Michelle Wie Mourns ‘Papa’ Jerry West With a Heartfelt Eulogy: ‘We Will Miss You’

LPGA legend Michelle Wie honored her late father-in-law, Jerry West, on social media. The basketball legend, who inspired the iconic silhouette logo of the NBA, passed away on June 12 at the age of 86. West, in a lengthy Instagram post, shared a few images of the veteran NBA icon at their home. In the post, Jerry West can be seen holding his granddaughter, Makenna. 

The LPGA icon wrote, “The world may know Jerry as the ‘Logo’, the fiercest competitor to ever step foot on a court, the best teammate, and mentor to so many, but to Makenna and me, we know him simply as… papa.” The former U.S. Women’s Open champion is married to Jonnie, the Lakers legend’s son. Michelle Wie and Jonnie West welcomed their firstborn on June 19, 2020, and they are expecting a second child.

Jonnie West also played collegiate golf and is now director of pro personnel at the Golden State Warriors. The five-time LPGA Tour winner revealed that the father-son duo used to talk about basketball at length, be it while meeting in person or via phone. 

Wie West joked that she still has ‘no idea’ of what they were so invested in. In the end, she wrote, “Thank you for loving us; you have no idea how much we will miss you. Rest in peace, Papa…hope you catch some big fish up there.”

In his 14-year career, Jerry West reached the NBA finals nine times with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning the title once. West also featured in the NBA All-Star in each of the 14 seasons. Jerry West was selected for the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in his career. On Wednesday night, the NBA honored the 1969 NBA Finals MVP with a video tribute before the third game between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks.

Coincidentally, the LPGA icon and the NBA legend met well before she started dating his son. It was in 2010 when Michelle Wie got an autograph from the veteran basketball star for a friend. However, it totally slipped her mind when Jonnie West took her to meet his parents.

The 34-year-old later recalled in a podcast, that when West reminded her that they had met before, she could only utter two words: “Oh! F***”. After the dinner, Jerry West joked, “Maybe next time you’ll remember me.” Although the NBA icon is famous for his exploits on the course, he also harbored a keen interest in golf. He, in fact, used to run the Northern Trust Open at Riviera. 

Jerry West was fined for his passion for golf

Jerry West had a handicap of 7.4 at the Greenbrier, which now hosts the LIV Golf event in West Virginia. West once told Golf Digest Australia that during the NBA playoffs, he snuck out to tee up at the Los Angeles Country Club.

However, there was a strict order for every player to rest before a crucial game. And, when the team management got to know about West’s trip to LACC, he was “made an example of for being naughty.”

That, of course, didn’t stop him from hitting balls on the range and the course throughout his career. He attended the 2009 Presidents Cup and was spotted talking with Anthony Kim. Like Stephen Curry, who he thought could’ve been a pro golfer, Jerry West was spotted on the range multiple times. 

For the veteran basketball player, hitting balls was the most ‘soothing’ thing to calm his mind. For sure, Michelle Wie, too had a thing or two to talk about with her ‘papa’ and those were not about NBA.