NBA legend Jerry West left behind his executive journey to avoid the 1996 LA Lakers problem.
One of the earliest stars who played for the Los Angeles Lakers was none other than Jerry West. He enjoyed a 14-year stint with the Purple and Gold as a player.
However, West’s journey with the Lakers was far from over as he first served as the team’s head coach for a brief three-year stint and later assumed the role of general manager in 1982.
The Lakers enjoyed phenomenal success during West’s 18-year stint as the team’s GM. But there were a few hiccups along the way as well, especially in 1996.
Although West’s official tenure as an executive ended in 2007 with the Memphis Grizzlies, the NBA legend returned to the league in 2011 as a consultant for the Golden State Warriors.
But what was the reason behind not taking the general manager role with the Dubs? Well, he wanted to avoid landing in the hospital.
“If I were handling the day-to-day thing here, with the way this year is going and some of the games we’ve lost, I’d probably be in the hospital again, to be honest with you,” West said in a SLAM Magazine interview.
“I don’t like to lose. Before the season starts you look at your team and say, ‘How many games can we win?’ To me, that is kind of a checks and balances system for executives and you’re basing that estimate on reasonably good health,” he added.
West was referencing the time he landed in the hospital in 1996 after negotiating contract deals with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
Even though West was in his 70s when he took on the advisory role on the Warriors, the NBA legend’s competitive spirit was still alive.
It was evident from his answer to what he hated the most during his short tenure with the Warriors during the 2010s.
“If we have a bad loss, I still don’t sleep. It drives me crazy to this day because you see one or two little plays that are made in the course of a game that you wish could be undone,” West revealed.
“It’s a fast game, but in the heart of the game, great players make plays that win games for you. More importantly, they make the right plays, and at times we don’t do that,” he concluded.
For what it’s worth, West oversaw the Warriors going from a middle-of-the-pack team to an undisputed dynasty in the NBA.
He fulfilled his consultant role with the Dubs from 2011 to 2017 as the team won two NBA Championships during his tenure.
