NBA icon spills guts in a new memoir
By Nicholai R. Roska
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 18 Oct 2011
LOS ANGELES -- There's a buzz in the smog-filled air, but it has nothing to do with celebrity talkmeister Boy Abunda. This, after all, is L.A., which simply means all the watercooler chatter is almost always Lakers related.
The center of attraction this time is Jerry West, whose new memoir --- "West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life" --- officially hits bookstores this Wednesday.
It's a fair assumption to make that a bulk of the younger NBA fans don't know who West is, so indulge me as I introduce one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
Let me start with the simplest one. The silhouette we all see in the NBA logo -- the one dribbling sideways as if eluding a defender -- is Jerry West. He is The Man, the shoot in shooting guard.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound West spent his entire career -- 1960 to 1974 -- playing for the Lakers. A 12-time All-Star, he was named 1969 NBA Finals MVP and led the Lakers to a hampionship in 1970, the same year he was crowned scoring champion.
With a knack for performing big in the biggest of moments. West earned the monicker Mr. Clutch and went on to pile a total of 25,192 points (27 ppg), 5,366 rebounds (5.8 rpg) and 6,238 assists (6.7 apg).
Three years after the culmination of the his stellar playing days, West coached the Lakers from 1976 to 1979. And while he had modest success as a bench tactician, West went on to become one of the most revered general managers in NBA history.
A gifted talent evaluator. West built the pieces around what would become the Lakers' Showtime dynasty in the 80s. And in 1997, West lured Shaquille O'Neal from Orlando to LA, pairing the affable but disgruntled giant with a young phenom named Kobe Bryant. Although the Shaq-Kobe partnership would later blow up in flames, it somehow produced a Laker 3-peat from 2000 to 2002.
You get the point, West is a genius. Let's move along.
West's memoir speaks about his battles with depression that were fueled by an abusive father and the loss of a "kind brother" to the ravages of the Korean War.
"But there is more to the person than just the athlete. Sometimes, you have to come to grips with who you are...I'm not a victim here. I don't want to be seen as a victim at all. But self-esteem is very difficult for me, said West in a book excerpt provided by the LA Times.
And, surprise! surprise!, West has nothing much to say about Phil Jackson, the brilliant ex-Laker coach whose people skills are regarded by many as acutely undesirable.
"It didn't feel very good when someone would walk right by me and not even acknowledge you're there. But that's Phil. He did the best job possible, but it was not a good time for me. Frankly, you start to feel under-appreciated and under-valued. It was time for me to go, and it was best for the Lakers and best for me."
West confirmed an old Chicago-SunTimes report that he was kicked out of the Lakers lockerroom by Jackson in the 1999-2000 season. The memoir also provided a juicy glimpse of the Shaq-Kobe fued.
Simply put, West's memoir brings the promise of a riveting read. It's an assist from a legend. And it's coming soon to a bookstore near you. (NRR)
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Nicholai R. Roska.
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