NBA Finals: Mavericks and Celtics honor Hall of Famer Jerry West before Game 3

The NBA honored Hall of Famer Jerry West on Wednesday night, just hours after his death, ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

West, who died early Wednesday morning, was 86 years old.

The league played a tribute video and then held a moment of silence before the national anthem before Game 3 between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Both coaches addressed West’s death before the game.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said one of the “most memorable phone calls” he ever received came from West during his college years.

Charles Barkley and former Warriors general manager Bob Myers also praised West during their respective pregame shows on Wednesday afternoon.

The inspiration for the NBA logo, West was one of the league’s most recognizable figures for decades. He won nine championships as a player, scout, coach, executive and consultant. As a player, he appeared in nine NBA Finals, losing six to Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics. In 1969, he was named Finals MVP despite being on the losing team. West, who played his entire playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers, was one of the league’s first players to score over 25,000 points. He averaged 27 points, 6.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game for his career.

West helped build the “Showtime” Lakers in the 1980s and signed both Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant before leaving the team in 2000. He also ran the Memphis Grizzlies and served as an executive officer with both the Golden State Warriors (where he helped them win two more championships before leaving in 2017) and the Clippers.

West has been inducted into the Hall of Fame twice, once as a player in 1980 and once as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team that won a gold medal in 2010. He will be inducted again this fall for his contributions as a non-player or coach. West also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019.