Los Angeles Lakers: Did ESPN’s all-time NBA ranking get it right?
By Amaar Burton
Jerry West
ESPN rank: 16
It’s hard to imagine anyone being given the nickname “Mr. Clutch” in 2020 while compiling a 1-8 career record in the NBA Finals, but West was that good — and he was that fortunate to come up in era with a much different media climate and less snarky fans.
It’s that one championship that probably vaulted West ahead of the likes of Elgin Baylor, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley, players who either won prestigious awards West didn’t win or eclipsed him statistically.
West averaged 27.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game in 14 seasons for the Lakers. He led the league in scoring one year and in assists another year.
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West never won league MVP — he is the highest-ranked player on the list who hasn’t won that award — but remains the only player to win Finals MVP while playing for the losing team; he earned that distinction by putting up 37.9 points and 7.4 assists per game in the 1969 Finals, which the Lakers lost in seven games to the Boston Celtics.
On the lifetime achievement scale, West has had arguably the greatest career in basketball we’ve ever seen. He is considered one of college basketball’s all-time legends, he won an Olympic gold medal, he won a championship and Finals MVP as an NBA player, led his team to the playoffs in each one of his three seasons as a head coach, and has been part of eight championship teams as an executive for the Lakers and Warriors. He’s also nicknamed “The Logo” because his image is the silhouette of the NBA logo.
Simply as an NBA player, his spot at No. 16 on ESPN’s list is pretty accurate. Everyone above him accomplished more, and West is just as or more decorated as those below him.