"I played so terribly that it took some of the joy away" - Jerry West felt conflicted about winning his only NBA title

jerry-west-1972

The 1972 NBA Finals saw Jerry West finally get the monkey off his back. He secured his first NBA championship after falling short of winning it all in his previous eight tries. As dominant as the Los Angeles Lakers were in their 4-1 win over the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, West didn’t play his best basketball, which somehow dulled the joy of finally getting his ring.

In an interview with SLAM Magazine, West opened up about how he felt during that time. While achieving the title marked the realization of a lifelong dream, his personal performance stirred conflicting emotions.

A subpar series

West finished his career averaging 29.1 points in the postseason. However, his performance in the Finals against the Knicks may have been the worst of his career. Jerry finished the five-game series averaging only 19.8 points, 8.8 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. More critical was his abysmal shooting percentage, as he made a mere 32 percent of his 117 attempts from the field.

When asked if the championship brought him any sense of redemption following eight straight finals losses, West said, “A little bit.”

‘The Logo’ was by no means someone who cared about individual statistics more than team success; his subpar performances dulled what was supposed to be his professional career’s crowning achievement.

“I played so terribly that it took some of the joy away. It was probably the first time that I played poorly in a final and the first time we won,” the 12-time All-NBA member said.

In the first two games of the Finals, which the Lakers and Knicks split, West went a combined 9-for-36 from the field. He failed to reach the 20-point mark in either game, scoring 12 in Game 1 and 15 in Game 2. Although Jerry made up for it in the series’ last three games, where he tallied 21, 28, and 23 points, respectively, he still shot the ball poorly, making only 35 percent of his shots.

Emotionally drained

West was one of the most competitive players of his era. That said, every Finals loss bore down on him like a boulder on his shoulders. That may explain why he couldn’t really celebrate as joyously as his teammates or other players.

“I was absolutely delighted for the team, for the city and the fans, for my teammates, but I think I was sort of emotionally drained by then from all the losing,” Jerry shared.

“I had contributed so much in other years when we lost. Now, when we won, I was just another piece of the machinery. It was particularly frustrating because I was playing so poorly that the team overcame me,” he said in a separate interview.

As the legendary guard struggled to find the mark, others stepped up in his place. Goodrich scored over 25 points in that series, while Wilt averaged 19.4 points and hauled down 23.2 rebounds per game.