Jerry West, the legendary Lakers player and later coach and general manager who took the team to stunning heights season after season but could never quite satisfy his own impossibly high standards, has died.
Regarded as a near deity through the NBA, West died Wednesday with his wife, Karen, by his side, the Los Angeles Clippers announced. AP also confirmed his passing. He was 86.
As a player, he ranked — and still ranks — as one of the best ever to play in the NBA. That his silhouette would come to be featured on the NBA logo that adorns every uniform and every NBA-related piece of merchandise only seemed fitting.