NBA Legend Jerry West Passed Away at Age 86

Legendary Los Angeles Lakers star and Hall of Famer Jerry West passed away on June 12, 2024. He was 86.

The Los Angeles Clippers executive, whose silhouette was the inspiration behind the iconic NBA logo, died peacefully with his wife, Karen, by his side, according to Clippers. A cause of death was not given.

Jerry — whom the Clippers called "the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him" — retired from his wildly successful playing career to become a successful front-office executive. He was credited with helping build the Showtime Lakers dynasty of the '80s, which included Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy.

In January 2017, the NBA legend ended up in the hospital after suffering a health scare at a country club in Southern California. Jerry, who was 78 at the time, fell while he was at the establishment, and paramedics immediately tended to the scene. An ambulance rushed the former basketball star to a nearby hospital to assess his injuries.

After undergoing a series of tests and observations, it appeared Jerry was going to be just fine, and the hospital released him after a brief stay. Since then, no other physical health scares were reported.

The MVP revealed that he’d struggled with mental health his entire life. During a segment of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO in 2011, Jerry admitted that depression plagued him since childhood. Growing up with an abusive father, the former NBA player lived in constant fear. "I would go to bed feeling like I didn't even want to live," he recounted to Bryant Gumbel.

During his 14-season stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, his depression worsened. Jerry would dwell on the team’s defeats and his perceived failures whenever the seasons ended. "He wouldn't speak for days at a time. It worried me," his wife Karen said.

In the HBO interview, Jerry revealed that he tried therapy to help with his mental health struggles but never followed through. Eventually, he turned to Prozac to treat his depression, which eased his symptoms.

In March 2022, HBO released Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, and Jerry demanded a retraction and apology over his portrayal in the series. Jerry’s attorney wrote a letter stating that "Winning Time falsely and cruelly portrays Mr. West as an out-of-control, intoxicated rage-aholic… You reduced the legacy of an 83-year-old legend and role model to that of a vulgar and unprofessional bully — the polar opposite of the real man."

Former Lakers legend and six-time NBA MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar immediately came to Jerry’s defense.

"It's a shame the way they treat Jerry West, who has openly discussed his struggle with mental health, especially depression," Kareem wrote on Substack, adding that it was a shame they didn't "[explore] his issues with compassion as a way to better understand the man."