was able to gather just one championship during the time, his footprint has been etched into the game’s history.
Despite these accolades, West is fondly remembered for enabling the 1980s-1990s Los Angeles Lakers to catapult to superstardom. The franchise accumulated 5 championships in that span. Distinction certified.
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Yet while one may assume this was his foremost laurel, an argument can be made for the fact that his pre-eminent moment came when he laid the foundation for the Lakers’ success that they would experience throughout the 2000s.
West’s prudent nature sanctioned him to acquire Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Phil Jackson. All of whom were significant to the franchise’s success! Especially Bryant. In fact, he had let ‘Diesel’ know early on just how special ‘Bean’ would become.
Jerry West obtained Shaquille O’Neal through Kobe Bryant.
Kobe Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets as the number 13th pick in the 1996 draft. He was later traded to the Lakers as part of draft rights in exchange for Vlade Divac.
Having overseen the arrival of O’Neal during the same summer, West highlighted to Shaq how Bryant would transform the organization’s fortunes. While appearing on the Dan Patrick Show over two years ago, West stated-
“I told Shaquille O’Neal after this draft, I said look I said we got what’s going to be one of the greatest players to ever play this game. I said he’s young and I said he’s gonna be great.”
In hindsight, maybe the ‘Logo’ knew something we didn’t. To predict the success of a 17-year-old, one would have to be impeccable in their strategy.
Which was precisely what West was when he gave a 17-year-old high school kid an opportunity to fulfill his aspirations.
Kobe Bryant repaid Jerry West’s faith!
Bryant arrived as a teenage kid, with the world at his feet. When it was all said and done, he engraved his name in NBA history as a five-time NBA champion, courtesy of his prolific scoring.
The duo of O’Neal and Bryant won a ton of accolades, with three NBA championships at the helm of it. Not to mention, the pair asserted themselves as a ‘Top two’ duo of all time, thanks to their ascending performances from 2000-2002, winning the coveted three-peat.
