West was drafted with the second overall pick in the 1960 NBA Draft by the Lakers out of the University of West Virgina. West played with the Lakers for 14 seasons before a brief stint as a coach and a very successful tenure as GM for the purple and gold. West was involved in nine championship teams, either as a player or in the front office, and is widely regarded as one of the best Lakers of all time.
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West was known for his scoring, but is also ranked 25th on the all-time assists list with 6,328 dimes in his career. He is a 14-time All-Star and and 12-time All-NBA Team selectee (10 times on First Team, twice on Second Team). West averaged 27.0 points in his career, which is good for fifth of the all-time average scoring list.
Now that the NBA is about to begin the Finals, it seems fitting to add that West reached the Finals nine times (six times against the Boston Celtics), where he won the championship in 1972, which was the team to win 33 consecutive games. West is the only NBA player in history to be named as the Finals MVP for a losing team (1969).
After a highly successful stint as the Lakers’ GM, he became the Memphis Grizzlies’ GM. Currently, he is working as a special consultant for the Golden State Warriors. Lakers fans can celebrate his legacy and impact by visiting his statue outside of Staples Center.
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