Out of all the players in basketball history, there is only one that represents all of the NBA. That’s ‘’Mr. Logo” himself, Jerry West. West was such an iconic player that he is the silhouette of the NBA logo.

Born May 28, 1938, to a poor family and raised by an abusive father in a small town in West Virginia, West was an unlikely All-American. He trained by shooting baskets in his neighbor’s yard all day, often being late to dinner. In high school, his coaches and teammates immediately saw his winning potential. He led East Bank High School to the state title his senior year in 1956.

West had his choice of 60 colleges who wanted him to play, but he chose to stay close to home attending West Virginia University. He earned many awards throughout his time at WVU and led the Mountaineers to an NCAA Championship, winning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award in 1959. West led his team to three consecutive conference championships while at WVU. West once broke his nose in a game and bled so much that his teammates couldn’t look at him. They won an upset victory that game against the top ranked Kentucky Wildcats.

West was chosen for Team USA in the 1960 Olympics. He led them to eight wins and the gold medal. In the NBA draft, he was picked second overall by the Los Angeles Lakers where he played his entire career. He won many awards including 12 All-Star appearances and MVPs. Even though West was on the losing team, he won the finals MVP award in 1969, the only player in history to win despite losing the game. He played in nine NBA Finals in his 14 year career. He would go on to win eight championship rings with the Lakers as a member of their front office, including being General Manager for the team. 

In 1980, West was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was named one the 50 greatest players in NBA history by the league; he was again named one of the 50 greatest players in the league's updated 75th anniversary list in 2021.

West was quoted as saying, “If you don’t think you can, you won’t.” In every close game he played, while all of the other players were scared to lose the game, West would make a plan to win. “I'm just ultra competitive,” West once said. “I will be till they put me in the grave.” He kept on thinking like that until his death on June 12, 2024.