One of the greatest NBA guards of all-time and certainly one of the best to don the purple and gold, Hall of Famer Jerry West made his way over to his former employer to speak to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday morning. West has been one of many former Lakers to speak to the team during training camp, something that head coach Luke Walton’s staff decided would be a great way to help bring a new, young team together.
“One, the idea of what it is to be a Laker, the history of the organization,” Walton said about what he hopes his players gain from the experience. “But also, to be able to ask questions, ‘What was it like on your teams?'”
“Jerry today, talking about his team that won 33 games in a row and how bad it hurt whenever he lost a game and how personal he took it. I think players already relate pretty well to former players and when they hear that message relayed to them, hopefully they get something out of that.”
Rookie forward Brandon Ingram was one of the players who took a lot away from hearing what the former NBA champion and 1969 NBA Finals MVP had to say.
“You always pick up a message,” Brandon Ingram said about former greats (like Jamaal Wilkes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy) who have spoken to the team. “I think his (West’s) message today was about routine, coming in here, doing the same thing everyday and trusting the process. I think it was eye opening for me.”
“Just knowing that all the work that you put in now, its going to show, it’s not going to show now, but its going to show in the next couple months, the next couple years, just stick to the process and something good is going to happen,” Ingram said.
Ingram said the main messages from all the players that have spoken so far have not only had a focus on the current banners hanging in the practice facility but also the future banners that will be hung by the new era.
“When we come in here and look at all the banners every single day, I think that’s motivation for us to try to be the next big team and to work together each and everyday.”