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NBA: 30 greatest playmakers in NBA history

By Jerran Anderson

(Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

12. Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers

There’s a reason why Los Angeles Lakers guard Jerry West is “The Logo” by many. He revolutionized “Showtime Basketball” in the purple and gold in the early days of the NBA from 1960 to 1974.

West was a walking playmaker his second season in the league. He scored a career-high 63 points on Jan. 17, 1962 against the New York Knicks in a 129-121 victory. He set the tone with his ability to score from anywhere on the floor. West shot 22-of-36 from the floor in the game when no 3-point line existed.

During the 1969-70 season, the year he won the scoring title, he put up a career-high 31.3 points per game. He led the league in assists per game (9.7) during the 1971-72 regular season, which is also a career-high.

West took home NBA Finals MVP honors when the Lakers lost the 1969 NBA Finals, the first and only time in league history. He produced 37.9 points, 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game during the Finals despite his Lakers falling to the Boston Celtics, 4-3.

He was one of the most dynamic playmakers in Lakers history alongside the likes fellow Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Pat Riley. He won an NBA title in 1972, defeating the Knicks, 4-1. West finished his career with averages of 27.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game with the Lakers.