This summer will feature the 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony and two Los Angeles Lakers legends are a part of that class in Michael Cooper and Jerry West. The latter is being inducted for a third time, this time for his work as an executive.
While those two were from different eras of Lakers basketball, both cemented their legacies by bringing championships to L.A.
Unfortunately, this week featured some saddening news with the sudden passing of West at the age of 86. It was news that caught everyone in the NBA community off guard due to how impactful West was during his time as a player and executive.
West of course will not be attend this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony, something that hurt Cooper as he will be there without a fellow legend that he got to know during his time in L.A., via Broderick Turner of the L.A. Times:
Michael Cooper finally got to HOF and was going in with Jerry West, his third time. “That’s the thing that hurts. When I found out today I started crying because I was going to really relish that because we go back to 1973. That man has been in my life all these years.”
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) June 12, 2024
Dealing with a loss of this magnitude is never easy, especially for Cooper, who got to know West extremely well. He continued by saying that West was always there for him during the bad and good of his playing days, crediting him for never giving up on him:
Coop on Jerry West “ Whether I was (messing) up, or doing good, Jerry was always there, man. ‘Michael you got to stop this craziness.’ He was just always there helping me along the path, kind of guiding me. Never quit on me. He was pissed off at me a times and stuff.”
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) June 12, 2024
The Lakers have been losing too many legends as of late with West, Kobe Bryant and Elgin Baylor. However, their impacts on the game of basketball will never be forgotten and it does not get any better than being a significant piece of making the purple and gold to the iconic brand they are today.
Phil Jackson speaks to Jerry West’s impact on NBA
Wednesday featured an outpouring of condolences to Jerry West’s family also also recognizing the life that the legend lived. A significant figure who spoke out was Lakers championship head coach Phil Jackson, who discussed West’s enormous impact on the NBA in his life.
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