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Los Angeles Lakers: Top 30 greatest players of all-time

By Ben Beecken

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 13: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts in the first half while taking on the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on April 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 13: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts in the first half while taking on the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on April 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry West
(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

4. player. 20. . Guard. Los Angeles Lakers. Jerry West

  • 14 seasons with Lakers (1960-74)
  • Averaged 27 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game
  • 14x All-Star, 1x NBA champion with Lakers

Jerry West played 14 seasons in the NBA. He played 14 seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers. And he was an NBA All-Star 14 times.

Talk about consistency.

Unfortunately for Mr. Clutch, there wasn’t much else to many of those Lakers teams. Early on, it was all about West and Elgin Baylor, who is No. 8 on this list. In fact, for the first part of the 1960s, West, Baylor, and Rudy LaRusso were the only players on that roster that made this list of the top 30 Lakers all-time.

The Lakers were still a perennial contender, of course, reaching the NBA Finals seven times in West’s career before finally winning the title in 1972. West carried the scoring load along with Gail Goodrich, and Wilt Chamberlain pitched in on the boards and defensively as his career was beginning to wind down.

Despite his team’s reputation for faltering in the postseason, West himself earned the nickname “Mr. Clutch” for his penchant for hitting big shots, as well as his outstanding play in the playoffs. West’s averages increased in the playoffs, tallying 29.1 points and 6.3 assists per game in postseason play.

West averaged north of 30 points per game four times in his career, but still had the ball in his hands enough to average at least six assists per game from 1965-66 on — the last eight years of his career. As he aged, he became more of a facilitator but was still relatively efficient from the field for that era.

West, of course, is nicknamed The Logo because the NBA logo is, in fact, a silhouette of Jerry West himself. It doesn’t get any more iconic than that, does it?

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