13 Rules: Overtime! Jerry West

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_01]: All right. It's time to talk basketball.

[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, it's the off season, but to mean there's no off season for us.

[00:00:05] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Jose Salviati, editor at ThePeakBasket.net.

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_01]: He's Steve Perciello, longtime educator, vice principal, high school

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_01]: coach and athletic director.

[00:00:13] [SPEAKER_01]: And this is the 13 Rules Overtime Podcast.

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_01]: This is a show where we discuss NBA stars from the 60s, 70s and 80s

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_01]: by talking about them with someone who actually watched them play.

[00:00:24] [SPEAKER_01]: It's one thing.

[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_01]: And you've seen these clips on YouTube where people talk about,

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_01]: they rewatch a show or a series from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and then they

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_01]: comment on it, which is great.

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_01]: And there's value there for sure.

[00:00:37] [SPEAKER_01]: But we're talking about somebody who watched it back in that time.

[00:00:41] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that adds a little bit of a little bit of wonder to this.

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_01]: What made these players special?

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_01]: What player today most resembles that player?

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_01]: And the guy who watched them is Steve.

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_01]: And what was Steve's greatest memory about that player?

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_01]: So it's a cool, I think it's kind of a cool show.

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe that's a pen ourselves in the back, but I have a lot

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_01]: of fun talking about these guys.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_01]: These are all players I've heard of, but really never got to see play.

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Didn't know a full lot about them other than what you hear.

[00:01:10] [SPEAKER_01]: But there's more to these guys.

[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_01]: To date we've discussed Will Chamberlain, Sam Jones, Rick

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Berry, Pistol, Pete Maravich and Bill Russell.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Today we're going to discuss a player that Steve and I have talked

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_01]: about a lot in our conversations about those other guys.

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_01]: We talked about his long shot without giving too much away.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_01]: We talked about his ability to take over games, but we've never talked about him.

[00:01:32] [SPEAKER_01]: This is a player who had an impact on the game on the court and off the

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_01]: court after his playing career was over as an executive.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_01]: He's a hall of famer, NBA champion, 14 time all-star scoring leader.

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_01]: One year assist leader, one year, four time all defensive first team.

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_01]: This guy was an all around player.

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And in his own words, he was a wolf.

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Specifically he said the word dog comes up a lot.

[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_01]: I was a wolf.

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_01]: I used to eat dogs.

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_01]: The person we're talking about is the great Jerry West.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm shocked that we haven't talked about him yet.

[00:02:12] [SPEAKER_01]: I did not get to watch him play.

[00:02:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Obviously I feel like I know this guy because when I go to

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Laker games, he was there.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_01]: When I went to Clipper games, he was there.

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_01]: So I saw him.

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_01]: I never interacted with him, but it's on from a distance.

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_01]: And he was a legend, man.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_01]: He's the logo, but he was a pretty spectacular player.

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_01]: So let's start there, Steve.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_01]: You watched him play.

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_01]: You got to see the wolf up close against your favorite team.

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_01]: What made Jerry West a wolf?

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_01]: What made him special?

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_00]: First of all, let's remember his nickname was Mr.

[00:02:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Quach.

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Being a Quach tells you everything you want to know about him.

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_00]: He was so good.

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_00]: He can carry teams on his back.

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_00]: One of the first things I watched a lot of his career, not a lot,

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_00]: but a couple years of it.

[00:02:57] [SPEAKER_00]: But I do remember the 69 finals in the first two games, he scored 53 and

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_00]: 41 in the first two games, which is incredible.

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_00]: In that time, he can do so many different things.

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And when you said four time all defensive player, the interesting piece

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: to that was the first time they had an all defensive team was in 69.

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_00]: So the last four or five years of his career were the only times he

[00:03:21] [SPEAKER_00]: could have been all defense.

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_00]: So you have to remember that.

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_00]: The sad thing is I think they lost to Boston eight times in the finals.

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_00]: They won one title in his playing career and that's a sad

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_00]: thing because he was so good.

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Interesting thing, he was at West Virginia.

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_00]: He grew up in West Virginia.

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Another nickname was Zeke from Cabin Creek because that was right

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_00]: near where his home was.

[00:03:46] [SPEAKER_00]: He played for West Virginia.

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Then he went to the Lakers.

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, the Minneapolis Lakers are the team that drafted him,

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_00]: but he played for the LA Lakers.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00]: That was the land, the end of the Minneapolis Lakers.

[00:03:57] [SPEAKER_00]: They became the LA.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And the other interesting piece to that was the Lakers hired his

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_00]: college coach to become his coach in the NBA Fred Schauss, which

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_00]: is very interesting thing.

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Many went with the Lakers and played with them for what?

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: About 14 or 15 years, 14 years, I believe.

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_00]: And he had a tremendous career and interesting trivia for your

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00]: friends, who is the only guy to be a finals MVP without winning

[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_00]: the championship.

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was West in 69.

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_00]: That was the series where he had 53 and 41 in the first two games.

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm trying to remember, I was thinking about it before.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Boston lost those two games.

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_00]: They won the next two.

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_00]: If I remember right, Boston did everything they could to shut them down.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: They would double it and so on.

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Everything at him they possibly could to take him away because he was that good.

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And don't forget, that team had Wilt and Elgin Baylor on the team.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: He was the factor that was just going crazy on Boston.

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And fortunately, Havlicek had a pretty good series as well.

[00:05:03] [SPEAKER_00]: But that was the amazing part of West.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, if you've ever read his book, which is a great book, West will talk

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00]: about how those games, those series, all the losses to Boston really ate him up

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: and really did a lot to him.

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_00]: But in my mind as a player, I haven't seen many guards as good as him

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00]: and also as total players.

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Most great guards or great players are offensive players, not both.

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Jerry West was both.

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And Jerry West was real.

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_00]: In that day, it was him and Arthur.

[00:05:42] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was a little argument.

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Arthur usually won about who was better, but they were head and shoulders above everybody

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_00]: as great guards.

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And this was I didn't see Bob Cousy.

[00:05:52] [SPEAKER_00]: I barely remember as a little kid seeing him.

[00:05:56] [SPEAKER_00]: But this was after Bob Cousy played.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: So it gives you a little bit about West and what he could do.

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Just an incredible player.

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_00]: They did win a title in 72, I believe they beat the buck, but they lost twice to the next.

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: In the famous 69 series where Willis came out, all beat up.

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_00]: But in that series, West made that 60 footer to put a game at the overtime.

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Which would have won it today as a three pointer.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's the amazing thing.

[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Jerry West probably again, and forget the point totals and all that.

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_00]: He would have scored a hell of a lot more points if the three point line was there.

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_00]: He could shoot.

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_00]: The interesting thing too, if you ever watch tape of him, he's usually always going

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_00]: right with the ball, but again, he was just unstoppable.

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_00]: It just a shooter in game seven in 69.

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_00]: It's one of my early memories against Boston.

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00]: They were down by 13, 14 and going into the fourth quarter.

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_00]: And if you like a one man gang, went to the game and just what do you do?

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_00]: How do you stop this guy?

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_00]: You don't, you don't is the answer.

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_00]: So it wrote some of the things I remembered about.

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_01]: There were two things that stuck me.

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_01]: And I did a little research rate preparation for this conversation.

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_01]: First up, I saw the force quarter of that game in 1969 and it was

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_01]: just blown away by the scale.

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_01]: It's amazing watching him take over the game.

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_01]: He was just the head and shoulders above everybody else.

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_01]: And you feel like you watching it.

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_01]: He made up his mind.

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to, I'm putting these, the Lakers on my back and I'm

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_01]: going to go, I'm going to go get this game.

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_01]: And he almost did.

[00:07:29] [SPEAKER_01]: But the other thing that shocked me because I did not realize it was.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_01]: He was a good defender, right?

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Four time.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_01]: We brought it up for 10 first team.

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_01]: What was he, let me ask you this way.

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Cause the other thing I didn't know Oscar Robertson and him were

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_01]: drafted in the same class.

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Honestly, we went first and enjoying with second, which is unbelievable.

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_01]: But was he the first really good guard that put an emphasis on defense?

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_00]: After did too.

[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Oscar could play too.

[00:07:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:07:57] [SPEAKER_00]: He was good ball.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_00]: He's good all around player also.

[00:08:00] [SPEAKER_00]: They both were.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_00]: And I think there was some number of guys that had good reputations.

[00:08:05] [SPEAKER_00]: A little bit later, Wolf Reza comes along.

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_00]: He was considered a great defender.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: John Havelcheck was a great defender as he was more of a guard forward.

[00:08:14] [SPEAKER_00]: He's six five at that time.

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_00]: That would be like a three in the game.

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, those were good defenders, but West just did it all.

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_00]: And, and I was just reading a little bit to care for this and

[00:08:25] [SPEAKER_00]: it said something interesting.

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I didn't know in game net 69 series.

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Game three Boston doubled them a lot, but more importantly,

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_00]: he was running out of gas because he was doing so much to the Lakers.

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_00]: But he still was able to play a game seven, the way he did.

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_00]: And Boston, if I remember correctly, they threw everything at him,

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_00]: every way they could trying to stop him.

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Other years, that was the first, maybe the first time that the Lakers

[00:08:53] [SPEAKER_00]: had the better team in the finals.

[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Other years, the Celtics were better and the Lakers came close.

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And I think to his death, I think losing all those series

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_00]: was like a killer for him, losing eight series in the hole was a killer.

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_00]: The other interesting thing was he and Bill Russell became pretty good friends

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_00]: after they were both out of the game, which Russell was his tormentor.

[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_00]: But he still what how good Russell was.

[00:09:21] [SPEAKER_00]: You showed film now of him.

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Just incredible.

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Just my lights.

[00:09:27] [SPEAKER_01]: So I got to ask you, because you mentioned that he was the only player

[00:09:32] [SPEAKER_01]: to ever get finals MVP on the losing side.

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Right. And I think personally, if my team wins,

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_01]: I won't take offense to that man.

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_01]: It's like, how can the losing team win the finals?

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Let me get a mini sense.

[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Did did Boston accept that?

[00:09:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Did they care? Yeah, there was no doubt.

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_00]: There was no doubt he was about.

[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Hablicek was the other good player in that series.

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_00]: He had a bunch of points in the first two games also.

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_00]: But there was no doubt that Jerry West was head and shoulders over everybody.

[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_00]: And that was a series.

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Don't forget, that was the series where Will with five minutes left

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER_00]: in game four, game seven, went out on current and then wanted to go back.

[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_00]: So the attention really wasn't on that.

[00:10:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And don't forget, I think that might have been the first MVP ever in the finals.

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_00]: So there wasn't like it is now.

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, that attention given to it wasn't important at that time when it was.

[00:10:29] [SPEAKER_00]: And so people didn't quite like even think of it that way.

[00:10:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And he was so dominant that there was really little choice

[00:10:37] [SPEAKER_00]: they had to make in giving it to him.

[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Wow. Let's.

[00:10:43] [SPEAKER_00]: We always say we didn't get into his executive career

[00:10:46] [SPEAKER_00]: and his coach, he coached for three years.

[00:10:49] [SPEAKER_00]: More importantly, as an executive, he won with two different groups,

[00:10:53] [SPEAKER_00]: which is pretty difficult in the game as a Laker executive.

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_00]: And meeting the Shaq group and then earlier.

[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. And earlier than that, he won with the with Gasol,

[00:11:06] [SPEAKER_00]: I believe, in that group and Colby.

[00:11:09] [SPEAKER_00]: But he also he worked with the Warriors. Right.

[00:11:13] [SPEAKER_00]: And for three years, he was a consultant

[00:11:15] [SPEAKER_00]: and everyone level titles, wines with them.

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And also he was the GM of the Memphis Grizzlies

[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_00]: for a couple of years in between.

[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_00]: And I think he had a little feud at the end with Jerry.

[00:11:27] [SPEAKER_00]: It would not Jerry Buss with his daughter,

[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_00]: where he didn't want any part of Lakers.

[00:11:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's so sad that still stings here in L.A.

[00:11:35] [SPEAKER_01]: We finished his career impacting the Los Angeles Clippers

[00:11:38] [SPEAKER_01]: and a big impact on from the Clippers franchise.

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, his career didn't end well, unfortunately, in Los Angeles.

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_01]: And which is sad, but you bring up a great point.

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_01]: He was not only just a phenomenal player,

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_01]: but just an incredibly impactful executive.

[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Had an impact on both sides, which is pretty rare.

[00:12:00] [SPEAKER_01]: I got to ask you, and this is always my favorite question

[00:12:02] [SPEAKER_01]: to ask when we talk about these players,

[00:12:05] [SPEAKER_01]: who in the modern game most resembles Jerry West?

[00:12:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Colby. But I'll say this.

[00:12:14] [SPEAKER_00]: I think Jerry West was better.

[00:12:17] [SPEAKER_00]: But Colby would be Colby defended, Colby could score, Colby can do everything.

[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And so could Jerry West.

[00:12:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, if you're going to put a Mount Rushmore from the 60s and 70s.

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_00]: I think he's on there.

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, that's a very difficult thing to say because you got some great

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_00]: players that played Russell and Chamberlain right off as well as others,

[00:12:39] [SPEAKER_00]: but an Elgin Baylor and so on.

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_00]: But you have to you have to think about putting in Cousy

[00:12:45] [SPEAKER_00]: and thinking players at the top of my head.

[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_00]: But I have to think that Jerry West would be element.

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's really I love that you said Colby, right?

[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Because when I started to really become a fan of the game

[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_01]: and I had been a while at this point, but I know how instrumental

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Jerry West was in bringing Colby to Los Angeles.

[00:13:05] [SPEAKER_01]: He saw the 17 year old kid and he sold Shaq on the 17 year old kid.

[00:13:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Basically traded everybody to bring in Shaq and then

[00:13:14] [SPEAKER_00]: he didn't trade. He was a free agent Shaq.

[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_01]: He let go.

[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_01]: He said essentially he cleared house to have the money to bring in Shaq.

[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Essentially what the Lakers have always done is never develop.

[00:13:25] [SPEAKER_00]: They brought players in that.

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_00]: That's what the big show will be Showtime.

[00:13:29] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's how the Lakers are.

[00:13:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Other teams develop, but everybody wants to play in L.A.

[00:13:34] [SPEAKER_00]: So they're able to go out when they have the money

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_00]: and get the free agent they want.

[00:13:39] [SPEAKER_00]: That's just the way it works.

[00:13:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And the Lakers are smart and taking advantage of being in L.A.

[00:13:44] [SPEAKER_00]: So it works where other outside of New York

[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_00]: and the Knicks have not always been the most smartest in doing things.

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_00]: But outside of New York,

[00:13:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think many players want to go to Memphis.

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Many players want to play them in the South.

[00:14:01] [SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, so that's a major thing.

[00:14:04] [SPEAKER_00]: And he did sign Shaq and he did move things.

[00:14:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And the other thing I want to correct you on, and this is very interesting.

[00:14:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Kobe told a bunch of teams he wasn't going to play with them.

[00:14:19] [SPEAKER_00]: And he fell into the Lakers' lap, meaning Kobe picked his team.

[00:14:24] [SPEAKER_00]: When you go back and look at it, Kobe, I believe

[00:14:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Charlotte maybe, and I think the Nets had a chance to take him.

[00:14:31] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not positive on that.

[00:14:33] [SPEAKER_00]: But Kobe didn't.

[00:14:34] [SPEAKER_00]: He wanted to go for it.

[00:14:35] [SPEAKER_00]: And he wanted to go.

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_00]: And it worked out quite well.

[00:14:40] [SPEAKER_00]: And you know, people miss.

[00:14:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Kobe's first year, he was not, he struggled.

[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_00]: First two years.

[00:14:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:14:47] [SPEAKER_01]: So he was a kid, right?

[00:14:48] [SPEAKER_01]: He was a kid playing a grown man's game and it looked like it.

[00:14:52] [SPEAKER_01]: The thing is, he still had that incredible confidence.

[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_01]: So he took, he kept taking the shots he shouldn't have.

[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_01]: But the Lakers and Jerry West finagled that trade with Charlotte,

[00:15:02] [SPEAKER_01]: rotting Kobe.

[00:15:04] [SPEAKER_01]: But I love that you compared the two because these two.

[00:15:06] [SPEAKER_01]: They're late forever.

[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Couple interesting things, too, I didn't even bring up.

[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_00]: He was an Olympic champ in 1960.

[00:15:14] [SPEAKER_00]: All college player of the year.

[00:15:16] [SPEAKER_00]: West Virginia.

[00:15:17] [SPEAKER_00]: There's so many other things that Jerry West did that people aren't

[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_00]: aware of and don't realize how good he is.

[00:15:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Like I said, a great book.

[00:15:27] [SPEAKER_00]: He I think it was an autobiography, but a couple of years ago came out

[00:15:30] [SPEAKER_00]: along his life.

[00:15:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And it's excellent.

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_00]: It's an excellent read.

[00:15:33] [SPEAKER_00]: The other thing, too, he was wrapped really tight.

[00:15:36] [SPEAKER_00]: As a Laker GM, he couldn't watch games.

[00:15:39] [SPEAKER_00]: He really never got over losing to the Celtics all those times.

[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_00]: So he was really wrapped very tight in a lot of ways.

[00:15:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's probably what propelled him to being so great.

[00:15:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, God, you know, it's like the curse, right?

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_01]: It's it's the curse that drives you.

[00:15:57] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that probably had a lot to do with why he was the logo

[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_01]: and as good as he was.

[00:16:02] [SPEAKER_01]: And it's timely.

[00:16:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[00:16:03] [SPEAKER_01]: He just passed away just a few months ago, June of this year, but in all time.

[00:16:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Great.

[00:16:09] [SPEAKER_01]: And what a great conversation.

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_01]: I again, I just really enjoyed these talks.

[00:16:13] [SPEAKER_01]: I enjoy learning more about these players and excited to, to

[00:16:16] [SPEAKER_01]: find out who is next.

[00:16:18] [SPEAKER_01]: I think there's the thing we're tossing around right now is going

[00:16:21] [SPEAKER_01]: back to Boston for a 1970s.

[00:16:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Great.

[00:16:24] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll see where that lands.

[00:16:26] [SPEAKER_01]: But that's it.

[00:16:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Hope you enjoyed learning about Jerry West, learning more

[00:16:29] [SPEAKER_01]: about the great Jerry West.

[00:16:30] [SPEAKER_01]: We do have some people that we think we'd like to discuss, but if you've

[00:16:34] [SPEAKER_01]: got somebody in mind, please let us know.

[00:16:36] [SPEAKER_01]: We'd love to hear from you as always.

[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Please subscribe, leave a comment.

[00:16:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, that stuff means so much.

[00:16:42] [SPEAKER_01]: And we appreciate you taking the time to listen.

[00:16:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Join us again next week on 13 rules over time when we discuss another

[00:16:49] [SPEAKER_01]: NBA great from the 60s, 70s and 80s.

[00:16:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks Steve.

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you.