Top 10 Most Famous Jerry West Quotes (BEST)
“The trick in writing children’s books is to set up danger, mystery and excitement on page one. Force the kid to turn the page. Then in the middle of each chapter there’s a dramatic point of excitement, and at chapter’s end, a cliffhanger.”
Jerry West




![[The NBA] used to be a small band of basketball groupies. Now there are a lot more corporate-type people working in the league.](https://graciousquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/The-NBA-used-to-be-a-small-band-of-basketball-groupies.-Now-there-are-a-lot-more-corporate-type-people-working-in-the-league..jpg)




6 Inspirational Jerry West Quotes About Life
“Anything you can do to help someone, I just think it’s so important because there’s a lot of kids that look up athletes of all size and shapes in a lot of different fields, not necessarily in the basketball field. They get involved emotionally with those people because there’s something about certain athletes that people rally around.”
Jerry West





11 Jerry West Quotes that Will Make You Think
“The support this city and our fans have shown the Grizzlies made my decision to stay in Memphis an easy one. Memphis deserves a championship team, and I am committed to that.”
Jerry West



“I’m at the point where you look back on your life and reflect. I’ve always been an unbelievable critic of me. If we lost a game, I blamed myself every night. I’m very proud of some of the things I did as an athlete, as an executive.”
Jerry West


“I’ve always been really nationalistic, and I had a brother killed in Korea. And I think the ‘Star Spangled Banner,’ even today – and I’ve heard it a heckuva lot of times, OK – has always been a significant feeling to me.”
Jerry West



10 Jerry West Quotes on Winning
“You can’t imagine how much good luck is involved in winning, but all of a sudden, you get in a situation where every break goes your way, every call goes your way, every ball that rolls around drops in instead of out. It feels magical.”
Jerry West

“You can’t ever totally know what’s inside of someone else, or see the kind of will someone like Magic has. You have to rely on your instincts to find people who hate losing and know how to win.”
Jerry West

“I’d go fishing and always pretend I would catch the biggest fish. I’d stay out there for hours after everybody else left until I caught something. When I shot baskets, I was always the coach and star player and always made the winning shot.”
Jerry West

“You have to win games by scoring points, of course, so that’s important. But when you’re having nights against a good defensive team, you have to win in a different manner. You have to win a defensive-type game.”
Jerry West

“A lot of people would be happy that they got through a long career and had a chance to play as many times in the finals. To me, I wanted to win for the franchise and for the people. And when you can’t do that, it’s devastating, particularly for someone like me.”
Jerry West

11 Jerry West Quotes on Playing Basketball
“The season is a beast within itself. It’s not the quickest race; it’s a marathon. In the playoffs – if you’re fortunate enough to make the playoffs – that’s more like a dash. You have to concentrate on one opponent. When they’re done, you have to concentrate on another one.”
Jerry West

“If I’m not nervous, if I don’t have at least a little bit of the same self-doubt and anxious feelings I had when I started playing, then it will be time for me to go on. I must have that tension.”
Jerry West


“I know when I left the game, I could have played more. There is no question. I think I could have played at a very high level, too. But I could not play the way everyone wanted me to play. And I was not willing to compromise what I felt was a standard that I had established in this league and, particularly, for our fans at home.”
Jerry West

“I hated to miss games at the height of my career, I missed a lot of games due to just a hamstring pull. And I hated sitting out. I just hated it. You play for your team, but you also play for the people who attend the games.”
Jerry West



9 Jerry West Quotes on Basketball Players
“The league is changing, and we don’t have many back-to-the-basket players. We now have a game that requires skill and versatility. A lot of that is about being able to think. It makes all the difference in the world to have a player in there with a high basketball IQ who can make the right decision.”
Jerry West

“We talk about players of yesteryear, guys who could play or couldn’t play, and I think it’s ridiculous to try to even compare people. The things that you can do in basketball today that you couldn’t even do then you can carry the ball; you walk all over the place.”
Jerry West

“I hate to say it’s not a Laker but Michael Jordan. He’s been the greatest player I’ve ever seen. And I’m probably a harsh judge of talent in the sense that I admire players that are really good defensive players and really good offensive players.”
Jerry West

“I’ve always been a very harsh judge of talent because if you don’t play the game on both ends of the court, and if you don’t play hard every night, I’m probably not going to be in love with you as a player. I’m going to respect you because you’re good, but these players are unique.”
Jerry West
“The advent of so much dribbling has created a different kind of player, and it starts at a very early age. We have so many gifted ball handlers. Everything is pick-and-roll. Unless he’s a catch-and-shoot guy, a player is going to put it on the floor and attack. Kevin Durant is a wonderful ball handler.”
Jerry West
“Some guys lay their fannies out there every night – they play the game at such a high level, and they give so much that, frankly, they don’t get credit for it. And I think it’s tragic sometimes.”
Jerry West
5 Jerry West Quotes on Basketball Teams
“For some reason, I always wanted to work in an environment where things weren’t so good. I’m no messiah, but I always wanted to try and make a difference where a team hadn’t prospered.”
Jerry West




4 Jerry West Quotes on the Lakers
“I remember, years ago, if I had had an opportunity to leave the Lakers, I would have left for one reason: because I did not like an owner that was not telling me the truth. And it would have made no difference what they would have offered me; I would have left.”
Jerry West



2 Jerry West Quotes on Self-Esteem
“Self-esteem is something I still battle. People look at me and say, ‘You’ve got fame. You’ve got admiration. You’ve done this; you’ve done that.’ As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t done anything. I’ve just fulfilled a dream of competing.”
Jerry West
“Even though I felt, at times, ‘My goodness, you’re among the upper echelon,’ there is still a huge void there. A huge void. It is about self-esteem. That’s a thing that has always been a real complex part of my life.”
Jerry West
2 Jerry West Quotes on Walking Away
“I would never stay under circumstances where I felt I was a figurehead and might look good in your team media guide. I don’t want to be that. I do want to contribute, and if I don’t contribute, I’ll walk away from it. If I don’t feel welcomed, I’ll walk away from it.”
Jerry West

(MUST READ) West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life
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