YouTube Gold: Jerry West On Bill Russell

An interesting take on one of the NBA’s absolute legends from another

Jerry West is 85 now and he has been a huge part of NBA history. He was one of the greatest players in the league’s history and his Lakers consistently finished second-best to Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics in the 1960’s, losing to the C’s eight times.

In this interview with Dan Patrick, he alludes to his mental health issues (he’s struggled with depression his entire life and the Celtics didn’t help a bit) before discussing Russell in more depth.

He first expresses his appreciation for Russell as a man and says that they were better friends than people understood. Russell once told him his only wish for West was that he be happy, which is a keen insight, given West’s struggles, which are now, as he says, well-known.

Then Patrick asks him why people pick Michael Jordan over Russell and his answer speaks volumes about how the game has changed. It’s worth your time to listen.