Jerry West

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Jerry West and Oscar Robertson co-captained the U.S. men's basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics. The team was inducted as a unit into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. West was coming off a standout college career at West Virginia University, where he had led the Mountaineers to the 1959 NCAA championship game and earned the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honor despite the loss. His Olympic gold medal was the first major international achievement of his basketball journey, preceding his 14-year NBA career with the Lakers and his later success as an executive and consultant.

In Their Own Story

In 1960, Jerry West was a 22-year-old college star from West Virginia who had just finished his senior season at West Virginia University. He had averaged 29.3 points and 16.5 rebounds per game in his final collegiate year. Selected to co-captain the U.S. Olympic team with Oscar Robertson, West helped lead a squad that would later be inducted as a unit into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. The team dominated the competition in Rome, winning the gold medal. This Olympic triumph came just before West was drafted second overall by the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1960 NBA draft, shortly before the team relocated to Los Angeles.

Reader's Guide

**Olympic Appearance:** 1960 Rome Olympics (one-time appearance as a player). **Role:** Co-captain of the U.S. men's basketball team, playing guard/forward. **Achievement:** Won the gold medal. The entire 1960 U.S. Olympic team was inducted as a unit into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. **Context:** West was coming off a college career at West Virginia University where he totaled 2,309 points and 1,240 rebounds, averaging 24.8 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. He had led the Mountaineers to the 1959 NCAA championship game and was named NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player despite the loss.

Did You Know?

• West co-captained the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal team with Oscar Robertson.
• The entire 1960 U.S. Olympic team was inducted as a unit into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
• West's Olympic gold medal came just before he was drafted second overall by the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1960 NBA draft.
• In his final collegiate season (1959–60), West averaged 29.3 points and 16.5 rebounds per game for West Virginia University.
• West led West Virginia to the 1959 NCAA championship game and was named NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player despite the loss.