Jerry West

Jerry West is a former basketball player who played and coached for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jerry played as point guard for the Lakers, under jersey number 44. He is known by multiple nicknames such as "Mr. Clutch," "the Logo," "Mr. Outside," and "Zeke from Cabin Creek."

Jerome Alan West was born on May 28, 1938, in Chelyan, West Virginia. Jerry grew up in a poor household with five siblings Patrica Noel, Charles West, Late David West, Hannah Brownman, and Barbara West. He has spent 40 years with the Los Angeles Lakers as a player, coach, and general manager.

Jerry West's Ever Lasting Net Worth

Jerry West has amassed a total net worth of $40 million. His net worth seems to increase rather than decrease cause he still earns as an American basketball executive.

Jerry has a long-lasting net worth cause after retirement from basketball, he became a coach for the lakers and is currently an American basketball executive. The 84-year-old yearly income is $5 million for an American basketball executive. 

West owns two houses, one in his home town Chelyan, West Virginia, and another in Los Angeles. He owns luxurious classic cars like Cutlass, Impala, Jaguar F type, Mercedes, etc.

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Jerry West's Wife and Married Life: Five Children

Jerry West married his college love Martha Jane Kane in April 1960 in Morgantown. The relationship between Jerry and Martha lasted for a long time, 16 years to be exact, and they departed with a divorce in 1976. The legendary player's character was often described as introverted and anxious.

West, with his ex-wife Martha, was gifted with three sons David West, Mark West, and Michale West. After two years of his divorce, he married a beautiful cheerleader, Kristine Bua, of his college's team. Jerry and Kristine's relationship started as friends, and events both fell into deep love.

Kristine is known by the name Karen; they married in 1978 and have two sons named Ryan West and Jonnie West. West's son Jonnie also played in West Virginia Mountaineers and married his long-time girlfriend, a professional golfer named Michelle Wie, in 2019.

Why Was Jerry West Nicknamed As The Logo Of the NBA

Many recognize the NBA's logo, but most don't know the inspiration behind its creation. Jerome plays a vital role in the design of the NBA's logo; the person amid dribbling, which is illustrated in a white silhouette, is of him.

Alan the inspiration behind the NBA's logo, was nicknamed "the logo" Alan Siegel, the designer behind the logo, portrayed the basketball's essence, the dynamism behind the players, and their energy, which synergized with the sport.

The red and blue color represents the patriotic aspect of the NBA viewers and establishes NBA as America’s choice for professional basketball. The logo was changed three times before its creation of Logo, which Jerome inspired in 1969, but after that, it has remained unchanged till now.

Find Out How Many Rings Jerry West Have

Jerome played for the Los Angeles Lakers, and during his time, the Boston Celtics, where John Havlicek played, had a significant advantage over the Lakers; the Celtics defeated them for seven years in a row at the NBA finals. The team managed to get back in finals again in 1972 and defeated the Knicks, which earned Jerry West 1st and last NBA ring of his career.

During the old school days of the NBA, even achieving one NBA ring was considered a great achievement, and achieving that while playing in the position of point guard was a tremendous achievement. West's one NBA ring marks the end of his career, while nowadays, it's the beginning for other players.

Jerry West's Traumatic Early Life

The 84-year-old was born into a poor household with five siblings; his father, Howard Stewart West, worked as a coal mine electrician, and his mother, Cecil Sue West, was a homemaker.

Jerry had a worse father than one can imagine; his father abused him physically. He used to keep a shotgun under his bed out of fear that he might have to use it for his self-defense. West wasn't nervous, anxious, shy, and introverted as a child; rather, he was aggressive and full of vitality during his early teens.

This all changed when Jerome's older brother David was killed in the Korean War. He was traumatized by his brother's untimely demise and ended up becoming frail, weak, and turned into a shy, introverted boy.

West was so weak that vitamin injections were given, and any physically demanding sports weren't given to play. He practiced basketball by shooting at a basketball net that was hunged to his storage shed. Jerome practiced relentlessly and arrived home late receiving his mother's rage.

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Jerry West's Professional Career And Career After Retirement

Before the Lakers were based in Los Angeles they were based in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Lakers drafted Jerry West as the second overall pick in the 1960 NBA draft. The then Lakers were captained by Elgin Baylor. Los Angeles Lakers had strong forwarders and guards but had weak centers, which was highly disadvantageous while facing the Boston Celtics, where Bill Russell played as the center.

Jerome scored a total of 25,192 points and did 5,366 Rebounds and 6,238 assists during his entire professional career. The 84-year-old only won 1 NBA championship in 1972 but he helped the Los Angeles Lakers win 8 championships as their general manager. He played with and against great players like Oscar Robertson, Kareem Adul-Jabbar, Rod Hundley, Bill Russell, and Wilt Chamberlain.

Alan West was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980 and he was regarded as one of the top 50 players in 1996 by the NBA. 

Jerry West Height And Other Physical Appearance

Jerry West was traumatized in his childhood, which flipped his personality. He became shy, anxious, and introverted, but this didn't stop him from playing basketball. Alan's body required vitamin supplements as he grew up but his height and physique didn't betray him.

West had a towering height of 6 feet 3 inches and weighed 79 K.G i.e 174 pounds. His BMI index of Alan during his professional basketball career was normal, meaning that he was well-balanced regarding his height-to-weight ratio.