Jerry West and his special admirers
How special it was to be just a few feet away from Jerry West being honored with a huge statue in front of Staples Center last night. Mr. Clutch was flanked by his longtime hall of fame Laker teammate and close friend Elgin Baylor and other HOF greats like Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Pat Riley, and the ultimate ‘Hated’ Celtic himself Bill Russell. Jerry was as humble as we knew he would be by this whole thing and afterward I caught up with ‘The Logo’ for his reaction to an amazing ceremony…
Jerry and Elgin with friend and biggest foe Bill Russell
Worthy, Shaq, Rambis, Sharman and Gasol admire West
Jerry West:
Elgin Baylor:
Jerry and Elgin-Laker brothers forever
Then after speaking with Elg, standing alongside was longtime Laker and one of L.A.’s true treasures Tommy Hawkins and I talked about the ceremony. And as ‘The Hawk’ often does, he dropped in a few more details of the past that I couldn’t get enough of…
With Elgin at he and Jerry's plaque at the Coliseum
Tom Hawkins:
And finally, I grabbed Shaquille O’Neal before leaving the premises and had to ask him about the ceremony? And that was after I mentioned to him on the court the previous week that he looked goofy in Celtics’ green!…
Shaq O’Neal:
I only hope these sounds and pictures make you feel as if you were there. Enjoy the moment…it’s certainly one that I’ll never forget!
Hanging with Jerry's statue at the end of the night
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