The NBA has been in existence for as long as we all can remember. Various individuals initially founded the league in 1946 in New York. Since then, it has been one of the biggest stages in the sports world. For the 7 decades, the NBA has been around, when we think of its logo, only the most recent one comes to our minds. Many do not know who the player on the logo is, it is none other than Jerry West.
DID YOU KNOW: The man on the NBA logo was a former player? The logo is a silhouette of Jerry West. He is one of many players that are featured in the NBA hall of fame. Jerry West went on to a 14-year pro career with the Los Angeles Lakers and played in 14 all-star games. pic.twitter.com/yIIEgDKGOP
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For context, Jerry was an NBA player for 17 years. He stayed loyal to the Los Angeles Lakers throughout his time in the league. During his career, he averaged 27 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.7 assists. His only NBA title came in the 1971-72 NBA season.
When you’re on the logo for one of the biggest sports leagues in the world, you would feel an extreme sense of pride deep down. However, it seems like that isn’t the case with West.
Jerry West wishes that he was never under the spotlight
A while ago, the former Lakers star caught the entire NBA world off guard with his surprising revelation.
On ESPN’s The Jump, he said, “I wish that had never gotten out that I’m the logo. I really do. I’ve said it more than once, and it was flattering that’s me. I know it is me, but it is flattering… I played in a time when they first started to try to market the league. There were five people that they were gonna consider… I don’t like to do anything to call attention to myself.”
Jerry got the elite honor to be on the logo in 1969. It all started when the NBA commissioner at the time, J. Walter Kennedy, delegated the logo designing task to Alan Seigel. Since then, West has been the face of the NBA. However, it seems like the American does not like the attention he gets from the honor. After all, we all have our preferences about keeping our lives private or public.
