At such a time, Oscar Robertson set the game afire with his spate of triple-doubles for the Cincinnati Royals. Ventaja : Jerry West. 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. Media createst the impression that Oh, he had a triple-double! he did something spectacular. Charleston, WV (25301) Today. 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). Not blessed with great size, strength, or dribbling ability, West made up for these deficiencies with pure hustle and an apparent lack of regard for his body. Jerry West and the Lakers won Game 3 of the 1962 NBA Finals at the buzzer. They accomplished their mission of beating the USSR, too, winning 81-57. [50] After winning Game 4 due to a superb outing from Wilt Chamberlain, West scored 23 points and dished out 9 assists in Game 5, helping the Lakers to win the game and the NBA championship. Neither Chamberlains 50 point, 25.7 rebound average nor Oscars triple-double average swayed the media from such a view. From there, he played his college ball at the University of Cincinnati, where in his three seasons with the Bearcats, he won the scoring title each year, was named a 3x All-American and 3x College Player of the Year (the Player of the Year award is now called the Oscar Robertson Trophy), made the Final Four twice, compiled 10 triple-doubles (a staple of his pro career), and set 14 NCAA and 19 school records. "Why does everybody say the game has changed? [37] The Lakers trailed the entire game and were behind 91-76 after 3 quarters, but powered by a limping West, the Lakers closed the gap to 103102 with two minutes to go and had the ball. He eventually chose to stay in his home state and attend West Virginia University (WVU), located in Morgantown. On October 19th in 1960, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson made their NBA debut for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cincinnati Royals respectively. Jerrys closest brother, David, was killed in the Korean War when Jerry was 12. [15] He tied the NCAA five-game tournament record of 160points (32.0points per game) and led all scorers and rebounders in every West Virginia game, including getting 28points and 11rebounds in a 7170 loss to California in the final. Despite his statistical achievements, and those of Wilt Chamberlain, NBA media voted Bill Russell their 1961-62 MVP. West referred to leaving Golden State as "one of the saddest days of his life," but was excited to find a new challenge. St. Joseph's Joe Spratt: "I give a somewhat hesitant edge to Jerry West over Oscar Robertson. As a player with the Cincinnati (Ohio) Royals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1961-62, he averaged . [87][88], West is portrayed in the 2022 HBO docudrama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty as a temperamental, foul-mouthed executive prone to angry outbursts and mood swings. "I was one of the fortunate ones selected as a player and to be a part of a team," West said. Indeed, Jerry West looked at Oscar Robertson and saw what he thought was the best player in the game. Baylor's tip-in attempt was thwarted by Sam Jones. RT @LakersLead: Blake Griffin, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West are the only other rookies to have a 30/15/10 game . Every athlete says that. 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. He thinks its really going in! It did, sending Game 3 into overtime. Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and Dave Cowens honored at halftime of NBA All-Star Game. He was also a member of the first five NBA All-Defensive Teams (one second, followed by four firsts), which were introduced when he was 32 years old. "I would never bet against the Lakers," he said. Including playoff games, the Lakers record for the year was 81-16. But I could've, and I knew I could've. Basketball, Thinking, Able. One of the main complaints that many old heads have with the modern game is its statistical, analytics aspect. He spoke with a high pitched voice that became even shriller when he became excited so that Lakers captain Elgin Baylor dubbed West "Tweety Bird". [43] L.A. and N.Y. split the first two games, with both games respectively decided by centers Reed and the still-hobbling Chamberlain. [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. The game, which was the Lakers' first home game of . Advertisement. In the 1972 NBA Finals, the Lakers again met the New York Knicks. Paolo Banchero leads the way as the Kia Rookie of the Year chase begins to head for the finish line. Clutch," passing up the shot himself because he is, after all, 71 years old. The team reached the NCAA championship game in 1959 but lost to the University of California. In the 1965 playoffs, West averaged 40.6 ppg over 11 contests; his 46.3 ppg average against Baltimore in the division finals was a record for a six-game series. [12] In Game 4, the guard scored 37 points and 18 assists, and the Lakers won. [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. Additionally, Robertson also remains #1 all-time in career triple-doubles with 181; the only other players in NBA history with more than 100 career triple-doubles are Russell Westbrook (138, as of the end of the 2018-2019 season), Magic Johnson (138), and Jason Kidd (107). Oscar Robertson vs Lenny Wilkens. Oscar Robertson vs Jerry West. Born: May 28, 1938 (84 years old) Nationality: United States. "I think the thing I most remember is that we won so easily ". Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. [23] Baylor once commented: "Rumors are safe with you, Tweety Bird. The team had posted a 25-50 record in its last season in Minneapolis. [8] He was the fifth of six children of Cecil Sue West, a housewife, and Howard Stewart West, a coal mine electrician. 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. 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. Kareem said Oscar was better than Magic. His 28.7 points per game eclipsed the 25.4 by Baylor, who stated that he suffered from knee problems. [15] Among retired players, only Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain surpass his 27.0 points per game average. The 1972-73 Lakers lost to the Knicks in The Finals while in 1973-74, a pulled groin limited West to 31 regular-season contests and only one playoff game. He averaged 27.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.8 rebounds for his career, making the . sk* pam* rbtsn; Charlotte, 24 novembre 1938) un ex cestista statunitense di ruolo guardia.. Soprannominato The Big O, disput 14 campionati NBA con le maglie dei Cincinnati Royals e dei Milwaukee Bucks, vincendo con questi ultimi il titolo nel 1971.Nel 1962 fu il primo giocatore nella storia dell'NBA a concludere una stagione con una tripla . Wilt Chamberlain definitely had an explanation for why fans from his time fell out of love with NBA basketball. After helping the Golden State Warriors win the championship against the Cleveland Cavaliers, on June 14, 2017, West announced that he would go to the Los Angeles Clippers as an executive board member and consultant. [50][51] West conceded that he had played a terrible series, and credited the team for the success. In the 1969 Finals against Boston, West became the only member of a losing team to be named Finals MVP. As the game ended, veteran Celtics playmaker Bob Cousy threw the ball high into the rafters of the L.A. Sports Arena. All of these rookies except for Wilkens are also featured on the action cards. Until he got it right, the ball would frequently hit and bruise his face. RELATED: Kobe's Final Game Was The Perfect Farewell. The Lakers seven-game defeat at the hands of the Celtics in the 1962 Finals was particularly heartbreaking. He remained a . West became the first draft pick ever of the relocated franchise. [8] Having played forward early in his career, West was also a capable rebounder, and gifted with long arms, quick hands, and strong defensive instincts, West was also once described as one of the best ballhawks, man-to-man defenders and shot blockers among NBA guards:[23] when the All-Defensive Teams were introduced in 1969, West made every one of them until his career ended in 1974. In Game 1, which Boston easily won, defensive Celtics guard K. C. Jones kept West to the only 26 points, and in Game 2, West scored 45 points, but Boston still won 129123. Theres a reason it took well over 50 years for another player (Russell Westbrook) to average a triple-double over the course of a full season. That was our goal.". West played the small forward position early in his career, and he was a standout at East Bank High School and at West Virginia University, where he led the Mountaineers to the 1959 NCAA championship game. "How much weightlifting did you do?" Robertson's last All-NBA first team was in 1969 and West made first team from 1970-1973. 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. [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. A 112-81 triumph over Italy and finally, a 90-63 victory over Brazil, clinched the gold medal. [22], In the 196566 NBA season, West averaged a career-best 31.3points, along with 7.1rebounds and 6.1assists per game. The teams split the first two games, and at the end of Game 3 in Los Angeles, West tied the game at 115. He averaged 27.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.8 rebounds for his career, making the Lakers one of the most relevant franchises in the league. FGA, TRB, AST, PF, GS over 99% complete back to 1975-76. I want to help make a difference. Milwaukee's Oscar Robertson (1) averaged a triple double in 1961-62 - 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists per game. Copyright FIBA All rights reserved. Jerry West is one of the most revered players in NBA history. Equally legendary was Wests tolerance for pain. The Americans' average margin of victory was 42.4 points per game. In 1974, the 36-year-old West left the game as the NBAs third-leading career scorer, behind Chamberlain and Robertson, with 25,192 points in 932 games. 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