As the glamor franchise of the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers have been fortunate enough to see some of the greatest players in league history don the purple and gold.
Following the franchise’s move to Los Angeles, Jerry West led the organization to its first NBA championship in Southern California during their historic 1971-72 season. West was one of the best scorers of his era and was subsequently inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for the first time in 1979 as a player.
West was inducted into the Hall of Fame a second time back in 2010 as a member of the 1960 USA Men’s Basketball Team that won gold in Rome. Aside from his Olympics success, the former shooting guard also became well-known for his time as a general manager most notably with the Lakers. West was named general manager of the franchise in 1982 and helped lead them to five titles during the Showtime era, but also built the “three-peat’ roster of the 2000s led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Now, it seems that West will be honored as a Hall of Fame inductee for a record third time as a contributor the game of basketball, via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
ESPN Sources: Jerry West has been elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor to the game — his record third Hall enshrinement. West has been previously inducted as a player (1979) and member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team (2010). pic.twitter.com/a1lbIEUX3L
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 3, 2024
West was named as one of the 14 finalists for the Class of 2024 earlier this year along with fellow Lakers guard Michael Cooper. He is also being honored for his work as an executive with the Memphis Grizzlies as well as a consultant for the Golden State Warriors and L.A. Clippers.
It’s quite the accomplishment for West, who won at every level of the NBA and it’ll be exciting to see him honored once again in a different fashion.
Former Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo announces retirement from NBA
While not the same caliber of guard that West was, Rajon Rondo was key part of the Lakers’ title run in 2020. However, Rondo finally decided to call it a career as he recently announced his retirement from the NBA. Rondo has not played in a couple of seasons but is officially ruling out a return to the NBA, wanting to focus on spending time with his family.
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