Jerry West has an estimated net worth of $55 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth . After playing in the NBA as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, West moved behind the bench to coach his former team and served as a scout before eventually taking on the role of general manager. It was in this role that he had, perhaps, his greatest impact: trading Vlade Divac to secure the drafting rights for Kobe Bryant . In the same year, West signed free agent Shaquille O’Neal, laying the foundation for the Lakers’ three consecutive NBA Championships in the early 2000s.
He Played For The Lakers For 14 Years
West played for the Lakers for 14 years in the 1960s and 1970s. He was drafted second overall out of West Virginia University in the 1960 NBA Draft by the Minneapolis Lakers. The Lakers relocated to Los Angeles shortly after West joined the team, making the guard the first-ever Los Angeles Laker.
They were one of the best teams in the league during the ’60s, but West and the rest of his teammates were never able to win an NBA Championship, losing all six of their Finals appearances to the Bill Russell-led Boston Celtics. West finally got his hands on a championship in 1972 with the help of Wilt Chamberlain. They defeated the New York Knicks in five games, marking the only Finals victory West would have as a player. Two more losses in the Finals gave him the unenviable record of 1-8 for the Championship.
Despite his poor luck on the NBA’s biggest stage, West was one of the premier players in that era of basketball, a 10-time All NBA First Team member and an All Star all 14 years of his playing career. Beyond his stats and victory in the Finals, West’s most lasting legacy as a player was his own silhouette, which — while never officially confirmed by the league — is commonly believed to serve as the official logo of the NBA, according to a report by Logo Design Love .
He’s Served As An Executive For Four NBA Franchises
In addition to his time in the Lakers’ front office, West has served in an executive capacity for three other NBA franchises. After his playing days were finished, he became the head coach of the Lakers for the 1976-77 season. During his time as coach, the Lakers would achieve a 145–101 record over three seasons, making the playoffs each time with one Western Conference Finals appearance.
West would remain with the Lakers as a scout after his coaching stint, then go on to become the team’s general manager before the 1982-83 season. His time as general manager would see him put together the Showtime Lakers of the ’80s that saw the team pick up five NBA championships. He then rebuilt the team after a relative slump with Kobe and Shaq, winning three consecutive championships between 2000 and 2002.
After leaving the Lakers in 2002, West would join the Memphis Grizzlies, one of the league’s most unsuccessful teams. While he didn’t replicate the success of the Lakers, he was able to turn the Grizzlies into a playoff team and would win the NBA Executive of the Year Award in 2004.
He retired from the Grizzlies in 2007, taking several years off before he joined the Golden State Warriors in 2011. During his time as an executive board member of the Warriors — which also included an undisclosed minority stake in the team — Golden State would become a dynasty, winning three titles between 2015 and 2018. West would not be a part of the team during their 2018 Finals victory, however, as he returned to Los Angeles in the summer of 2017. This time, he became an executive board member of the Los Angles Clippers, where he remains to this day.