Rumors

How special was it for you to have your No. 21 jersey retired by the Lakers? What did that moment mean to you? Michael Cooper: That’s the one that brought me to tears. Hall of Fame I cried a little bit because I was a little emotional because you’re thinking about all the people that helped you out along that path. But the criteria for getting your jersey number retired I was told by the late great Jerry West was a little different and you had to be an All-Star; you had to have certain criterias — you had to average 15 or something points, but with Jeanie Buss taking the lead of her dad Dr. [Jerry] Buss, who’s always been an innovator and creator and just doing different things out of the norm; when they came and told me that they were going to honor me, and I think a little bit of that had to do with me being in the Hall of Fame, I never ever could see my jersey being hung up in the rafters for however long basketball to be played wherever it is that the Lakers play is the ultimate honor and I’ve always played this game for the love of the game and once I got the love in me, I’ve always played for championships and I’ve always wanted to be part of something special; and the Lakers is like family. That’s the only organization that I’ve ever known. I’ve never played for another owner — I’ve played for different coaches, but Pat Riley was THE COACH for me.

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Zach Kram: Youngest 40-point scorers in a Finals game: 1. Magic Johnson, 1980 2. Rick Barry, 1967 (3x) 3. Russell Westbrook, 2012 4. Jerry West, 1962 5. Jalen Williams, tonight

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SportsCenter: SGA was all BUCKETS in Game 4 🪣 #NBAFinals

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Law Murray: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: most points with no assists in a Finals win since Joe Fulks in 1947. Gilgeous-Alexander had 35 points. Fulks had 37. Last player to score 35 points without an assist in Finals was Jerry West in 1962, in a loss at Boston.

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You were selected 13th in the 1963 Draft by a really great Lakers team that was just off a Finals loss. As a rookie joining that team with championship expectations, how challenging was that for you? Jim King: “It was a very challenging thing. In those days the Phillips 66ers was right outside of Tulsa. They had their own team and were the AAU champions. They had offered me a contract to come up there, and what you would do, you want to get paid for playing, so you got paid for working for Phillips 66. And I thought well, if I don’t make the pros I’ll come back here. He told me no, per NCAA rules if you try out for a pro team you are not eligible for any other amateur league. So I would’ve had to go to Europe, that put a little pressure on me. I had to decide if I thought I could make it or not, or I was through.” “So I went to the GM and I said I want a no-cut contract and he said ‘we don’t give no-cut contracts’. I said okay, can you tell me what you want me to do and he said ‘well, I’ll tell you what, If you can get the ball and bring it down the floor against the other tough guards so Jerry West doesn’t have to, you may make the team. If you can cover the Sam Jones’s and the Oscar Robertson’s of the league so Jerry doesn’t have to, you’ve got a chance to make the team’ so I took the contract, $9,500 and a $500 check for a bonus, but I had to go out and make the team.”

The Hooper Holler

StatMuse: Michael Jordan, Jerry West, Kobe Bryant, James Harden, Allen Iverson. The only guards in NBA history with more 40-point playoff games than Jalen Brunson. pic.x.com/znrkHtMptk

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The irony of what came next, of course, is that the Thunder would promptly hit the pause button on all the script-flipping that has been happening at such a historic rate in this postseason. And they did it by reminding the masses that it’s their team — not the Cleveland Cavaliers squad that is down 2-0 to the Indiana Pacers or those shellshocked Boston Celtics — that was far and away the scariest of them all during the regular season. Lest anyone forgets, Oklahoma City ended the 82-game grind with a point differential of 12.6 that set a new league record while outscoring their opponents by 1,055 points (!) combined along the way. The 1971-72 Lakers — that title team which featured the likes of Jerry West, Gail Goodrich and an aging Wilt Chamberlain — held the previous mark of 12.3.

New York Times

Jorge Sierra: Rough night for Stephen Curry, but he still passed Reggie Miller on the scoring list for No. 24 in NBA history. There was also this: DeMar DeRozan moved ahead of JERRY WEST for No. 26 all-time.

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Curry also made history in the Warriors’ win, passing Jerry West and moving into 25th place on the all-time NBA scorer’s list. “I got a little emotional about that,” Curry said of passing West. “It was special. In his memory. What he meant to our organization, the league, to the world of basketball. … That’s the logo.”

New York Post

Marc J Spears: Warriors say Stephen Curry has passed Jerry West (25,192 career points) for 25th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. He has 45 points (11-of-15 from 3-point range) to go with seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals in the third quarter.

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“We don’t care not one bit about any of those records,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They mean something, but in the grand scheme, they don’t. We’re after one thing and one thing only. That’s what’s on our mind. Everything else we don’t care about.” The Thunder’s 28-point win over the Bulls was their 49th double-digit win this season. With that, they passed the 2016-17 Warriors — Kevin Durant’s first and best season in the Bay Area — for the second most double-digit wins ever. Assuming they get two more (and the Pelicans and Jazz remain on the schedule), they’ll break the record of 50 set by the 1971-72 Lakers — you know, the team that employed prime Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain.

New York Times

Q: Who was the toughest guy you had to guard? Walt Frazier: Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Earl The Pearl. Oscar because he was so big he was going to pound you. West, he was so smart, he’s going to stop and pop. But Earl didn’t know what he was going to do, how could I know, you know?

New York Post

Hours before playing in the NBA All-Star Game, Stephen Curry’s voice cracked during the NBA Legends Brunch on Sunday morning when he took the podium to “honor the memories of those we lost this year.” Amidst giving posthumous honor to the likes of Al Attles, Bill Walton and Jerry West, the Golden State Warriors superstar paid respect to Dikembe Mutombo, who died Sept. 30, 2024. “Dikembe was an eight-time All-Star and a four-time Defensive Player of the Year,” Curry said. “Dikembe’s trademark finger wag after blocking a shot was the exact opposite of his selfless and welcoming nature off the court. Dikembe was a true global ambassador and humanitarian.”

Andscape

Reaves scored a career-high 45 points, dancing past the defense on the perimeter, hitting from deep, getting to the free-throw line and even slamming home a two-handed dunk. Playing with a sore left elbow along with hip and back pain from a fall against Golden State, Reaves took on the high-volume role that likely won’t be there for him come Monday when Doncic is expected to debut and James should be back after being ruled out early Saturday because of ankle soreness. He joins Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and James as the only Lakers players to have at least 45 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in a game.

Los Angeles Times