Jerry West Calls Lakers 'Petty' After Team Texted His Wife over Season Tickets
Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry West recently discussed the rift between himself and Los Angeles Lakers management, noting the manner in which it revoked his lifetime season tickets last season was a breaking point.
“It was a cold phone text to my wife,” West told Sam Amick of The Athletic. “No one had the nerve to call me, but that’s how petty they are, OK? And I love the Lakers, OK? I love to see them do well. It’s great for basketball. I’m proud of everything that happened when I was there. I’m proud of everything that happened when I wasn’t there—the positives.
“But sometimes you feel like you’re discarded, like a piece of trash. And there’s a couple of people over there—not Jeanie—but there’s a couple of people over there that, uh … I don’t get it. I don’t. … I always had a great relationship with Jeanie—at least I thought I did. I don’t know where it is now.”
West said the season tickets for him and his wife Karen were promised to him by late Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, and the team did not give a reason for backing out on its commitment.
The relationship between Buss and Lakers management has soured in recent years—particularly since he joined the Clippers as an executive board member. West initially expressed a desire to finish his storied career as an executive with the Lakers, but the team declined to bring him back in any capacity, leading to him joining their rival.
The fissure has only grown in the years since, with audio of West calling the Lakers a "s--t show" during his 2019 recruitment of Kawhi Leonard surfacing and Jeanie Buss leaving West off her list of most influential Lakers. West called Buss leaving him off in favor of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Phil Jackson "one of the most offensive things I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Rewind 10 years, and it's hard to imagine anyone with a closer relationship to an organization than West and the Lakers. He spent his entire 14-year NBA playing career with the franchise before later returning as an executive, winning seven rings in total (six as an exec, one as a player). The Lakers erected a statue of West outside Crypto.com Arena in 2011, making him one of only five Lakers with a statue.
As it stands now, West says his relationship with the franchise he called home for most of his life is unsalvageable and part of him wishes he'd played for an organization that "would have at least appreciated how much you give, how much you cared.’”
“I’m not seeking any apologies from no one—no one—ever,” West said. “I just said to myself, ‘How petty can this be?’”
