Jerry West, in full Jerome Alan West, (born May 28, 1938, Cheylan, W.Va., U.S.), U.S. basketball player, coach, and manager. As a sharp-shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers (1960–74), he compiled a career scoring average of 27 points and earned the nickname “Mr. Clutch.” As the Lakers’ head coach (1976–79), he led them to 145 wins and 101 losses. He later became the team’s general manager and executive vice president and contributed to the team’s five NBA titles between 1982 and 2000. He worked in the front office of the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002 to 2007.
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