NBA legend Jerry West left an executive journey to avoid the 1996 LA Lakers issue.
Jerry West was none other than one of the first stars to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. He enjoyed 14 years of stints with Purple and Gold as a player.
But West’s journey with the Lakers was far from the end as he first served as the team’s head coach in a short three-year stint and later took on the role of general manager in 1982.
The Lakers have achieved incredible success in the West for 18 years as the team’s GM. However, especially in 1996, there were also some hiccups along the way.
West’s official tenure as an executive ended with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2007, but NBA legend returned to the league in 2011 as a consultant for the Golden State Warriors.
But what was the reason behind not taking on the role of general manager in Dub? Well, he wanted to avoid landing in the hospital.
“If you were dealing with the day here, there’s a path this year and maybe you’ll be in the hospital again, if you’re honest with you about some of the games we’ve lost,” West said in an interview with Slam magazine.
“I don’t like losing. Before the season begins, you look at your team and say, ‘How many games can we win?’ For me, it’s like a system of executive checks and balance, and you’re reasonably based on your health,” he added.
West was referring to the time he landed at the hospital in 1996 after negotiating a contract deal with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
West was when he assumed an advisory role with the Warriors in the ’70s, but the competitive spirit of the NBA legend was still alive.
It was clear from his answer that he hated most during his brief tenure with the Warriors in the 2010s.
“If we have a bad loss, I won’t sleep yet. It will keep me crazy to this day as I see one or two small plays made in the course of the game you want,” West revealed.
“It’s a fast game, but at the heart of the game, you create plays where the good players win the game for you. More importantly, they make the right plays and sometimes they don’t do that,” he concluded.
For that value, West overseen the Warriors who go from the team in the middle of the pack to the NBA’s incontroversial dynasty.
He served as a consultant role at Dub from 2011 to 2017 as the team won two NBA championships while in office.