Jerry West found catharsis in Kenya Barris documentary ‘The Logo’

Jerry West’s legend was so properly established when he retired from the Los Angeles Lakers in 1974 that he’d already been the inspiration for the NBA’s brand. Half a century later, West stays seventh all-time in factors per recreation and holds the points-per-game document for a playoff sequence, numbers much more exceptional as a result of he did it with out the three-point shot.

But, after all, West wasn’t achieved. As a scout and normal supervisor, he was a key architect of the Showtime Lakers groups of the Nineteen Eighties and later acquired each Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal to construct one other dynasty. West was additionally an government for the Golden State Warriors on their heyday, offering essential recommendation on participant personnel.

Through all of it, nevertheless, West struggled with melancholy and a way of self-loathing, and had hassle with intimacy, a lot of it a by-product of a hardscrabble childhood in West Virginia with a domineering father.

That dichotomy, his outer success and internal turmoil, are the center of “Jerry West: The Logo,” a brand new movie premiering Thursday for Prime Video, from “black-ish” creator Kenya Barrisdirecting his first documentary.

“I’m from LA and was a fan of the Showtime Lakers growing up,” Barris says, so he put his title in for the undertaking figuring he’d not less than get to satisfy a hero. “But we immediately hit it off and I felt a kinship with him.”

That skill to attach was a part of West’s magic, as attested to by the string of NBA legends who pay tribute to him in the documentary, together with Lakers equivalent to Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Pat Riley and O’Neal, together with Steph Curry and Michael Jordan.

Vlade Divac was traded by West to safe the rights to Bryant, however he chosen West to introduce him to his Hall of Fame induction. In a current telephone interview, Divac praised West as “a father figure when you needed it and a friend when you needed it. He was very honest and he cared about people and helped you achieve your goals. He’s one of the best guys I ever met. Period.”

Barris, who did intensive interviews with West earlier than the Laker icon died in 2024spoke by video not too long ago about making the documentary, which additionally contains NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledging for the primary time that West was the sport’s logo. This dialog has been edited for size and readability.

Jerry had already opened up about his life in his memoir, “West by West,” however do you assume this was nonetheless cathartic for him?

His e-book actually drew me to doing the documentary as a result of it was so sincere. I believe the concept of ​​him really saying these items out loud in entrance of a digicam together with his children and his grandkids round was a catharsis for him.

Did he really feel he was nearing the tip?

Jerry would say, “I feel like I’m in God’s waiting room.” He did not like getting previous as a result of he was a lot in contact together with his physique as an athlete — he may soar greater and run farther than his buddies. When I first met him, he was on the treadmill and jogging with weights. He was in his 80s however was saying, “I used to be able to jog with more weights.”

He was feeling previous however I do not assume that he thought he was about to go.

Was he aggravated by his depiction in HBO’s Lakers sequence “Winning Time,” which generated controversy in 2022?

The present was entertaining, however it actually bothered him and he did not assume it was truthful. I believe that sequence would possibly’ve pushed him into wanting to do that, if I’m being fully sincere.

“Jerry would say, ‘I feel like I’m in God’s waiting room,’” mentioned director Kenya Barris, who carried out intensive interviews with the Lakers legend earlier than his demise in 2024.

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He and his household discuss overtly on digicam about his psychological well being points. Was it exhausting to stability that tonally together with his nice accomplishments in basketball?

I did not wish to make one thing that was morose or a melodrama. But it could not be full if he did not discuss in regards to the struggles. When I first met him, he was simply popping out of a melancholy and anybody who’s ever been by means of that understands that it’s really a battle. So forming an entire image of who this character was was actually vital. And additionally it was vital for his household as a result of they lived by means of this with him as properly. They had been unhappy to see him undergo, however they’d suffered by means of it too.

We wished to actually speak about who this character was and what shaped him. Most of who we’re is shaped between the ages of 0 and 12 and in these years, Jerry noticed quite a bit and went by means of a whole lot of stuff.

When his older brother was killed in Korea and his father put the casket by the Christmas tree…

That was loopy. If we may get the viewers to know who this man was, it could give them empathy for all the pieces afterwards.

Ace to GM [general manager]he was a white man in this predominantly Black sport, however he got here in with a chip on his shoulder, too, and he noticed these younger gamers who hadn’t had robust father figures and got here from socioeconomically disadvantaged locations like he did and he was in a position to construct actual relationships with them.

He did not wish to speak about it quite a bit in the doc, however he did quite a bit for civil rights and for gamers’ advocacy of the NBA, for the Black gamers, who did not have the identical voice that he had. But he did it quietly.

Jerry West signed Shaquille O’Neal to the Lakers in 1996 after 4 years with the Orlando Magic. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE through Getty Images)

Jerry West, left, Kobe Bryant and Lakers head coach Del Harris in 1997. Bryant was acquired in a commerce for Vlade Divac. (Juan Ocampo/NBAE through Getty Images)

One factor the documentary avoids is the contentious relationship with Phil Jackson — who is not even talked about — and the reason for West’s departure from the Lakers proper after he constructed that dynasty. Did he not wish to talk about it?

We spoke about it. You cannot have that lengthy a profession and never rack up some controversial issues. But I did not need this to be a salacious have a look at the adverse accounts. I received in there the concept of ​​a pressure with the Lakers, however I wished to ensure to not outline that relationship primarily based upon sure issues that I wasn’t going to dig into. It was not a gotcha kind of documentary. It was extra of a tribute to him.

People have puzzled if he had stayed on, whether or not he may have stopped the connection between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal from going south, and I might have been to know what he thought.

We did speak about that. He believes that he may have gotten them to remain collectively and he mentioned that he believes they might have gone on and gained 4 or 5 extra championships.