Lakers' LeBron James Pays Tribute to 'Dear Friend' Jerry West After NBA Icon's Death

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James paid tribute to Jerry West after news of the Hall of Famer's death became public on Wednesday.

West died Wednesday morning at the age of 86.

A Hall of Famer as both a player and an executive, West is one of the most accomplished people in basketball history. He was a 14-time All-Star and 12-time All-NBA selection as a player, spending his entire career with the Lakers. After a three-year stint as a head coach with the Lakers, West moved to the front office, where he found his second calling as arguably the greatest identifier of talent in NBA history.

West won eight NBA championships as an executive, including six with the Lakers, helping guide the franchise through the Showtime Era in the 1980s and then acquiring Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal within one week of each other in 1996 to set off another dynasty in Los Angeles.

West would move on to spend time with the Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers as an executive over the rest of his life. He won two championships with the Warriors in 2015 and 2017.

While James and West never overlapped in any of their NBA stops, they've always expressed admiration for one another.

"I greatly admire what he's accomplished," West said of James in 2022. "It's hard for me to believe that someone doesn't recognize his greatness. This guy does everything. He's a Swiss Army knife. And he's competitive as hell. Frankly, I wish people would leave him alone."