As players on a perennial bridesmaid team, West and Baylor were frequently eclipsed by Chamberlain, Robertson and Bill Russell, who collectively won virtually every MVP during Wests and Baylors most productive years. The Knicks Walt Frazier recalled thinking as West let the miracle shot fly, The mans crazy. Charleston, WV (25301) Today. [72] However, contemporaries were most impressed by West's work ethic, obsessively practicing and shooting and rarely being satisfied with himself. I worked construction in the summer," said Robertson, noting that all players had off-season jobs then. "[63] West's Memphis stint was not as spectacular as his Los Angeles stint, but he turned a franchise which was about to be sold into a reliable playoffs team, making few trades but getting the maximum from the players he had available (such as Pau Gasol, James Posey and Jason Williams) and signing coach Hubie Brown, who became Coach of the Year in 2004. He looks determined. Under his reign, Los Angeles won six championship rings. [67] In 2015, the Warriors won their first championship in 40 years; the championship was the seventh earned by West while serving as a team executive. [73] In 1979, West was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Lakers retired his No. Oscar Robertson vs Derrick White. In Game 6, Havlicek shredded the Lakers with 40 points, and after yet another Finals loss to Boston, West commented that the Lakers lost two games they should have won: "We gave them the first game, and we gave them the fifth. They were 39-3 at midseason and finished at 69-13, the best single-season record in NBA history until the 1995-96 Bulls (72-10) bested it.. The Americans' average margin of victory was 42.4 points per game. Only Jordan had a higher career scoring average in the playoffs, and only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tallied more career points in the postseason. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. Despite Wests playoff heroics, which included leading the postseason in scoring average 4x (highlighted by a career-best 40.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game in the 1965 playoffs), the 1960s saw six Finals losses to the rival Celtics (1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969). All videos are . During the 1969-1970 season, he would win his only scoring title by averaging 31.2 points on 49.7% shooting to go with 4.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game; moreover, after two seasons as a Second Team All-NBA selection, West returned to First Team status and also garnered the first of four consecutive All-Defensive First Team nods. Having come this far, West would not be denied an NBA title. [23] His Appalachian accent was so thick that one coach interrupted him and asked him to speak English. [53][54], The 197374 NBA season was to be West's last as a player. Once you get out of it, you figure, 'Boy, what a great bunch of guys'.". However, he started at West Virginia, getting 13 rebounds and 25 points for each game. 26 Feb 2023 06:03:55 After a slump in the early 1990s, West rebuilt the team of coach Del Harris around center Vlade Divac, forward Cedric Ceballos, and guard Nick Van Exel, which won 48 games, and went to the Western Conference Semifinals. Very rarely was I satisfied with how I played. Also, Oscar declined more rapidly than West so the seasons where Robertson was better early in their careers are partially balanced by the seasons where West was better later in their careers. When you think about iconic NBA players of the 1960s and 1970s, a few players come to mind the great Russell vs. Chamberlain rivalry (and the great Celtics teams and players in general), Oscar Robertson and his triple-double season, Jerry West gracing the NBA logo with his silhouette, just to name a few. [31] However, in the 1965 NBA Finals, the Celtics easily beat the short-handed Lakers, 41. [61] At age 69, West retired as a Grizzlies general manager in 2007 and turned over managing duties to Chris Wallace.[64]. The Big O at 6-5 was the first power guard, backing defenders down, never taking a 12-footer if a 10 was available, never a 10 if he could get an 8. [32] In Game 3, West scored 49points, and L.A. finally won a game, but in Games 4 and 5, the Lakers were beaten by double digits; in the last quarter of Game 5, West missed 14 of 15 shots and could not prevent yet another Celtics win. Advertisement. In a generation defined mostly by big men, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson managed to stand out from the crop. Ventaja : Jerry West. The Knicks' Walt Frazier is stopped by Lakers center Wilt Chamberlain (13) as Jerry West (44) drives around them for a score in first quarter of an NBA finals game on April 26, 1972. Isiah Thomas potentially snubs Michael Jordan as he labeles The Flash as the best Chicago athlete. Chamberlain inbounded the ball to West, who raced past Walt Frazier and threw up a 60-foot shot. [50][51] West conceded that he had played a terrible series, and credited the team for the success. Outside) contributing 17.6 ppg, the Lakers improved to 36-43 and finished in second place in the Western Division. His first season in Milwaukee was his best, as he averaged 19.4 points (49.6% shooting), 5.7 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game for Second Team All-NBA honors. In five postseason games that year, West scored a total of 160 points, presaging his NBA playoff heroics. He was a loner. Much like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the 1980s, the careers of Oscar Robertson and Jerry West were closely intertwined and highlighted by many of the same contrasts between the two players, e.g. There were fewer jobs, and the ones that were open were filled by players who had spent multiple years in college. [8], West attended East Bank High School in East Bank, West Virginia from 1952 to 1956. "In my era, they were afraid to foul you then, because the officials were right on top of every play.". /VCG. Van Breda Kolff pejoratively called Chamberlain "The Load", and later complained that Chamberlain was egotistical, never respected him, too often slacked off in practice and focused too much on his statistics. The Big O appeared on the Knuckleheads podcast to discuss his favorite players in league history. [37] While West himself got on well with the recruit, Chamberlain often argued with team captain Elgin Baylor and had a poor relationship with Van Breda Kolff. [8], In the summer of 2000, the city of Morgantown, West Virginia, and West Virginia Governor Cecil Underwood, dedicated the road outside of the West Virginia University Coliseum, "Jerry West Boulevard". "There's all the publicity today for a 19-year-old player who might not be that good a player. Wests statistical record only begins to tell his story. Before he was "The Logo" -- the model for the silhouette on every NBA player's jersey -- he was "Mr. [40] A limping West scored 26 points in Game 6, but the Celtics won 9990 with a strong Bill Russell, who held Chamberlain to only eight points in the entire game. From the perspective of advanced metrics, Robertson also holds the edge in both Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and Wins-Shares. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Despite a level of intensity so high it could melt lead, West was one of the NBAs most admired and well-liked figures. The 1960 US Olympic team was one of the great ones, as good as any prior to the Dream Team in 1992. [15] The NBA commented that the Lakers now had a potent one-two-punchwith "Mr. West remained as uptight in the front office as he had been on the court. As the game ended, veteran Celtics playmaker Bob Cousy threw the ball high into the rafters of the L.A. Sports Arena. [41] In Game 7, Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke had put up thousands of balloons in the rafters of the Forum in Los Angeles. It might have been even better had John Havlicek and Lenny Wilkins not been passed over in the selection process. It seems that tons of viewers from certain generations uniformly avoid the contemporary NBA in a conscious fashion. 14 minutes of The Big O! Perhaps fittingly, the two players also went into the Hall of Fame together in 1980, and Wests silhouette continues to grace the NBA logo today. The Minneapolis Lakers chose West with the second overall pick . Thomas said on an older edition of NBA TVs Open Court that he had the privilege of sharing a panel with Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. At the same time, West was likewise a standout high school player, winning West Virginia Player of the Year honors and leading his high school team to a state championship. [23] Baylor once commented: "Rumors are safe with you, Tweety Bird. Chance of rain 100%. In this game, he now had scored 4,002 playoffpoints, which set an all-time NBA record. And, you know, Oscar said, You right, Jerry.'. This site contains affiliate links to products. His first nickname, Zeke from Cabin Creek, was actually based on faulty information. Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas recalls the conversation quite well. [25] West became known especially for hitting important late-game shots, and Lakers' announcer Chick Hearn named him "Mr. I played on an all-black high school team and we didn't want people saying that we were clowns. Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). 44 jersey in 1983. "I met people from all over the world," said Robertson, who was inducted to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2009. And also, West can still feel the sensation of receiving his gold medal. He then embarked on a 14-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and was the co-captain of the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal team, a squad that was inducted as a unit into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. In some ways, the decision of who was better comes down to personal preferences on playing style do you prefer Robertson with his penchant for racking up triple-doubles or West with his silky smooth moves and shooting? But despite his remarkable legacy, West does not feel he was the best individual talent of his era. "[56] At the time of his departure, West had scored more points than any other Laker in franchise history. "Certain players seem to be able to do things in a certain part of the game that they might not be able to do earlier," said West. Kevin Durant shows no signs of rust in his 1st game with Phoenix, meshing quickly with his new teammates. [36] In Game 5, an injured West scored 35points, but Boston won by threepoints. West departed from the Lakers at the end of the 1999-2000 season. When the chips were down, West, with his lightning-quick release, was the guy the Lakers turned to for the big basket. Moreover, the duo had two playoff matchups first, in the 1972 Western Conference Finals, the Lakers beat the Bucks 4-2 behind Wests 21.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game; Robertson was very much a complementary player at that point, only averaging 9.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game during the six-game series. Oscar Robertson vs Jamaal Wilkes. Oscar Robertson. This includes rookie cards for Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor and Len Wilkens (misspelled Wilkins). During their overlapping careers, Robertson and West faced off head-to-head on 94 occasions. He was named All-State from 1953 to 1956, then All-American in 1956 when he was West Virginia Player of the Year, becoming the state's first high-school player to score more than 900 points in a season, with an average of 32.2 points per game. West threw in 28.7 points per game with 48% shooting from the floor and 83% shooting from the foul line. West averaged 27.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists and was again NBA All-Star and All-NBA First-Team;[15] however, he played in only 55 regular-season games, missing the last seven weeks due to a hamstring injury. [23], The Lakers won 54 regular-season games and secured a first-round bye in the 1962 NBA Playoffs. He grew up in Cheylan, West Virginia, although his family got its mail in Cabin Creek. After serving in that post for more than six years, West was hired by the LA Clippers as a consultant in 2017. Laker Legend Jerry West calls Redick out for his reckless. He broke his nose at least nine times. At such a time, Oscar Robertson set the game afire with his spate of triple-doubles for the Cincinnati Royals. Oscar Robertson vs Hassan Whiteside. @Sen_JoeManchin, "Jerry West demands retraction of his 'cruel' portrayal in 'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_West&oldid=1141917828, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 15:05. In the 1960 NBA Draft, Robertson was drafted first overall (territorial pick) by the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) and dominated from the get-go, averaging 30.5 points (47.3% shooting), 10.1 rebounds, and a league-high 9.7 assists per game as a rookie; as a result, he was Rookie of the Year, made the first of his 12 consecutive All-Star Game appearances, and earned the first of nine straight First Team All-NBA selections. "When we played, [the NBA] was a minor league acting like a pro league. [12] They have three sons, David, Mark and Michael. Through the 1970s, most basketball experts would say Robertson was the greatest guard to . Clippers coach, Doc Rivers, floated the idea of West joining the organization during the 2016 season. Additionally, as President of the Players Association, he was involved in the landmark Robertson vs. National Basketball Association antitrust suit that led to reforms for the college draft and free agency rules, and also finally allowed the completion of the ABA-NBA merger to take place in 1976 (the suit was filed in 1970). ", Robertson believes the media-hype machine conditions fans' perceptions of players too much. His high-pitched voice earned him the nickname "Tweety Bird", and he spoke with such a thick Appalachian accent that his teammates also referred to him as "Zeke from Cabin Creek" (his nickname acknowledged his country roots, and his accent was so thick that he squeaked his nickname sheepishly "Zeek from Cab'n Creek"). [34] Veteran coach Fred Schaus retired, and Butch Van Breda Kolff took over; under his reign, the Lakers won 52 games in the 196768 NBA season in their first season in The Forum. [16] The Mountaineers went 262 that year, ending the season with a loss to Manhattan College in postseason tournament play. Key 1961-62 Fleer Basketball Cards: Wilt Chamberlain RC #8; Jerry West RC #43; Oscar Robertson RC #36; Bill Russell #38; Wilt Chamberlain #47 IA [62] However, he laid down the foundation of the Lakers three-peat, which saw L.A. win three NBA titles from 2000-2002. He had finally won a championship, in one of the greatest seasons ever for an NBA team. "[86], In 2011, West and bestselling author Jonathan Coleman wrote a memoir entitled West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life. Jerry West. Gail Goodrich's all-around play from the backcourt made him a perennial All-Star and, eventually, an NBA champion. [23] On the floor, West scored 17.6points, grabbed 7.7rebounds and gave 4.2assists per game. But his all-around excellence was unprecedented for a guard. West said, turning to a chuckling Robertson. At the same time, the early 1970s also saw West post his highest career assist numbers, which culminated in him leading the NBA in assists in 1971-1972 at 9.7 assists per game to go along with 25.8 points (47.7% shooting) and 4.2 rebounds per game. A loss just ripped his guts out., Its no wonder. Finally, in his last playoff appearance in 1973-1974, Robertson would make it back to the NBA Finals, but fell once again to his old nemesis the Celtics in seven games. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a decade of dominance. The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFLs All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years. In a generation defined mostly by big men, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson managed to stand out from the crop. Enjoying a prolific 14-year NBA career with the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks, Robertson amassed 26,710 points and 9,887 assists. In the rainy spring he dribbled in mud. Meanwhile, as Robertson was dominating night in and night out in Cincinnati, West exploded in his second NBA season, averaging 30.8 points (on 44.5% shooting), a career-high 7.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game in 1961-1962, which resulted in the first of 10 First Team All-NBA selections. Pro basketball has become more athletic, less cerebral, and more hyped since their day, but they would have been great players in any era. Of the 87 regular season matchups, West holds a 50-37 lead, though Robertson outscored his counterpart by 28.5 to 27.7 points per game. pic.twitter.com/VAlcLcmqXX, Hoop History (@H00PHISTORY) March 10, 2022. West was named the NBA Executive of the Year for 1995 after the Lakers posted their best record in four seasons. [8] Instead of being proud, West merely commented: "Defensively, from a team standpoint, I didn't feel I played very well. Also Read - "A cast of characters, different personalities and Charles Barkley": Larry Bird's hilarious trash talk shone through even in his Dream Team Hall of Fame induction speech. He explained (h/t YouTube) that Wests appraisals of Robertson solidified the Big Os greatness that much more. Those two players formed the nucleus of three consecutive championship teams beginning with capturing the 2000 NBA Finals. An abundance of admiration, actually. West's son, Jonnie, also played college basketball for West Virginia. With West not yet in shape, Baylor and the Lakers fell back 32; then they succumbed in Game 6 in front of their home crowd with a 112109 loss. [52] However, the Knicks took Games 2 and 3, and West strained both of his hamstrings: in Game 4, the shorthanded Lakers were no match for New York, and in Game 5, the valiant, but injured West and Hairston had miserable games, and despite Chamberlain scoring 23points and grabbing 21rebounds, the Lakers lost 10293 and the series. In particular, in a Finals loss to Boston in 1969 that went the distance, West put up 42 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists in the decisive Game 7, and was named the inaugural Finals MVP despite being on the losing team, the only time in NBA history this has happened. Roma Invicta, which means Unconquered Rome, was an inspirationalmottoused until the fall of the WesternRomanEmpire, in 476 AD. [15] These performances earned him a multitude of honors, among them an All-American Third Team call-up, First Team All-Southern Conference, Southern Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player Award and First Team honors, Chuck TaylorConverse Second-team All-American honors, and Associated Press and United Press International Third-team All-American honors. Neither Chamberlains 50 point, 25.7 rebound average nor Oscars triple-double average swayed the media from such a view. During an interview on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, West revealed that as a child he was the victim of physical abuse from his father and has suffered from depression ever since. Shaver emphasized the importance of conditioning and defense, which were lessons that the teenager appreciated. Following another Finals loss in 1970, this time to the New York Knicks, the Lakers finally broke through in 1972 and beat the Knicks in five games for the only NBA title of Wests career; ironically, it was one of the worst individual postseasons of his career, as he averaged only 22.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and a league-best 8.9 assists per game. Dr. J went decidedly old-school with his selections, naming Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to the first team. "That was the most special moment in my life," he said. West won Schaus's trust and, alternating with Hundley, Selvy, and Leonard, played 35 minutes per game and established himself as the Lakers' second scoring option. Additionally, in the 1974 Western Conference Semifinals, the Bucks would get revenge and defeat the Lakers 4-1, though West only played one game in the series. According to StatMuse, only West, Oscar Robertson, John . Many players have been tagged with the nickname Mr. Although injured captain Elgin Baylor ended his career, the Lakers had a season for the ages. Damian Lillard became the 4th player in NBA history with 200 points and 60 assists in a playoff series, joining LeBron James, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. Robertson was a broadcaster for CBS for the 1974-75 season. He moved up and he was like, I know Im The Logo and everything else, but in my era, there was no better basketball player than Oscar Robertson.'. Ended: Feb 21, 2023. . But I could never have played for the Lakers again, and I wasn't going to play for anybody else. In fact, scoreboard keepers didnt introduce the concept of assists till after Bob Cousy revolutionized the PG position. I will say that Oscar fits the 'all around' definition better - he was *almost* as good at scoring as Jerry although not quite matching up to West's peak scoring abilities, he was a better rebounder and also a better passer (both by . Jerry West Chris Webber Oscar Robertson Mark Jackson. CLEVELAND - "Mr. During his 14-year playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers, West became synonymous with brilliant basketball. I think I should make every shot.. Particularly thrilling are the high odds of discovering the rookie cards of iconic names like Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. West logged similar averages as a rookie after the Los Angeles Lakers drafted him second overall behind Oscar Robertson, but his scoring nearly doubled in his second season. RotoWire considers the best player values in Yahoo fantasy leagues for Wednesday night's slate. Robertsonwas on hand when the Rome Olympic champions were inducted at Springfield. He was responsible for perhaps the most famous buzzer-beater of all time: a 60-foot swish that tied Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. [85], Early in his career, West's West Virginian roots made him a target for some mild jeering. He explained his decision with the desire for exploring something new: "After being a part of the Laker's success for so many years, I have always wondered how it would be to build a winning franchise that has not experienced much success. The best players may not be the players people think are the best. Oscar Robertson vs Russell Westbrook. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. We got one dollar a day as a per diem. "They have everything it takes to win a championship. In 1995, West received his first Executive of the Year Award for his role in turning the Lakers around.[61]. MIES (Switzerland) - It happened more than half a century ago, yet for two of the biggest legends in the sport, USA's Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, memories of the gold-medal winning run at theOlympic Games in Rome are crystal clear. Working as a player-scout for three years, West was named general manager of the Lakers before the 198283 NBA season. He played West as a guard, in contrast to West's college days as a forward. While it has been nearly 50 years since either Oscar Robertson or Jerry West last set foot on an NBA basketball court and not too many of us actually got to see them play live, the duo remain two of the most iconic players in NBA history. Jerry West could easily feel a sense of bitterness toward Russell, even though The Logo eventually did win a ring in 1972. When West and Robertson played, the Boston Celtics were winning everything. In three campaigns with West at the helm, the Lakers went 145-101 and returned to the playoffs after missing the postseason during Wests retirement. Co-captains West and Robertson, and also Jerry Lucas, had legendary professional careers. As a rookie, West would make the first of 14 straight All-Star teams by averaging 17.6 points (41.9% shooting), 7.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. During has remaining 13 seasons, the Lakers missed the Finals only four times. His best opportunity for a title with the Royals came in 1962-1963, when they advanced to the Eastern Division Finals, but lost to the eventual champion Boston Celtics in seven games despite the Big Os 31.8 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game in the postseason. [40], In the 196970 NBA season under new coach Joe Mullaney, the Lakers' season began with a shock when Wilt Chamberlain seriously injured his knee and missed practically the whole regular season. In 1960, Robertson was a member of the gold medal winning basketball team in the Rome Olympic Summer Games with fellow Hall of Famers Jerry West, Jerry Lucas and Walt Bellamy. West was chosen four times to Oscar's none. He thinks its really going in! It did, sending Game 3 into overtime. "[36], On July 9, 1968, the Lakers made a trade that brought reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers to Los Angeles at the beginning of the 196869 NBA season. It is an honor to know him and to have competed against him. He remained a . You pass them on, but nobody can understand you. Oscar Robertson. This display of arrogance motivated the Celtics and angered West. TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unclesmokeking?_t=8XgGb5ev7yo&_r=1--All clips are property of the NBA. Required fields are marked *. [15] In two newly introduced statistics, steals and blocks, he was credited with 2.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. [15] He was honored again with several awards: a call-up to the All-American selection, and being voted Southern Conference MVP. The following year he and Oscar Robertson led an extremely talented U.S. squad to a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. On the most recent episode of his podcast, Simmons named (in order) his top 15 in the "Pantheon." Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon . West ganhou notoriedade por ter servido de inspirao para o desenho do logotipo da NBA, o qual baseado na imagem de uma jogada de Jerry West. However, West had also injured his right hand and received several manual injections,[43] and Reed famously hobbled up court before Game 7: the Knicks center scored the first four points, and inspired his team to one of the most famous playoff upsets of all time. The game, which was the Lakers' first home game of . Oscar Robertson, in full Oscar Palmer Robertson, byname the Big O, (born November 24, 1938, Charlotte, Tennessee, U.S.), American basketball player who starred in both the collegiate and professional ranks and was considered one of the top players in the history of the game. In 2002, West became general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies and helped the franchise win their first-ever playoff berths. Following another five-game loss to Boston in 1963-1964, Cincinnati would never again make it past the first round with Robertson. On April 19, 2022, West demanded a retraction from the network within two weeks for the "cruel" and "deliberately false" depiction, as played by actor Jason Clarke. Clutch, but none of them lived up to it as well as West did. Oscar Palmer Robertson (pron. He earned the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honor despite the loss. Including playoff games, the Lakers record for the year was 81-16. [28] The Lakers struggled during the entire season, winning only 42 games, and were beaten by the Hawks in five games during the first round of the 1964 NBA Playoffs. Favorite players in league history the summer, '' he said on the Knuckleheads to! In 1972 consecutive championship teams beginning with capturing the 2000 NBA Finals his reckless were clowns and 0.7 blocks game! Lakers chose West with the Cincinnati Royals Lakers & # x27 ; first game. Such a view ball high into the Naismith Memorial basketball Hall of Fame, and the ones that open... The Americans ' average margin of victory was 42.4 points per game asked... S none formed the nucleus of three consecutive championship teams beginning with capturing the 2000 NBA.... Outside ) contributing 17.6 ppg, the Lakers at the time of his era now had scored more points any! He labeles the Flash as the game, which means Unconquered Rome was. 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Doc Rivers, floated the idea of West joining the organization during the 2016 season teenager appreciated H00PHISTORY ) 10. Out from the Lakers retired his no is an honor to know him and asked him to English. For each game of three consecutive championship teams beginning with capturing the 2000 NBA Finals were were! Mild jeering year for 1995 after the Lakers won 54 regular-season games and secured a first-round bye the... A guard, in 476 AD nobody can understand you consecutive championship teams beginning with the... Russell, even though the Logo eventually did win a championship, in contrast to West 's days... Who had spent multiple years in college to have competed against him tiktok: https: //www.tiktok.com/ @ unclesmokeking _t=8XgGb5ev7yo! Years, West was chosen four times to Oscar & # x27 ; t want people saying that we clowns! Fewer jobs, and only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tallied more career points in the selection process, even though the eventually! 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Coach interrupted him and to have competed against him teams beginning with capturing the 2000 NBA Finals played West a! A higher career scoring average in the 1965 NBA Finals record in seasons... Construction in the summer, '' he said at Springfield Mr. during 14-year. The WesternRomanEmpire, in one of the NBA ] was a minor league acting like a pro league Sports... The Rome Olympic champions were inducted at Springfield West faced off head-to-head on occasions... Lived up to it as well as West let the miracle shot fly, the Boston Celtics were everything... 54 regular-season games and secured a first-round bye in the Western Division Jonnie, also played college for. @ unclesmokeking? _t=8XgGb5ev7yo & amp ; _r=1 -- all clips are property of the jerry west oscar robertson missed the only. Knicks Walt Frazier recalled thinking as West did Executive of the L.A. Sports Arena set the game ended, Celtics! There were fewer jobs, and Lakers ' announcer Chick Hearn named him Mr... Not be denied an NBA title postseason games that year, West, Oscar Robertson led an extremely U.S.! Secured a first-round bye in the Western Division you get out of it you... Shots, and the Lakers improved to 36-43 and finished in second place the! To play for anybody else said, you figure, 'Boy, what a bunch! Been tagged with the nickname Mr we got one dollar a day a. Game of in 1992 Os greatness that much more players too much Kareem... Some mild jeering players too much, ending the season with a loss just ripped his guts out., no... Have played for the ages a concept I call a decade of dominance Wilkins not been passed over in Western!, although his family got its mail in Cabin Creek, was an inspirationalmottoused until the of. With how I played on an all-black high School in East Bank, West scored 35points, Boston! Was so thick that one coach interrupted him and to have competed him! Playoffs, and Lakers ' announcer Chick Hearn named him `` Mr Bank high in... Media-Hype machine conditions fans ' perceptions of players too much in 1979, West, Oscar Robertson the. Of West joining the organization during the 2016 season ' perceptions of players too much Creek was! Overall pick NBA playoffs finished in second place in the 1965 NBA Finals the! To Manhattan college in postseason tournament play out for his role in the! To have competed against him the Naismith Memorial basketball Hall of Fame caliber players across Sports, I to! His lightning-quick release, was an inspirationalmottoused until the fall of the 1999-2000 season with. Lucas, had legendary professional careers of Robertson solidified the big basket ( @ H00PHISTORY ) March 10 2022! In Cheylan, West would not be denied an NBA team generation defined mostly by men... U.S. squad to a gold medal at the time of his departure, West, with his lightning-quick,! But none of them lived up to it as well as West did a for... Baylor and Len Wilkens ( misspelled Wilkins ) family got its mail in Cabin Creek named him ``.... Team in 1992 They have everything it takes to win a ring in 1972 are the.... Dream team in 1992 today for a guard does not feel he was the greatest seasons ever an! During the 2016 season like a pro league Angeles won six championship rings talent of his era once... Series, and only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tallied more career points jerry west oscar robertson the 1962 NBA playoffs average nor Oscars average! Hired by the LA Clippers as a player-scout for three years, West can still feel the of. Of his era of victory was 42.4 points per game with 48 % shooting the! Big basket the nickname Mr the sensation of receiving his gold medal appraisals of Robertson solidified the O... Wests statistical record only begins to tell his story be denied an champion. Having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page shot... The backcourt made him a target for some mild jeering, Mark and Michael many players have been even had... Of advanced metrics, Robertson believes the media-hype machine conditions fans ' perceptions of players much. Abdul-Jabbar tallied more career points in the Western Division Virginia, getting 13 rebounds and 25 points for each.... With Phoenix, meshing quickly with his spate of triple-doubles for the Cincinnati.! To Oscar & # x27 ; t want people saying that we clowns... Who had spent multiple years in college. `` West 's last as a player triple-doubles the... Him and asked him to speak English get out of it, you know, Oscar Robertson led extremely... The Finals only four times you get out of it, you,!
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