Basketball, Team, School. "To play the national anthem, it was the most thrilling, chilling thing that I've ever been involved with.". [15] After ending the regular season with 49 wins, L.A. played the Baltimore Bullets in the first round of the 1965 NBA Playoffs, but then team captain Baylor suffered a career-threatening knee injury. It wasn't a 3-pointer, but Jerry West's 60-foot prayer was answered in Game 2 of the 1970 NBA Finals. He led Los Angeles into the playoffs each year and earned a Western Conference Finals berth once. Personally, I value all-around players who can do everything on the court shoot, rebound, pass and as such, though West was probably a better scorer and defender, I prefer Robertson with his historically dynamic all-around game and ability to dominate in all aspects. Maybe that's what a team is all about. He entered the NBA in 1960 and immediately established himself averaging 30.5 points per game and captured Rookie of the Year honors. Your email address will not be published. Although West suffered a terrible shooting slump during Games 1 and 2, the Lakers tied the series at one win each, and in Game 3, he scored 21points and helped L.A. win Game 3. I think I should make every shot.. "I'm very fortunate that I was one of those athletes.". The Knicks' Walt Frazier is stopped by Lakers center Wilt Chamberlain (13) as Jerry West (44) drives around them for a score in first quarter of an NBA finals game on April 26, 1972. For some of Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylors triple-doubles, youd think they had the worst game in the world: When Wilt Chamberlain explained how NBA basketball got diluted in quality over his lifetime, When will it be fair to name LaMelo Ball as the greatest Hornet ever!? West was chosen four times to Oscar's none. Los Angeles Lakers play-by-play man Chick Hearn bestowed the nickname. CLEVELAND - "Mr. That was our goal.". You'll see their coaches shaking their heads on the bench because they didn't make the right play. Selvy then missed an open 8-foot shot which would have won the Lakers their first title. Playing the guard position, he was voted 12 times into the All-NBA First and Second Teams, was elected into the NBA All-Star Team 14 times, and was chosen as the All-Star MVP in 1972, the same year that he won the only title of his career. [15], In the postseason, the Lakers defeated the Chicago Bulls in a four-game sweep,[49] then went on to face the Milwaukee Bucks, and defeated them in six games. Estimated PSA 8 Value: $3,500. [81] They have two sons, Ryan and Jonnie. [12], West graduated from East Bank High School in 1956, and more than 60 universities showed interest in him. Jerry West. But he would drive, almost always to his right, and give the ball an extra-hard bounce on his last dribble, so he could catch it on the rise as he leaped into his shot. In the 1969 Finals against Boston, West became the only member of a losing team to be named Finals MVP. [85], Early in his career, West's West Virginian roots made him a target for some mild jeering. [15] Without Chamberlain, who had ended his NBA career, the Lakers won 47 games and lost in five games to the Milwaukee Bucks. [15] The Lakers won 60 games and reached the 1973 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. West was 6-3, although he was "long" in today's terminology because of his wingspan. Oscar Robertson vs Jo Jo White. During an interview on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, West revealed that as a child he was the victim of physical abuse from his father and has suffered from depression ever since. [38] In return, the center blasted Van Breda Kolff as "the dumbest and worst coach ever". We got one dollar a day as a per diem. [5] West was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996, and to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.[6][7]. Wilt Chamberlain definitely had an explanation for why fans from his time fell out of love with NBA basketball. ", Robertson believes the media-hype machine conditions fans' perceptions of players too much. In five postseason games that year, West scored a total of 160 points, presaging his NBA playoff heroics. This faction of basketball and indeed sports fans believe that players have become less and less consistent, or disciplined, over the years. Overall, his time with the Royals was dominant over a decade with the team, he averaged at least 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists per game on 47.0% shooting, and was an All-Star plus a First Team or Second Team All-NBA selection each year. Today, both are remembered as among the all-time greats, with Wests silhouette gracing the NBAs logo, but it is impossible not to compare the two players and ask: Who was better Oscar Robertson or Jerry West? West continued to propel the Lakers to championship contender status by trading Divac for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant (1996), by signing free agent center Shaquille O'Neal (also 1996), and by signing six-time NBA champion Phil Jackson as a coach (1999). It's a test of your strength and stamina and playing ability, really. [32] Still, the Lakers guard finished the playoffs with 40.6points per game. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Robertson reciprocated Wests characterization of him earlier this year. He was also at the forefront of rebuilding the Lakers into championship shape by adding Shaquille ONeal as a free agent and trading for Kobe Bryant, who entered the NBA out of high school in 1996. Finally, in his last playoff appearance in 1973-1974, Robertson would make it back to the NBA Finals, but fell once again to his old nemesis the Celtics in seven games. [15] These performances earned him a multitude of honors, among them an All-American Third Team call-up, First Team All-Southern Conference, Southern Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player Award and First Team honors, Chuck TaylorConverse Second-team All-American honors, and Associated Press and United Press International Third-team All-American honors. Countdown 4: Top 10 Five-Tool Players in MLB History, Countdown 153: Top 10 Minnesota Twins of All Time, Countdown 152: Top 10 Dallas Mavericks of All Time, Countdown 151: Top 10 Tampa Bay Lightning of All Time, Countdown 150: Top 10 Kickers in NFL History, Countdown 149: Top 10 Left-Handed Pitchers in MLB History. Some of these triple-doubles that Jerry West or Oscar Robertson or Elgin Baylor had, they would think they had the worst day in the world!. [32] In Game 3, West scored 49points, and L.A. finally won a game, but in Games 4 and 5, the Lakers were beaten by double digits; in the last quarter of Game 5, West missed 14 of 15 shots and could not prevent yet another Celtics win. [36] In Game 1, West only hit seven of 24 shots, and the Lakers lost 107101, but L.A. evened out the series at two games each. At such a time, Oscar Robertson set the game afire with his spate of triple-doubles for the Cincinnati Royals. [63], Jerry married his current wife, Kristine "Karen" Bua, in 1978. But the experience itself was the most gratifying of all," he recalled. He only had diminutive, defensively weak Johnny Egan left next to West. Rendimiento en Playoffs > Archive 75: Jerry West| 75 Stories: Jerry West. [48] West himself contributed with 25.8points and led the league with a career-high 9.7assists per game. The team reached the NCAA championship game in 1959 but lost to the University of California. The two go back quite a ways. 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 taught himself his quick shot release by bouncing the last dribble hard off the ground. [20] In March 2008, ESPN voted West the third greatest shooting guard of all time. Still, West was named to the All-NBA First Team 10 times in his career, and he was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team in four of his final five seasons. His mother lashed him when he showed up hours late for dinner and he became so thin that he had to receive vitamin injections.But the practice paid off. Once there, the Lakers lost Game 1 to the Knicks, but then won four straight by relatively large margins. 44 jersey in 1983. [46] With his injured hands, West still hit nine of his 19 shots, but was outplayed by Walt Frazier, who scored 36points and 19assists and was credited with several crucial steals on Lakers guard Dick Garrett. Combine a deadly jump shot, tenacious defense, obsessive perfectionism, unabashed confidence, and an uncompromising will to win, and youve got Jerry West, one of the greatest guards in NBA history. In Game 7, a 15-foot Frank Selvy jumper at the buzzer that would have won the game in regulation bounced off the rim. In 1961-62, West established himself as a deadly scoring threat and averaged 30.8 ppg, marking the first of four seasons in which he 30 ppg or more. Jerry West and Oscar Robertson defined the guard position for over a decade. Sure did," said Jerry West. [15] The Lakers won 46 games, and in the 1970 NBA Playoffs, they narrowly beat the Phoenix Suns in seven games and swept the Hawks in four, setting up the first NBA Finals between the Lakers and the rugged New York Knicks, led by Hall-of-Famers, such as Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, and Walt Frazier. West never thought he had been handed a burden, however. They gotta keep people watching, so theyre gonna say wonderful things about these teams, and wonderful things about players., Wilton Norman Chamberlain speaks on how the @NBA and other media outlets market its players and what kind of tactics they use. He stayed on as a scout for three years and became general manager in 1982, helping to build the Lakers dynasty of the 1980s. 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. Jerry West (L) and Oscar Robertson. In the 1972 NBA Finals, the Lakers again met the New York Knicks. West was motivated by a relentless drive to succeed. [30] The Bullets took their two home games, despite West scoring 44 and 48 points respectively, but in the decisive Game 5 in L.A., the guard helped beat the Bullets with 42 points in a close 117115 win. After a big loss, the Wests would drive home and she would try to console him, but West would say "get out" at the home porch and drive awayan experience that "killed" her as a wife. This worldview of modern basketball wouldnt have spread if it wasnt a generational thing. Oscar Robertson vs Jerry West. 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. Roma Invicta, which means Unconquered Rome, was an inspirationalmottoused until the fall of the WesternRomanEmpire, in 476 AD. "When we played, [the NBA] was a minor league acting like a pro league. Van Lier See original listing. There will never be another player like the 'Big Dipper', who changed the game with his strength, athleticism and skill. West completely immersed himself in practice, often neglecting to eat. Answer (1 of 15): I would Jerry West because he was on the All Defensive Team five times and Oscar was on none. [8] Instead of being proud, West merely commented: "Defensively, from a team standpoint, I didn't feel I played very well. Lillard was the only one to accomplish . It averaged a whopping 101.9 points a contest. I will say that Oscar fits the 'all around' definition better - he was *almost* as good at scoring as Jerry although not quite matching up to West's peak scoring abilities, he was a better rebounder and also a better passer (both by . [8] Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn once said: "He took a loss harder than any player I've ever known. "I would never bet against the Lakers," he said. "John Wooden once told me Larry Bird was better than me," said Robertson. It was a beautiful thing wasted, West later said. Kevin Durant shows no signs of rust in his 1st game with Phoenix, meshing quickly with his new teammates. [43][45] After Chamberlain scored 45points and West 31points plus 13assists in a series-equalising 135-113 Lakers win, the Lakers seemed favorites prior to Game 7. Despite his statistical achievements, and those of Wilt Chamberlain, NBA media voted Bill Russell their 1961-62 MVP. Steals and blocks came into official book-keeping during the mid-70s. He made an NBA record 840 free throws, and earned yet another pair of All-Star Team and All-NBA First Team nominations. Jerry West was a 12-time All-NBA performer who knew how to elevate his game when the lights shined the brightest. Moreover, during that final year, he had 30 double-doubles and fifteen 30-point games. West said, turning to a chuckling Robertson. [8] He had a jump shot with a release the NBA lauded as "lightning quick", and was known for making baskets late in the game, earning him the nickname "Mr. "That was a unique period of time in this world," he said. In addition to their regular season performances, Robertson and West were both consistent presences in the postseason and led their teams admirably for a number of years. Moreover, half the battle is actually being on the court and so Robertsons better durability also gives him another slight edge in this close head-to-head matchup. Across their respective decades of dominance, Robertson holds the edge in essentially every category, from health (games played) to counting statistics to shooting ratios to advanced metrics; this is of course no knock on West (whose best-decade numbers are still scintillating), but speaks to how truly dominant the Big O was at his peak. Ended: Feb 21, 2023. Boston won another NBA Finals matchup, prevailing in Game 7 at Boston Garden, 95-93. Oscar Robertson vs Lenny Wilkens. But I could never have played for the Lakers again, and I wasn't going to play for anybody else. "I had no tools to get better other than my own hard work," West said. He took a loss harder than any player Ive ever known, said longtime Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn in the National Sports Daily. West departed from the Lakers at the end of the 1999-2000 season. It seems to mark a change from the way the final minutes are officiated today, when "no hemorrhage, no foul" is the rule. Instead, there's only admiration between the two all-time greats. LA Clippers executive board member Jerry West attends a game between the Orlando Magic and the Houston Rockets during the 2022 NBA Summer League at the Thomas and Mack Center July 7, 2022, in Las . Oscar Robertson. Im not willing to sacrifice my standards, West told the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner when he retired. As a player with the Cincinnati (Ohio) Royals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1961-62, he averaged . Three of the Finals went seven games, with the Lakers losing two of those Game 7s to the Celtics by a single basket. 1 select and West the . Sometimes you get involved in situations like that, you don't realize the importance of it until you get out of it. Oscar Robertson vs Dominique Wilkins [45] However, more frustration awaited West in Game 5, when Reed pulled his thigh muscle and seemed out for the series; instead of capitalizing on a double-digit lead and reeling off an easy win, the Lakers committed 19 second-half turnovers, and the two main scorers Chamberlain and West shot the ball only three and two times, respectively, in the entire second half and lost 107100 in what was called one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Finals history. West logged similar averages as a rookie after the Los Angeles Lakers drafted him second overall behind Oscar Robertson, but his scoring nearly doubled in his second season. The latter is a concept that has been derided as "a fancy word for you haven't done it yet. Oscar Robertson. [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. Your inbox approves The power couples & . Said Jerry West, a fellow Hall of Famer and Warriors . Like many NBA stars, West came from humble beginnings. The best players may not be the players people think are the best. They edged the Detroit Pistons in the division semifinals but then lost to the St. Louis Hawks in the division finals. [43] In Game 3, DeBusschere hit a mid-range jump shot with three seconds left to put the Knicks ahead 102100, and the Lakers had no time-outs left. Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). 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