Jerry West on his career: ‘Maybe I should have played somewhere else instead of with the Lakers’

The brief breakdown is a veritable synopsis of why West lands at No. 14 on The Athletic’s list of the top 75 players. Yet nearly a half-century after he retired, there’s an unfortunate and unwelcome addendum to his story that he’d like to share: He wishes he could do it all over again — in a different jersey. “One disappointing thing (about my career) is that my relationship with the Lakers is horrible,” West, a Clippers consultant since June 2017, told The Athletic. “I still don’t know why. And at the end of the day, when I look back, I say, ‘Well, maybe I should have played somewhere else instead of with the Lakers, where someone would have at least appreciated how much you give, how much you cared.’”