Jerry West, NBA Hall of Fame guard, Los Angeles Lakers, dies age 86

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NBA icon and Hall of Famer Jerry West passes away at 86 | NBA.com

The 12-time All-NBA guard was a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams and one of the league's most iconic players.

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He was the first significant player in Los Angeles basketball history whose all-around skills took him to the Hall of Fame and then whose success in basketball management made him the measurement for general managers.

Jerry West was known by an honorable title that underlined his legend, both on the court and in the front office: Mr. Clutch.

And so, the NBA is now missing a major contributor who helped shape the league. West died Wednesday at age 86.

“I valued my friendship with Jerry and the knowledge he shared with me over many years about basketball and life.” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “On behalf of the NBA, we send our deepest condolences to Jerry’s wife, Karen, his family and his many friends in the NBA community.”

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He played 14 years, was an All-Star 14 times and made All-NBA a dozen times. He averaged 27 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists for his career. At the time of retirement in 1974, he was the franchise leader in scoring at 25,192 points. But that only defined his play on offense.