Jerry West was known as “The Logo” because his silhouette as a legendary Los Angeles Lakers guard is the basis of the NBA’s official insignia, but his greatest achievement as a Laker was two decades after his retirement as a player.
It was the day he stole Shaquille O’Neal away from the Magic.
The night the lights went out in Orlando.
West, one of the NBA’s all-time greats, passed away Wednesday at 86 after a Hall of Fame career as a player and an executive, made him one of the most beloved figures in NBA history. However, he is not so revered among Magic fans, who most remember West for masterfully orchestrating the recruitment of Shaq away from Orlando to the Lakers.
West meticulously planned the heist well in advance and many in the Magic organization at the time believed he illegally tampered to get Shaq. Of course, there was no proof and maybe it was just sour grapes because West was so organized while the Magic, quite frankly, were indecisive and discombobulated during the Shaq negotiations.
West knew exactly what he was doing during one of the brief periods in NBA history where there was no “restricted free agency” for players coming off of their first contract like Shaq in 1996. Restricted free agency, of course, enables teams that draft a player to match any contract offer and keep that player.
However, one year before Shaq became a free agent, players threatened a lockout during the collective bargaining negotiations and restricted free agency was eliminated as part of the new deal. Two years later, restricted free agency returned, but it was too late for the Magic. West utilized the only window in NBA history — from 1995-98 — to acquire a young, emerging superstar from another team.
West blew up his roster and traded key players such as Vlade Divac to create the cap room to offer O’Neal a monster seven-year, $121 million deal. He sold Shaq’s agent Leonard Armato on the benefits of playing in L.A. and how it would increase Shaq’s financial opportunities in the music and movie industry.
West’s masterful plan set the stage for Shaq leaving Orlando, signing with the Lakers and combining with a young Kobe Bryant to win three consecutive championships (all three in which Shaq was NBA Finals MVP.)
“I was sitting at my home in Chicago watching the Olympics [in 1996] when a special bulletin came on and I happened to see the Big Fella holding a [Lakers] jersey standing next to Jerry West,” Nick Anderson, Shaq’s former Magic teammate, once told me. “I fell off the couch. Two minutes later, my phone rang and it was my dad calling to say, ‘You know, your championships just went to L.A.’ And how right he was. Our championships left and went to L.A.”
To this day, West’s move is still considered the greatest free-agent acquisition in NBA history and maybe even in sports history.
To Magic fans, though, the image of Jerry West is not his iconic silhouette on the NBA’s logo.
It is his haunting shadow that has forever darkened Orlando’s championship dreams. …
Short stuff: Did you see where players on Jim Valvano’s 1983 North Carolina State basketball team are suing the NCAA for retroactive NIL money more than 40 years after they upset the Phi Slama Jama Houston Cougars in the 1983 national championship game? Coming soon: The estate of Red Grange sues the NCAA and the College Football Hall of Fame for displaying old black-and-white photos of the Galloping Ghost from the 1920s. In related news, the descendants of Moses are suing for past NIL compensation, demanding a cut of all the Bibles he helped sell over the centuries and for movie royalties from “The Ten Commandments.” … I don’t know what’s worse — Caitlin Clark being left off of the women’s U.S. Olympics basketball team or Joey Chestnut being banned from the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Are these people intentionally trying to get fans not to watch their sports? What next: Radio City Music Hall telling the Rockettes to pack up their hats and gloves and get outta here? It seems to me like the U.S. basketball selection committee and Nathan’s Hot Dog organizers are all just a bunch of weenies. …
There were some U.S. fans for the Phillies-Mets series played a few days ago in London who wore T-shirts that said, “The British Blew a 13 Colony Lead.” Now that’s funny. … I don’t think Tiger Woods still moves the needle; he just makes it wobble a little bit. … The NCAA just approved on-field corporate logos. which means it won’t be long until college football players will soon have more sponsor patches and decals on their uniforms than NASCAR drivers. I can already hear UCF coach Gus Malzahn, after a big victory, starting his midfield TV interview with: “First off, I want to give a huge shoutout to our corporate partners. Big thanks to Billy Burgers and Pat’s Pizza Parlor for fattening up our offensive lineman and making them immovable. A big tip of the hat to Wired To The Max Energy Drinks for keeping our players so jacked up on caffeine that even our student trainers can run a 4.4 40. And, finally, kudos to StickyGloves for helping our receivers catch everything within a six-mile radius including the latest strain of COVID.” … So long to Pat Sajak, who just retired from “Wheel of Fortune” after 41 years. Who knows, in a few years, he might be old enough to run for president. …
Last word: “You can’t get much done in life if you only work hard on the days when you feel good.” — Jerry West
