Shocking Lakers statement from Jerry West comes to light

When discussing the legends of NBA history, there are few names as big and as impactful as Jerry West. The legendary point guard was a 14-time All-Star and 12-time All-NBA team member. He won one championship as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers, and eight more titles in his career as an executive. He spent the final seven years of his career as an executive with the LA Clippers.

The NBA's logo is literally a photo of West, and it has become synonymous with basketball greatness all across the United States. Jerry became the first player to ever win the NBA Finals MVP award back in 1969, and he remains the only player to ever earn the award while playing for the losing team.

West's legacy is absolutely star-studded, but unfortunately, one of the greatest disappointments of his professional career was how his relationship with the Lakers ended up playing out in the latter years of his life. It all supposedly began back in 1999, when Jerry advised then-owner Jerry Buss to hire Phil Jackson as the new head coach.

Giving this advice caused a rift between he and the organization, given that hiring Jackson would have meant moving away from the interim coach at the time, Kurt Rambis. West eventually left the team in 2000, but he later said that he should have left sooner

West "almost wished" he had never played for Lakers

"I almost wish that I had never played or worked for them," Jerry said in a 2019 interview with ESPN. He made it clear just how deeply disappointed he had become about his soured relationship with his former team.

There is plenty of documentation of Jerry's remorse over the bad blood with the famed organization. "One disappointing thing [about my career] is that my relationship with the Lakers is horrible,” West said in a 2022 interview with The Athletic. “I still don’t know why. And at the end of the day, when I look back, I say, ‘well, maybe I should have played somewhere else instead of with the Lakers, where someone would have at least appreciated how much you give, how much you cared.'”

These are about the most incriminating statements you will ever hear from a former player on an organization. It is incredibly disappointing to hear that the Lakers treated one of their franchise legends in this way, and even more saddening that things seemingly were never worked out between West and the franchise before his passing in June of 2024.

The relationship between Jerry West and the Lakers feels depressing to those just reading about the story from the outside, so we can only guess how downtrodden it made the legendary point guard himself feel. The one consolation in all of this is that the Lakers are at least honoring West's legacy with a special commemorative jersey band this coming season.