The legend, the face, and the very silhouette of NBA itself, Jerry West passed away on June 12. He was walking history of the NBA’s growth to which he contributed himself. He had won more championship building teams than playing for it. You couldn’t deny he was one the biggest contributors in the background of the greatest eras in NBA history through one team. Yet his unparalleled legacy remains tarnished because of how the Lakers treated the greatest Laker ever. Jeanie Buss drove the nail in the coffin and shunned West in ungrateful fashion. But that looks bad on Lakers ownership more than Mr Logo himself. Shaquille O’Neal, who credits West for creating the opportunity to win his first three titles, pointed out long ago what the Lakers let slip out of their hands.

In 2019, Shaq was on First Things First while still on the ownership group of the Sacramento Kings (he sold his share in 2022). At that time he was not interested in interfering in running day-to-day operations but he would do that if he was on the Lakers organization. What made him confident was a reliable mentor in West. “Mr. West is right across the hall, the greatest basketball mind ever.”

Shaq recalled how West persuaded him to move from Orlando and come to LA. O’Neal said he was so smart, he recognized what Charlotte was doing wrong and traded them Vlade Divac to make cap space for Shaq and acquire Kobe Bryant through their draft pick. He told Shaq in 1996 he was confident they’d win a championship together. West left the Lakers at the end of the 1999-2000 season, laying the foundation for Shaq and Kobe’s three-peat.

O’Neal kept repeating at the time that Mr. West was across the hall. That is, he was a consultant for the Los Angeles Clippers who shared the arena with the Lakers until his death. If O’Neal could return to the Lakers he was not above asking the consultant of the cross-town rivals for help. It’s a sentiment that the Buss family-owned Lakers didn’t acknowledge despite what Shaq implied.

Lakers don’t take Shaq’s cue

Kobe Bryant himself proclaimed that Jerry West is the greatest Laker. Even after he left the team, Bryant and West were joined at the hip. Though his affiliation with his players remained strong, his estrangement with the Lakers was at the forefront. It showed when it was the Clippers who announced his passing with dignity and respect the Lakers haven’t shown him in recent years.

What stung the Lakers diehards when Jeanie Buss named the five pillars of the organization included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, and Phil Jackson, but pointedly left out West though four of these five greats were his handpicked champions. Mr Logo made his displeasure vocal saying it was, “one of the most offensive things I’ve ever heard in my life.” West also called the Buss family cold for revoking his lifetime season tickets.

The bitterness ran deep as most observers found the Lakers’ statement on West’s passing dry and insincere. Shaq nearly had social media in tears with his tribute to West. Not being able to patch up West and the Lakers would be one of his regrets though.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.