Lakers News: Jerry West, Jeanie Buss Beef Reportedly Got Personal

The Logo had a strained relationship with the team he had called home from 1960-2000.

Feb 8, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers owner and president Jeanie Buss speaks during a ceremony for the unveiling of a statue for former Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant at Star Plaza outside of Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports / Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

Longtime Los Angeles Lakers superstar combo guard Jerry West, whose image was used in the illustrated of the NBA logo and who won seven titles with L.A. as an All-Star player, a scout, and a general a manager, had an icy relationship with the team that memorialized him in bronze outside Cryptocom Arena.Ethan Strauss writes on Substack that the relationship between West and Lakers ownership worsened when Jeanie Buss assumed the reigns from her father, Dr. Jerry Buss, in 2013..

“After Jerry Buss died, Jeanie Buss inherited the team and wholly excommunicated Jerry West from the franchise, even taking his season tickets,” Strauss notes. “According to sources, the bitterness started back when West was critical of Jeanie Buss’ relationship with then Laker coach Phil Jackson. Phil won that particular battle, and ultimately the power struggle with West.”

West, a 14-time All-Star, helped hire Jackson to guide the franchise, then headlined by All-Stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, back to the promised land in 1999, which Los Angeles instantly did. Unfortunately, West ultimately couldn't collaborate with Jackson, and departed the franchise right after it won its first of what wound up being three consecutive championships.

"One disappointing thing [about my career] is that my relationship with the Lakers is horrible," West told The Athletic's Sam Amick in 2022. "I still don't know why. And at the end of the day, when I look back, I say, 'Well, maybe I should have played somewhere else instead of with the Lakers, where someone would have at least appreciated how much you give, how much you cared.'"

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