JERRY West had a decorated career as a basketball player, coach, and general manager, receiving dozens of awards and accolades over the last few decades.
After passing away on June 12, 2024, with his family by his side, West’s fans and followers are curious to learn more about his personal life, including his children.
Who was Jerry West?
Jerome “Jerry” Alan West was a former basketball player, coach, and executive.
Jerry West was born on May 28, 1938, in Chelyan, West Virginia.
After graduating from East Bank High School, where he worked his way up to the team’s starting small forward, West attended West Virginia University.
During his college career, he averaged 24.8 points and 13.3 rebounds per game, scoring 2,309 points and 1,240 rebounds overall.
In 1960, he was drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft, as the second overall pick, by the then-Minneapolis Lakers, shortly before their move to Los Angeles.
He remained on the Lakers through 1974, playing point and shooting guard.
As a player, he received several awards and accolades, including:
- 14x NBA All-Star
- 10x All-NBA First Team
- NBA Champion (1972)
- NBA All-Star Game MVP (1972)
- NBA Assists Leader (1972)
- NBA Scoring Champion (1970)
- NBA Finals MVP (1969)
After his playing career ended, West served as the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1976 through 1979.
He then worked as an NBA scout for a few years before eventually returning to the Lakers, this time as their general manager, ahead of the 1982-83 seasons.
West stayed with the Lakers through the end of the 1999-2000 seasons, just before the Lakers won three consecutive NBA titles in 2000, 2001, and 2002.
In 2002, he became the general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies and retired a few years later in 2007.
In May 2011, West joined the Golden State Warriors, serving as one of the team’s executives.
In 2015, the Warriors won their first championship in over 40 years.
In June 2017, West announced that he would be leaving the Warriors to serve as an executive board member and consultant for the Los Angeles Clippers.
On June 1, 2019, former President Donald Trump announced West as one of the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Who are Jerry West’s children?
Despite having one of the greatest careers in professional basketball history, Jerry West also found time to dedicate to his personal life.
In April 1960, West married his college sweetheart, Martha Jane Kane.
While the couple ultimately divorced in 1976, they had three sons together, including David, Mark, and Michael.
West’s oldest son, David, was named after his brother, who West called his “hero,” and who died in combat during the Korean War.
Little is known about his three sons from his first marriage, as they prefer to live their lives out of the public eye.
In 1978, West married for the second and final time, his current widow, Kristine “Karen” Bua.
They welcomed two sons together, including Ryan and Jonnie.
Jonnie notably played for his father’s alma mater, and was a guard for the West Virginia Mountaineers.
He is currently the Director of Basketball Operations for the Golden State Warriors.
In 2019, Jonnie married Michelle Wie West, a professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
The duo have one child together, a daughter named Makenna, born on June 19, 2020.
In 2020, the Detroit Pistons hired West’s son, Ryan, formerly the director of player personnel for the Los Angeles Lakers, as a scout.
Did Jerry West inspire the NBA logo?
Jerry West had several nicknames over his decades-long career.
He was first called “Zeke from Cabin Creek,” a reference to his birthplace, beginning in high school and college.
During his professional career, West was often referred to as “Mr. Outside” for his perimeter play and “Mr. Clutch” for his ability to make big plays in buzzer-beating situations.
However, West’s most famous moniker is one he didn’t want to admit to: “The Logo.”
The nickname came as a result of West being used as the inspiration for the NBA logo, designed in 1969.
“While it’s never been officially declared that the logo is Jerry West, it sure looks a lot like him,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in 2021, as reported by WBAL TV 11.
The logo’s designer, Alan Siegel, isn’t as secretive.
“It’s Jerry West,” he said, in a 2010 interview with the Los Angeles Times.
Siegel designed the logo based on a photograph of West, taken by Wen Roberts.
At the time, West was still playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.
While West was one of Siegel’s favorite players at the time, he chose West as the silhouette because of the photo, which “just grabbed him.”
“It had a nice flavor to it, so I took that picture and we traced it,” Siegel said.
“It was perfect. It was vertical and it had a sense of movement. It was just one of those things that clicked.”
However, nobody suspected West was the logo – at first.
“When we did the publicity, nobody ever asked whether it was Jerry West,” Siegel explained.
Though West never publicly confirmed he was the NBA logo, he did recall seeing the logo for the first time.
“That looks like somebody familiar,” West said.
“If that’s me, I’m extremely flattered,” he added.