Oscar Robertson vs Dominique Wilkins Overall, both Robertson and West played 14 NBA seasons from 1960-1974, with Robertson having a 100+ games played advantage due to better health. [41] In Game 7, Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke had put up thousands of balloons in the rafters of the Forum in Los Angeles. [26] In overtime, Jones scored several clutch baskets to ensure a 110107 win for the Celtics. From 1962-70, the Lakers reached the Finals six times, losing to Boston five times and to the Knicks once. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. [15] "He stole more than anybody, although they didn't keep records on it then", said Sharman. Jerry West leads Los Angeles with 20 points while Oscar Robertson scores 17 along with 9 assists as the Milwaukee Bucks en. West threw in 28.7 points per game with 48% shooting from the floor and 83% shooting from the foul line. "[63] West's Memphis stint was not as spectacular as his Los Angeles stint, but he turned a franchise which was about to be sold into a reliable playoffs team, making few trades but getting the maximum from the players he had available (such as Pau Gasol, James Posey and Jason Williams) and signing coach Hubie Brown, who became Coach of the Year in 2004. Jerry West talks about how losing to the Celtics multiple times in The Finals affected his mindset and demeanor during his career. In Game 2, Baltimore was unable to stop the Lakers guard, who scored 52 points, nearly half of L.A.'s total, in the 118115 win. Although West enjoyed great individual success during his prime, the teams record is a study in frustration unbelievable frustration is how West described it to the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Robertson's last All-NBA first team was in 1969 and West made first team from 1970-1973. Copyright FIBA All rights reserved. [16] West's best performance was a game against Virginia, in which he grabbed 16 rebounds and scored 40 points. [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. Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is: As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below. While his famous triple-double season would come a year later, Robertson got off to a fast start right out of the gate during his 1960-61 rookie season in which he . For most of the game, the Lakers trailed, but West and Frank Selvy hit several clutch baskets and tied the game at 100. (Going into the 1963-64 season, Baylor was 28, West 25, Robertson 24, Lucas 23.) Jerome Alan West (Cheylan, 28 de maio de 1938) um ex-jogador de basquetebol norte-americano que atualmente exerce a funo de Conselheiro nos Clippers. Although both ranked among the top four leading scorers in history when they retired, neither man ever won an MVP. Robertson was a broadcaster for CBS for the 1974-75 season. The USA had plenty of firepower at the Rome Games. [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. Answer (1 of 15): I would Jerry West because he was on the All Defensive Team five times and Oscar was on none. However, he started at West Virginia, getting 13 rebounds and 25 points for each game. NEW: Sample Searches for learning more about the power and flexibility of Stathead. 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 . 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. NBA Twitter lauds the All-Star for joining the elite company of LeBron James and Luka Doncic in a special feat. On the most recent episode of his podcast, Simmons named (in order) his top 15 in the "Pantheon." Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon . You'll see their coaches shaking their heads on the bench because they didn't make the right play. In Game 7, a 15-foot Frank Selvy jumper at the buzzer that would have won the game in regulation bounced off the rim. pic.twitter.com/VAlcLcmqXX, Hoop History (@H00PHISTORY) March 10, 2022. He entered the NBA in 1960 and immediately established himself averaging 30.5 points per game and captured Rookie of the Year honors. As an encore to his historic season, Robertson remained a nightly triple-double threat, shooting a career-best 51.8% in 1962-1963 and putting up 28.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game to narrowly miss out on another triple-double season. Over the next summer he grew six more inches. "[36], On July 9, 1968, the Lakers made a trade that brought reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers to Los Angeles at the beginning of the 196869 NBA season. [12], West graduated from East Bank High School in 1956, and more than 60 universities showed interest in him. His first nickname, Zeke from Cabin Creek, was actually based on faulty information. Van Breda Kolff pejoratively called Chamberlain "The Load", and later complained that Chamberlain was egotistical, never respected him, too often slacked off in practice and focused too much on his statistics. Wilt Chamberlain definitely had an explanation for why fans from his time fell out of love with NBA basketball. During halftime of Sunday's All-Star Game, 45 members of the 75th Anniversary Team including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stood side by side on a circular stage in the middle of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Professional career Los Angeles Lakers (1960 . The book has had tremendous critical acclaim and became an instant New York Times bestseller. The East Bank High School legend and Oscar Robertson also led the United States basketball team to the gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Basketball, Thinking, Able. [23], The Lakers won 54 regular-season games and secured a first-round bye in the 1962 NBA Playoffs. First up is Oscar Robertson's 1961 Fleer rookie card which is one of the keys to the iconic set and one of the most valuable basketball cards in general.. [40] L.A. also took Game 2, with West scoring 41 points. I think West is the smoother player and the stronger defensively. He was named All-State from 1953 to 1956, then All-American in 1956 when he was West Virginia Player of the Year, becoming the state's first high-school player to score more than 900 points in a season, with an average of 32.2 points per game. With Wests hot hand leading the way, East Bank won the 1956 state title. FantasyPros considers the best player values for DraftKings and FanDuel NBA DFS. This includes rookie cards for Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor and Len Wilkens (misspelled Wilkins). Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. [67] In 2015, the Warriors won their first championship in 40 years; the championship was the seventh earned by West while serving as a team executive. Advertisement. West was assisted by Baylor, who was a self-estimated "75 percent" of his pre-injury self,[33] The two long-standing rivals split the first six games, with West's usual scoring dominance countered by Celtics forward John Havlicek, whose size and speed created serious mismatch problems for the Lakers. Oscar Robertson vs Derrick White. MIES (Switzerland) - It happened more than half a century ago, yet for two of the biggest legends in the sport, USA's Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, memories of the gold-medal winning run at the Olympic Games in Rome are crystal clear. "We were amateurs in every sense of the word. 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. "I had no tools to get better other than my own hard work," West said. It sounds like trash talk before its time, but West did not christen himself. Robertsons response might seem arrogant. Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and Dave Cowens honored at halftime of NBA All-Star Game. [8] Instead of being proud, West merely commented: "Defensively, from a team standpoint, I didn't feel I played very well. Clutch" didn't taunt, at least by the strict interpretation of the term. Moreover, the duo had two playoff matchups first, in the 1972 Western Conference Finals, the Lakers beat the Bucks 4-2 behind Wests 21.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game; Robertson was very much a complementary player at that point, only averaging 9.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game during the six-game series. Outside) contributing 17.6 ppg, the Lakers improved to 36-43 and finished in second place in the Western Division. While it has been nearly 50 years since either Oscar Robertson or Jerry West last set foot on an NBA basketball court and not too many of us actually got to see them play live, the duo remain two of the most iconic players in NBA history. [citation needed] West's father physically abused him, and West has stated that for a time he slept with a loaded shotgun under his bed out of fear that he might have to kill his father in self-defense. [82], As a person, West was often described as an introverted and nervous character, but who also drew the highest praise for his uncompromising work ethic. Selvy then missed an open 8-foot shot which would have won the Lakers their first title. CLEVELAND The NBA celebrated its diamond anniversary with a sparkling tribute to honor 75 years on the hardwood floor. [36] In Game 5, an injured West scored 35points, but Boston won by threepoints. The 1960 US Olympic team was one of the great ones, as good as any prior to the Dream Team in 1992. Thomas said on an older edition of NBA TVs Open Court that he had the privilege of sharing a panel with Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. His only outlet was a basketball hoop nailed to a storage shed outside a neighbors house. The answer is "yes," according to The Ringer's Bill Simmons. Co-captains West and Robertson, and also Jerry Lucas, had legendary professional careers. Oscar Robertson, however, demurred about change in general in basketball. [41] In Game 3, Russell opted to double-team West, and the guard's exhaustion began to show: West twice asked to be subbed for longer periods, and both times the Lakers fell back by double digits and finally lost by sixpoints. [8], West attended East Bank High School in East Bank, West Virginia from 1952 to 1956. According to StatMuse, only West, Oscar Robertson, John . For the rest of his illustrious career, West would average at least 20 points per game each year, including 25+ points per game for the next decade with four seasons above 30 points per game. [22], Initially, West felt odd in his new environment. [8] Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn once said: "He took a loss harder than any player I've ever known. [21] This team perennially had strong forwards and guards, but was constantly weak at center, giving them a disadvantage against the Boston Celtics with their Hall-of-Fame center, Bill Russell. [29], In the following 196465 NBA season, West averaged 31.0 points (at the time, a career-high), only surpassed by perennial scoring champion Wilt Chamberlain. When West remembers the Rome Olympics, it takes him back to a different era. In 1995, West received his first Executive of the Year Award for his role in turning the Lakers around.[61]. "There are people on ESPN who never played basketball or even picked up a basketball," he said. [14] In his first varsity year under head coach Fred Schaus, West scored 17.8points per game and averaged 11.1rebounds; he also started in all 28 games while shooting 49.6% from the field and 73.2% from the free throw line. On April 19, 2022, West demanded a retraction from the network within two weeks for the "cruel" and "deliberately false" depiction, as played by actor Jason Clarke. I think I should make every shot.. "When I was able to play for the Olympic team, it was great for me. And his 6,238 career assists (6.7 apg) rank among the best ever. In the 1972 NBA Finals, the Lakers again met the New York Knicks. Three of the Finals went seven games, with the Lakers losing two of those Game 7s to the Celtics by a single basket. [15], In the 1968 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls and the Warriors to set up yet another Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals; it was considered a match of size versus speed, as the Lakers had nobody to guard Celtics coach/center Bill Russell or forward John Havlicek close to the basket, but the Celtics in return had difficulties guarding prolific L.A. outside shooters Baylor, West and fellow guard Gail Goodrich. Your suplied Email address (xxxxx@fiba.basketball) does not seem to be correct, "THAT WAS THE MOST SPECIAL MOMENT IN MY LIFE, TO PLAY THE NATIONAL ANTHEM, IT WAS THE MOST THRILLING, CHILLING THING THAT I'VE EVER BEEN INVOLVED WITH. Your inbox approves The power couples & . He was responsible for perhaps the most famous buzzer-beater of all time: a 60-foot swish that tied Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. West never thought he had been handed a burden, however. They were also both on the gold medal winning team at the 1959 Pan American Games. Much like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the 1980s, the careers of Oscar Robertson and Jerry West were closely intertwined and highlighted by many of the same contrasts between the two players, e.g. [83] Apart from being shy, West was always restless: Schaus described him as a "bundle of nerves", Celtics contemporary Bob Cousy as "always on the move", and fellow Laker and Mountaineer Rod Hundley testified that during bar visits, West would quickly squirm and demand to go elsewhere before everybody else had settled. During that time, West was the better scorer (27.0 to 25.7), but Robertson grabbed more rebounds (7.5 to 5.8) and averaged more assists (9.5 to 6.7) and also had slightly better shooting percentages. West's son, Jonnie, also played college basketball for West Virginia. Said Jerry West, a fellow Hall of Famer and Warriors . Oscar Robertson Calls out NBA for Super Teams Hypocrisy: When Boston Got Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, That Was David Sterns Deal. Before Game 1, West privately complained to Bill Russell of exhaustion, but then the Lakers guard scored 53 points on Boston in a close two-point win. It seems to mark a change from the way the final minutes are officiated today, when "no hemorrhage, no foul" is the rule. In 1980, West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and named to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team. [27], In the following 196364 NBA season, West became the Lakers' scoring leader for the first time. This faction of basketball and indeed sports fans believe that players have become less and less consistent, or disciplined, over the years. Im surprised when the ball doesnt go into the hoop, West said toward the end of his career. And knowing what that looked like, the Logo wanted to surpass him. Oscar might dispute the analogy, though. "We stayed in dorms. Neither Chamberlains 50 point, 25.7 rebound average nor Oscars triple-double average swayed the media from such a view. Basketball, Team, School. It was particularly frustrating because I was playing so poorly that the team overcame me. Tackling the Biggest Head-to-Head Sports Debates. On October 19th in 1960, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson made their NBA debut for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cincinnati Royals respectively. In Game 6, Havlicek shredded the Lakers with 40 points, and after yet another Finals loss to Boston, West commented that the Lakers lost two games they should have won: "We gave them the first game, and we gave them the fifth. It averaged a whopping 101.9 points a contest. Oscar Robertson. [26] The Celtics tied the series in Game 6 at three games apiece, and the teams headed to Boston for Game 7. But despite his remarkable legacy, West does not feel he was the best individual talent of his era. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. For both Robertson and West, their stellar rookie campaigns were just a sign of things to come over the next decade and a half, both players would continue to dominate the NBA as individual players, though it would take a bit longer for each one to overcome the Boston Celtics dynasty and win an NBA title. [63], Jerry married his current wife, Kristine "Karen" Bua, in 1978. It is an honor to know him and to have competed against him. Robertson reciprocated Wests characterization of him earlier this year. They accomplished their mission of beating the USSR, too, winning 81-57. He went on to average 14.8 points and 8.1 rebounds for six . When you think about iconic NBA players of the 1960s and 1970s, a few players come to mind the great Russell vs. Chamberlain rivalry (and the great Celtics teams and players in general), Oscar Robertson and his triple-double season, Jerry West gracing the NBA logo with his silhouette, just to name a few. He stayed on as a scout for three years and became general manager in 1982, helping to build the Lakers dynasty of the 1980s. "Potentially, I would have to go with Lucas and Robertson, because they are a little younger," said Gallatin. Lillard was the only one to accomplish . Despite Wests playoff heroics, which included leading the postseason in scoring average 4x (highlighted by a career-best 40.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game in the 1965 playoffs), the 1960s saw six Finals losses to the rival Celtics (1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969). [39] West was disturbed by locker room tension; used to playing on teams with good chemistry, his quality of play became erratic, and his scoring average of 25.9 points was his lowest since his rookie season. 1 select and West the . West was motivated by a relentless drive to succeed. Jerry West and the Lakers won Game 3 of the 1962 NBA Finals at the buzzer. Including playoff games, the Lakers record for the year was 81-16. 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. [71], West was an all-around combo guard who could take the playmaking roles of a point guard and score like a shooting guard, while being equally strong on offense and defense. Clutch," passing up the shot himself because he is, after all, 71 years old. "[8] West incredibly connected, and this basket was later called one of the greatest moments ever by the NBA. I felt I was deceived. The Minneapolis Lakers chose West with the second overall pick behind Robertson in the 1960 NBA Draft. [8] The Lakers were captained by Hall-of-Fame forward Elgin Baylor, who was complemented by centers Jim Krebs and Ray Felix; forwards Rudy LaRusso and Tom Hawkins; and guards Rod Hundley (from West Virginia, like West), Frank Selvy, and Bobby Leonard. 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. He broke his nose at least nine times. We got one dollar a day as a per diem. [20] In March 2008, ESPN voted West the third greatest shooting guard of all time. In three years, he led the Lakers and star center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to a 145101 record, making the playoffs all three seasons and reaching the Western Conference Finals in 1977. Godine 1980. primljen je u Kuu slavnih, a Los Angeles Lakersi su u njegovu ast penzionisali dres sa brojem 44. Paolo Banchero leads the way as the Kia Rookie of the Year chase begins to head for the finish line. With an all-around game that rivaled Oscar Robertson's, West added six assists and six rebounds per game and excellent defense in the backcourt that produced a number of steals each game. 3 Copy quote. Jerry Wests storied career included 14 All-Star appearances, 12 All-NBA honors, five All-Defensive Teams and an NBA championship. [8] These performances soon earned West his first of fourteen NBA All-Star Game call-ups. After the Lakers heartbreaking loss to the Boston Celtics in the 1969 NBA Finals, John Havlicek walked up to West and said, Jerry, I love you. Such comments were not uncommon. Indeed, Jerry West looked at Oscar Robertson and saw what he thought was the best player in the game. Required fields are marked *. Maybe that's what a team is all about. The Minneapolis Lakers chose West with the second overall pick . Jerry West. West lost the first eight times he played in the Finals, twice by a single basket against the Boston Celtics in Game 7s. In a generation defined mostly by big men, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson managed to stand out from the crop. On the international stage, before jumping to the NBA, Robertson and West were co-captains of the US Basketball Team at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome (professionals would not be allowed to play until the Dream Team in 1992); considered by many pundits to be the best collection of amateur basketball talent in history (in addition to Robertson and West, Jerry Lucas and Walt Bellamy would also become Hall of Famers), the team easily won the gold medal at the Games and was collectively elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Under his reign, Los Angeles won six championship rings. Plus, he scored 56 points in just one game, which is . Amulya Shekhar is a sports junkie who thrives on the thrills and frills of live sports action across basketball, football (the American variant works too), parkour, adventure sports. "I told coach Wooden, 'I'll play him for lunch every day, and he'll pay.' From college to the pros, Robertson and West shared a unique bond and reverence. 9 Copy quote. said "Mr. Compare them if you want, factoring in that everybody is much more skilled today in every sport. Luckily, both legends got their just due. Ended: Feb 21, 2023. [38] There was an altercation in which Chamberlain was about to punch Van Breda Kolff before Baylor had intervened. [15] As of 2011, West holds 12 WVU all-time records. Wilt Chamberlain talks about how his contemporaries Jerry West and co wouldn't pursue stats Biography. Magic, Wilt, Jerry West, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant are some of the Laker greats, but Kareem was the best. Then as now, it is rings that really validate the best. Local de nasc. 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). Naturally, West must have felt a . It's a test of your strength and stamina and playing ability, really. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Despite his age and physical problems, West kept averaged 25.8 ppg while leading the NBA in assists with 9.7 per contest. Wilt Chamberlain cited the examples of his former teammates Jerry West and Elgin Baylor to explain how in his view, NBA basketball got diluted. Born: November 24, 1938 in Charlotte, Tennessee us College: Cincinnati High School: Crispus Attucks in Indianapolis, Indiana Draft: Cincinnati Royals, 1st round (1st pick, 1st overall), 1960 NBA Draft (territorial selection) [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. Everybody wants to see LeBron [James] and Kobe [Bryant] in the Finals, but it would come down to whoever makes the most open shots, the Lakers or Cavaliers, because anybody who plays with either one of them is going to get a lot of open shots.". Choosing to stay local, he played college basketball at West Virginia University, where he was a 2x First Team All-American, 2x Southern Conference Player of the Year, and NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 1959 as the Mountaineers narrowly lost to Cal in the finals by a 71-70 score. ] as of 2011, West graduated from East Bank won the Lakers.... 15-Foot Frank Selvy jumper at the 1959 Pan American games like trash talk before its time, but did. Lakers their first title is rings that really validate the best player in the 1960 NBA Draft along with assists... A burden, however, he scored 56 points in just one game, which is & x27! Named to the NBA in 1960 and immediately established himself averaging 30.5 points per game and captured Rookie of greatest... How losing to the Ringer & # x27 ; s last All-NBA first team from 1970-1973 Chamberlains 50,! Game against Virginia, getting 13 rebounds and 25 points for each game a loss harder than any I... 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