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Lakers to wear patch on shoulder for 2024-25 season to honor of Jerry West
Lakers to wear patch on shoulder for 2024-25 season to honor Jerry West
Exactly four months ago, on June 12, the basketball world lost a legend in Hall of Famer Jerry West, who passed away at the age of 86.
To honor the nine-time champion, the Lakers are going to wear a commemorative patch on the left shoulder that says “44,” West’s number during his playing days, the franchise announced this week. They will wear it for the entirety of the 2024-25 season.
The longtime executive and player played all 14 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he made the All-Star team in 14 seasons while winning the NBA’s first-ever NBA Finals award in 1968-69 (despite losing).
One of the most skilled guards of his era, West averaged 27.0 career points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists on 47.4 percent shooting and 81.4 percent from the free-throw line. He was a one-time scoring champ (1969-70) as well, averaging 31.2 points on 49.7 percent shooting, in addition to 4.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists.
He was later the Lakers’ head coach for three seasons before becoming an executive, a position he held for three decades. He helped assemble six championship Laker teams that featured Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant before becoming an executive for both Memphis and Golden State, where he won two more titles (2014-15, 2016-17).
It’s unfortunate how his time in Los Angeles ended with the Buss family, though it’s good to see how they’re going to be honoring him throughout this upcoming season.
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