Our man Shaq will be part of an NBA star-studded lineup that will be inducting Jerry West into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. This will be Wests’ third induction into the HOF. This time it’ll be for his work as a front-office executive for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Along with O’Neal, the induction ceremonies will include a big roster of former star players and coaches, including the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Pat Riley, Pau Gasol and Bob McAdoo, among others.
For 2024, the incoming class for the Hall of Fame will be: Vince Carter, Michele Timms, Herb Simon, Harley Redin, Doug Collins, Dick Barnett, Michael Cooper, Charles Smith, Seimone Augustus, Bo Ryan, Chauncey Billups and Walter Davis as well as West.
Unfortunately, it’ll be a posthumous induction for West, who died back in June at the age of 86. West was first named to the HOF roster back in 1980 for his actual play in the Association. This time, he’ll be enshrined as a part of what’s called the Contributors Committee. Of course, it’s Wests’ image you see every time you spot the familiar NBA logo, yet he’s probably most famous for being the personnel engineer who put together several of the most legendary Los Angeles Lakers teams. With West as General Manager, the team saw success with players like Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and of course a few years later, the dynamic duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, under the watchful eye of then-coach Phil Jackson.
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Although West is remembered most for his work with and for the Lakers, he also spread his talents to a few other teams. He was the GM of the Memphis Grizzlies between 2002 and 2007, and he was later an executive board member for the Golden State Warriors when they won a pair of NBA Championships. There was also a short stint in the front office of the LA Clippers.
Talk about some great stats: Altogether, West has won a combined 10 NBA titles as an executive and was named the NBA’s Executive of the Year in both 1995 and 2004. He is the first person in the history of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to be inducted as both a player and contributor.
For Lakers history fanatics, West is truly one of the game’s iconic players. In 14 seasons with the Lakers, West was the man in charge out on the floor. During that time, he never missed an All-Star game and averaged an amazing 27 points per game. He and teammates won the NBA Championship way back in 1972, but with West on board, the Lakers made a total of nine trips to the NBA Finals. He was the Finals MVP in 1969… a pretty amazing award, considering the Lakers did not win the Championship that year.
Wests’ awards and recognition are not limited to basketball. In 2019, West received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors.
This coming season, Lakers players will wear Wests’ No. 44 on their jerseys, just another reminder of how much West meant to the organization and the game itself.