WEBVTT 00:10.386 --> 00:11.595 Alright. [grunts] 00:11.679 --> 00:13.097 You want a mic check or you got it? 00:13.180 --> 00:14.557 [clapper] Shaq interview, take one. 00:14.640 --> 00:15.683 [director] Thank you. 00:16.225 --> 00:18.144 -Sure. -[director] And Jerry thanks you. 00:19.186 --> 00:20.896 Alright, we're gonna get started. Quiet, please. 00:20.980 --> 00:22.314 Quick slate. 00:22.732 --> 00:25.568 -Great. -[soft music playing] 00:28.237 --> 00:29.739 -[crew member 1] I'm now rolling. -[crew member 2] Do tech. 00:29.822 --> 00:31.782 [director] Let's lock up the noise, guys. 00:31.866 --> 00:33.576 -[board claps] -Okay. 00:33.659 --> 00:34.785 Um... 00:35.494 --> 00:36.787 [director] I thank you very much for your time. 00:36.871 --> 00:38.038 Thank you, I know it's a game night. 00:39.373 --> 00:40.916 Last question. 00:41.000 --> 00:43.711 [soft music continues] 00:45.546 --> 00:49.383 Jerry West... made all my dreams come true. 00:49.467 --> 00:51.385 I would've loved to have played against Jerry 00:51.469 --> 00:53.179 'cause in some ways, I would've been playing 00:53.262 --> 00:54.513 against a mirror. 00:55.473 --> 00:57.057 But in other ways, you know, 00:57.141 --> 00:58.434 I'm pretty sure I could have learned 00:58.517 --> 01:00.895 and been a better basketball player because of it. 01:00.978 --> 01:03.731 He's one of the top ten basketball players 01:03.814 --> 01:05.149 ever to play the game. 01:05.900 --> 01:08.986 [Pat Riley] When people look at Jerry West's life, 01:09.069 --> 01:10.279 they would say something like, 01:10.362 --> 01:11.530 "What the hell's wrong with this guy? 01:11.614 --> 01:13.908 What's wrong with his life," you know? 01:13.991 --> 01:14.992 But they don't know. 01:15.075 --> 01:17.870 -[light music playing] -[pen scratching] 01:20.080 --> 01:23.417 [Joe Lacob] I've never met anybody as competitive 01:23.501 --> 01:24.752 in every moment of his life. 01:26.045 --> 01:28.297 [Jerry West] I played for the fans. I did. 01:28.380 --> 01:29.673 [commentator] West throws it up... 01:29.757 --> 01:31.759 -[crowd cheering] -[commentator] He makes it! 01:31.842 --> 01:34.470 [Jerry] I didn't play for the franchise. I played for the fans. 01:34.553 --> 01:37.723 Losing all those years in the finals... 01:37.807 --> 01:39.517 [Michael Jordan] He was put to the test eight times, 01:39.600 --> 01:41.060 he only won once, 01:41.143 --> 01:42.853 and that's not who he really is. 01:42.937 --> 01:45.105 [speaker] That would do something to you psychologically. 01:45.189 --> 01:48.275 Absolutely. It would do something, and it did. 01:48.359 --> 01:50.069 [Mitch Kupchak] That's the tormented part of him. 01:50.152 --> 01:52.863 For a second there, he could feel good and enjoy things 01:52.947 --> 01:54.323 and then all of a sudden, it'll flip 01:54.406 --> 01:56.033 and something dark will come in. 01:56.116 --> 01:58.786 [light music continues] 01:58.869 --> 02:00.204 [Ryan West] He's a perfectionist 02:01.330 --> 02:03.999 and I think he sees himself as a flawed individual. 02:05.209 --> 02:07.169 -[interviewer] Can he be happy? -No. 02:11.215 --> 02:13.467 [Michael Cooper] Been a lot of things out, a lot of things that have been said 02:13.551 --> 02:14.885 that are definitely wrong. 02:15.719 --> 02:19.139 I just want to tell my side of the truth about how I know Jerry West, 02:19.223 --> 02:22.476 probably one of the greatest NBA players that's ever played this game, 02:22.560 --> 02:25.563 and definitely one of the greatest GMs in history. 02:25.646 --> 02:28.649 -[light music continues] -[pen scratching] 02:33.404 --> 02:34.655 [club cracks against ball] 02:34.738 --> 02:36.949 [Jerry] I learned so much from winning 02:37.032 --> 02:38.534 but more from losing. 02:40.202 --> 02:42.496 How you have to conduct yourself. 02:42.580 --> 02:44.123 You know, you don't blame the referees, 02:44.206 --> 02:46.458 you don't blame your teammates. 02:46.542 --> 02:48.460 You got your fannies kicked. 02:48.544 --> 02:50.129 It doesn't feel good. 02:50.212 --> 02:51.297 You want the same thing. 02:51.380 --> 02:55.092 You want to be recognized for all the hard work. 02:55.175 --> 02:57.136 [Gary Vitti] One of the things that Jerry taught me 02:57.219 --> 03:02.099 is that sports is not designed to win. 03:03.058 --> 03:05.144 It's actually designed to lose. 03:06.270 --> 03:10.524 There's only one team that can win the last game. 03:10.608 --> 03:13.235 Everybody else goes home a loser. 03:14.904 --> 03:16.864 [speaker] Jerry's one of the great athletes 03:16.947 --> 03:18.699 this country's ever produced. 03:18.782 --> 03:20.075 -Complex. -Logo. 03:20.159 --> 03:22.870 -Intense. Passionate. -I'd describe my father as a... 03:22.953 --> 03:24.955 -Loyal. -...very misunderstood person. 03:25.039 --> 03:26.707 It's goddamn hard being Jerry West. 03:26.790 --> 03:28.250 -Honest. -I don't know that I'd want 03:28.334 --> 03:29.543 -to be Jerry West -Giving. 03:29.627 --> 03:32.296 -An absolute icon in a logo. -Sincere. 03:32.379 --> 03:34.048 Winning didn't just drive him. 03:34.131 --> 03:35.841 -Obviously, he's a local. -Consumed him. 03:35.925 --> 03:37.343 -[O'Neal] It upsets me when... -Crazy. 03:37.426 --> 03:38.928 [O'Neal] ...they say Jerry West was crazy. 03:39.011 --> 03:40.596 -This guy's crazy. -[O'Neal] I never saw that. 03:40.679 --> 03:42.932 -He's a genius. -The most successful... 03:43.015 --> 03:46.143 -Just an American icon. -...single individual in NBA history. 03:46.226 --> 03:48.020 -The Logo. -He's The Logo. 03:48.103 --> 03:51.106 [soft music continues] 03:56.904 --> 03:58.155 [♪ Green Day playing "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"] 03:58.238 --> 03:59.782 ♪ I walk a lonely road ♪ 03:59.865 --> 04:03.452 ♪ The only one that I have ever known... 04:03.535 --> 04:05.037 [Jerry] Why now? 04:05.913 --> 04:09.166 Well, I think sometimes all the things you kept private, 04:09.249 --> 04:11.585 maybe you should talk about a little bit 04:11.669 --> 04:13.712 to have a better understanding 04:13.796 --> 04:15.881 with the people who have supported us, 04:15.965 --> 04:19.885 but more importantly, your friends, particularly in the NBA, 04:19.969 --> 04:22.721 and my personal friends, which are not too many. 04:23.639 --> 04:28.769 ♪ My shadow's the only one that walks beside me ♪ 04:29.436 --> 04:32.523 ♪ My shallow heart's the only thing... 04:32.606 --> 04:34.566 [Jerry] There's just things that I shake my head 04:34.650 --> 04:36.735 and I see, I hear people say, 04:36.819 --> 04:39.989 that is really difficult for me to understand. 04:40.864 --> 04:44.576 ♪ 'Til then, I walk alone ♪ 04:45.869 --> 04:48.372 ♪ I walk this empty street ♪ 04:48.455 --> 04:50.833 ♪ on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams... ♪♪ 04:50.916 --> 04:52.167 Watch your fingers. 04:52.251 --> 04:53.335 -[crew member 1] Jerry. -[crew member 2 laughs] 04:53.419 --> 04:55.587 Jerry West interview, take one, common mark. 04:55.671 --> 04:56.839 [clapper clacks] 05:11.145 --> 05:13.647 [soft music playing] 05:18.277 --> 05:20.404 [pen scratching] 05:29.329 --> 05:32.332 [soft music continues] 05:48.474 --> 05:51.643 [soft music continues] 06:05.157 --> 06:06.533 [crowd cheering] 06:10.079 --> 06:13.082 [soft music continues] 06:28.305 --> 06:31.600 [soft music continues] 06:35.229 --> 06:38.607 [inaudible dialogue] 06:38.690 --> 06:41.235 [inaudible dialogue] 06:41.318 --> 06:45.322 [inaudible dialogue] 06:47.991 --> 06:50.994 [soft music continues] 06:53.330 --> 06:56.333 [pen scratching] 07:09.221 --> 07:12.141 [soft music continues] 07:28.949 --> 07:31.910 [light music playing] 07:31.994 --> 07:34.746 [birds chirping] 07:41.044 --> 07:43.088 [Jerry] This is the last house that I lived in. 07:44.131 --> 07:45.424 I was in high school. 07:45.507 --> 07:47.509 I think that one of the proudest things I did, 07:47.593 --> 07:50.095 I paid the mortgage off on this house 07:50.179 --> 07:51.930 for my mother and father. 07:52.014 --> 07:53.473 It was $12,000. 07:54.933 --> 07:57.019 We lived in that place there. 07:57.102 --> 07:58.854 And there was a tree here 07:58.937 --> 08:01.773 that I had a basketball hoop on, right here. 08:01.857 --> 08:02.858 Really nice to see you. 08:02.941 --> 08:03.984 -Yeah. -How you doing, young man? 08:04.067 --> 08:05.402 -Nice to see you. -My pleasure. 08:05.485 --> 08:07.863 My uncle was always said, talked about you. 08:07.946 --> 08:10.365 So I knew it was like... I never mentioned it was like... 08:10.449 --> 08:12.451 [laughs] Yeah. Well, I grew a lot, okay. 08:12.534 --> 08:13.785 -[laughs] -Can I... 08:13.869 --> 08:15.120 Can I have a picture? 08:15.204 --> 08:16.496 Yeah, sure. Why not? 08:16.580 --> 08:18.832 -Who's this for? -It's for my son Adam. 08:18.916 --> 08:21.960 They loved watching you play basketball 08:22.044 --> 08:24.171 and always wanted to be another Jerry West, 08:24.254 --> 08:27.216 which, there is never gonna be another Jerry West. 08:27.299 --> 08:29.259 I wish you guys well. Nice to talk to you. 08:29.343 --> 08:30.552 -Nice to speak. -Thank you. 08:33.055 --> 08:34.389 I wanted to play football 08:34.473 --> 08:36.683 when I was in junior high school, and I'll never forget. 08:36.767 --> 08:37.893 I couldn't play 08:37.976 --> 08:39.311 because they didn't have anything to fit me. 08:39.394 --> 08:40.854 I was so skinny and little. 08:40.938 --> 08:42.439 They gave me shoulder pads, 08:42.522 --> 08:45.025 gave me a helmet that was way too big. 08:45.108 --> 08:46.652 You know, I didn't have friends, 08:46.735 --> 08:49.905 so I gravitated to something that I could do by myself. 08:49.988 --> 08:53.367 And you know, you got to the point where all of a sudden 08:53.450 --> 08:55.953 you learn how to shoot the ball on your own. 08:56.954 --> 08:59.665 How can I become more effective as a shooter? 08:59.748 --> 09:02.876 Well, I can't tell you how many times I threw the ball up 09:02.960 --> 09:04.294 -20 feet in the air. -[laughing] 09:04.378 --> 09:08.632 I have a scar here today where I scratched my face 09:08.715 --> 09:10.842 because I tried to keep it close to my face, 09:10.926 --> 09:15.264 and so a very steady head and try to keep my eyes straight 09:15.347 --> 09:18.976 and I would round my foot and turn my body so I could go up 09:19.059 --> 09:22.312 and make sure that my body came down like a cylinder. 09:22.396 --> 09:25.065 What would you say is the prettiest part of Jerry's game for you? 09:25.816 --> 09:26.858 His pull-up. 09:26.942 --> 09:28.485 His beautiful jump shot. 09:28.568 --> 09:31.780 Jerry had a textbook jump shot. 09:31.863 --> 09:32.948 His jumper. 09:33.031 --> 09:35.325 [laughs] It's sweet. 09:35.409 --> 09:37.369 Yeah, it was sweet and it went in a lot. 09:37.452 --> 09:39.579 When you got that shot down, 09:39.663 --> 09:41.290 did you know when it was going in? 09:41.373 --> 09:43.083 -Oh, gosh, yeah. -[Kenya laughs] 09:43.166 --> 09:44.501 [upbeat music playing] 09:44.584 --> 09:45.669 [commentator] And Jerry West... 09:46.503 --> 09:48.380 [commentator 2] West, setting the mood. 09:49.631 --> 09:51.133 It's up. 09:51.216 --> 09:53.302 Averaging 30 points in this playoff series, 09:53.385 --> 09:55.637 taking the jumper and hitting. 09:55.721 --> 09:58.098 [commentator 3] Jerry West, throwing about whatever he wants to. 09:58.181 --> 09:59.683 He's got 20 points. He's... 09:59.766 --> 10:01.893 [upbeat music playing] 10:04.271 --> 10:06.815 [commentator 4] West is the one the Lakers will go to 10:06.898 --> 10:09.443 to try and bring them back, and we can expect the Celtics 10:09.526 --> 10:11.028 to try and double team West 10:11.111 --> 10:12.779 try to keep him from getting the hot hand here. 10:13.488 --> 10:16.199 [Klay Thompson] Jerry's jump shot is a thing of beauty, and it's timeless, 10:16.283 --> 10:19.202 and players to this day still try to mimic it. 10:19.286 --> 10:22.664 It's just the template of what perfect fundamentals look like. 10:22.748 --> 10:24.958 He was one of the guys who was, like, trying to change the game. 10:25.042 --> 10:27.252 He was more advanced at what he was doing. 10:27.336 --> 10:28.587 He was also big as heck. 10:28.670 --> 10:31.340 The hesi cross or the hesi fatal A to get to your spot, 10:31.423 --> 10:33.175 shoot over you like nobody's there. 10:33.258 --> 10:34.843 But Jerry was, like, unstoppable. 10:34.926 --> 10:37.763 I mean, honestly, he really was that good. 10:37.846 --> 10:39.014 One thing a shooter knows 10:39.097 --> 10:42.100 is that there's certain principles that are non-negotiables 10:42.184 --> 10:44.353 in terms of shooting the ball at a high level. 10:44.436 --> 10:47.272 You know, when it comes to your balance, it comes to your confidence, 10:47.356 --> 10:49.858 it comes to your ability to repeat the same motion 10:49.941 --> 10:51.443 over and over and over again. 10:51.526 --> 10:54.196 And if you watch footage of him or you hear him talk about it, 10:54.279 --> 10:57.282 the level of obsession of how to shoot the basketball 10:57.366 --> 10:58.825 comes out pretty clear. 10:58.909 --> 11:00.160 That's what shooters do. 11:00.243 --> 11:02.746 He held every Laker assist record, 11:02.829 --> 11:04.998 until he let me break 'em. 11:05.082 --> 11:07.167 [both laughing] 11:11.171 --> 11:12.422 [Kenya] Is it West Virginia? 11:12.506 --> 11:14.257 Do you think this is the difference maker for you? 11:14.341 --> 11:16.468 The thing that made you who you are? 11:16.551 --> 11:18.387 I would say that's true. Yeah. 11:18.470 --> 11:20.555 I've been coming here, my goodness, for... 11:21.681 --> 11:23.392 67 years of my life. 11:23.475 --> 11:25.977 There's an allure to this place that, 11:26.061 --> 11:28.939 I don't know if some people miss it when they leave. 11:29.815 --> 11:31.233 I definitely have. 11:31.316 --> 11:35.195 But it was a pretty nondescript place to grow up. 11:38.490 --> 11:41.952 It wasn't the perfect place to raise a kid, okay? 11:42.035 --> 11:44.496 There was nothing special there. 11:45.163 --> 11:48.458 ♪ Got tears in my eyes ♪ 11:48.542 --> 11:52.796 ♪ Tryin' to read a letter from my home ♪ 11:53.880 --> 11:57.259 ♪ If this train runs me right ♪ 11:57.342 --> 12:00.178 ♪ I'll be home Saturday night ♪ 12:00.262 --> 12:04.641 ♪ I'm nine hundred miles from my home ♪♪ 12:05.350 --> 12:07.394 Living below the poverty line, 12:07.477 --> 12:09.896 had no money, no clothes. 12:09.980 --> 12:12.983 It was awful. I just felt so inferior to everyone. 12:14.276 --> 12:16.027 I wanted to quit school. I hated school. 12:16.111 --> 12:17.737 I didn't feel like I belonged there. 12:17.821 --> 12:19.448 I was socially inept. 12:20.574 --> 12:23.994 I grew up in a household of three boys and three girls. 12:24.077 --> 12:25.370 I was fifth in line. 12:26.329 --> 12:27.998 My father was difficult. 12:28.081 --> 12:30.876 You know, he would raise his voice a lot. 12:30.959 --> 12:34.546 My sister said this was the ice house we were living in. 12:35.464 --> 12:37.174 [somber music playing] 12:37.257 --> 12:41.511 But one of my brothers, David, I was very close to him. 12:42.179 --> 12:45.432 He was really respectful. Everyone loved him. 12:45.515 --> 12:49.603 Never saw him be anything but a great person. 12:49.686 --> 12:54.024 Someone that I felt truly cared about me. 12:55.650 --> 12:59.196 So, he was the one who played basketball in the family, 13:00.197 --> 13:02.824 and he was soon called 13:02.908 --> 13:06.786 to represent our country as a serviceman. 13:08.538 --> 13:11.833 I was excited that he was, you know, in the service. 13:11.917 --> 13:14.002 He'd grown up, and what was he gonna be? 13:14.085 --> 13:15.921 What, you know, what the heck was gonna happen? 13:16.922 --> 13:18.798 So, he goes away to training, 13:18.882 --> 13:21.593 and he was immediately shipped to Korea. 13:21.676 --> 13:24.763 -[guns firing] -[shells explode] 13:24.846 --> 13:26.473 [gunfire] 13:26.556 --> 13:31.061 I remember the day my mother asked me to go and get the mail. 13:32.521 --> 13:34.481 And a lady said to me, 13:34.564 --> 13:36.358 "I heard your brother got killed in Korea." 13:36.441 --> 13:37.734 And I was like, "What?" 13:39.819 --> 13:42.239 I immediately took off running, 13:42.322 --> 13:46.243 and it was probably at least a half a mile. 13:46.326 --> 13:49.329 [somber music continues] 13:52.290 --> 13:55.794 And when I got to where we were living that time, 13:55.877 --> 13:57.837 uh, I could hear my mother... 13:57.921 --> 13:59.589 -[panting] -[mother screams] 13:59.673 --> 14:01.091 [Jerry] ...like, screaming. 14:03.093 --> 14:06.471 [somber music continues] 14:11.268 --> 14:13.311 [David West] It was hope. I think he represented hope 14:13.395 --> 14:17.524 about getting out of a difficult position around poverty. 14:17.607 --> 14:21.695 And Dad idolized his brother, and when he passed, 14:21.778 --> 14:23.989 that was brutal for him. 14:24.072 --> 14:25.740 [Ryan] And he said to me, 14:25.824 --> 14:27.742 "Why would God take away 14:27.826 --> 14:29.744 such a perfect person from this world?" 14:31.788 --> 14:37.043 [Jerry] You think the shock of him being killed was horrible. 14:38.837 --> 14:41.131 Well, you can't imagine 14:41.214 --> 14:43.758 when they brought the casket to our house. 14:43.842 --> 14:46.928 [soft music playing] 14:49.556 --> 14:51.433 [Kenya] That was by request of your father? 14:51.516 --> 14:53.518 -Yes. -[Kenya] To have the casket brought 14:53.602 --> 14:55.729 and set next to the Christmas tree. 14:55.812 --> 14:57.981 [Jerry] Well, that was even more bizarre. 14:58.064 --> 15:03.320 I do remember one thing. I-- I placed my hand on it, okay. I do. 15:04.779 --> 15:07.032 And at night trying to sleep, 15:07.115 --> 15:12.287 knowing my brother, who was my buddy, was invincible, 15:12.370 --> 15:17.167 who was laying in a metal box next to the Christmas tree... 15:21.129 --> 15:22.922 and to know-- and to know that... 15:24.841 --> 15:26.384 we're gonna put him... 15:28.011 --> 15:29.220 in the ground... 15:31.890 --> 15:33.099 it was... 15:33.183 --> 15:36.478 [soft music continues] 15:36.561 --> 15:37.646 ...almost... 15:38.480 --> 15:39.481 [sighs] 15:42.067 --> 15:43.360 ...indescribable... 15:44.653 --> 15:45.654 um... 15:48.365 --> 15:50.241 to even walk by this casket. 15:51.201 --> 15:54.204 And there's something about that day 15:55.080 --> 15:58.583 that made our house worse than it was before. 16:01.044 --> 16:03.630 My dad was very abusive toward me. 16:04.589 --> 16:07.342 For some reason, I guess the way I was 16:07.425 --> 16:10.095 when things weren't very good at the house... 16:11.221 --> 16:15.266 um... I was the one who was... 16:17.018 --> 16:19.521 He wanted to make an example of me. I couldn't defend myself. 16:20.897 --> 16:22.607 [Karen West] There's no doubt in my mind 16:22.691 --> 16:25.568 that his mother was in a deep depression. 16:25.652 --> 16:28.238 His father became angry. 16:28.321 --> 16:29.656 I think they-- you know, 16:29.739 --> 16:31.741 his father took it out on the younger kids. 16:31.825 --> 16:35.537 You became the protector of your little sister. 16:35.620 --> 16:36.871 -Yes. -[Kenya] Right. 16:36.955 --> 16:40.959 That was something that you felt like you needed to do. 16:41.042 --> 16:43.378 -That was gonna be your job. -Yeah. 16:43.461 --> 16:46.548 My dad hit her with the handle of a hammer, 16:46.631 --> 16:48.299 and this really set me off. 16:48.383 --> 16:50.385 I witnessed it, and it was awful. 16:51.261 --> 16:53.680 "You son of a bitch, you," I said to him, 16:53.763 --> 16:55.557 "You leave her alone." 16:55.640 --> 16:57.517 He was a vicious man. 16:57.600 --> 16:59.894 I don't even remember what it was about. 16:59.978 --> 17:01.438 He had a violent temper 17:01.521 --> 17:03.898 and it was an ugly way to live a life. 17:03.982 --> 17:05.567 You don't ever touch a woman. 17:06.943 --> 17:08.403 You don't. 17:08.486 --> 17:11.072 And when I see men today, 17:11.156 --> 17:14.784 we see a lot of it because there's so much more publicity. 17:14.868 --> 17:17.912 It just bothers me, and I-- I don't get it. 17:18.788 --> 17:20.623 You know, women are sacred. 17:20.707 --> 17:23.084 That's an absolute no-no. 17:24.002 --> 17:28.006 That started this change in me where, you know, I didn't care. 17:28.089 --> 17:29.215 I did not care. 17:30.467 --> 17:32.010 I told him, I threatened him. 17:32.093 --> 17:35.263 I said, "You ever do that again," I said, "It's not gonna be fun." 17:35.346 --> 17:38.391 As I say, I didn't care, you know. 17:38.475 --> 17:41.436 Whatever happened, I had a shotgun. 17:43.480 --> 17:45.523 I felt like I was at the bottom of the ocean. 17:46.441 --> 17:47.942 But right beside my bed, 17:48.026 --> 17:51.488 I had these little short letters from David, 17:51.571 --> 17:55.575 and he said, "Keep working hard on whatever you're doing." 17:55.658 --> 17:58.328 And he knew I liked basketball and mentioned, 17:58.411 --> 18:00.747 "I hope your basketball is going well." 18:00.830 --> 18:03.416 That's when I really started to practice out there. 18:04.667 --> 18:06.544 And I used to go out by myself 18:06.628 --> 18:08.963 because no one liked to play basketball. 18:09.047 --> 18:11.925 And I think it was so simple, you had a ball and a hoop. 18:12.008 --> 18:13.468 You didn't need people, 18:13.551 --> 18:16.054 but you did need an imagination, okay? 18:16.137 --> 18:19.766 And so, I was the player, I was the coach, 18:19.849 --> 18:21.434 -I was a referee. -[whistle blows] 18:21.518 --> 18:23.102 I was the best player in the world. 18:23.186 --> 18:25.355 I was gonna make a last-second shot. 18:26.314 --> 18:28.233 When I picked this basketball up... 18:30.109 --> 18:32.779 it was almost like picking up a good luck charm. 18:34.322 --> 18:37.408 Well, I started to grow, and I started to get a little bit better 18:37.492 --> 18:40.829 and finally got to play on my ninth grade team. 18:40.912 --> 18:43.748 [Jonnie West] The two major instances in his childhood 18:43.832 --> 18:45.667 were his relationship with his father 18:45.750 --> 18:49.045 and his brother being killed in the Korean War. 18:49.128 --> 18:52.632 Those two things drove him to search for an outlet, 18:52.715 --> 18:56.302 and basketball became that outlet. 18:56.386 --> 18:57.762 [Jerry] My life changed. 18:57.846 --> 19:01.391 All of a sudden, I wasn't this little kid anymore. 19:02.559 --> 19:04.853 Having said that, I would not let my mother 19:04.936 --> 19:06.312 let my father go to games. 19:06.396 --> 19:07.897 I didn't want him to watch me play. 19:07.981 --> 19:11.359 The thing that I got the most joy out of 19:11.442 --> 19:14.070 was playing and competing. 19:14.153 --> 19:17.115 And to think that I wanted to share that with my father? 19:17.198 --> 19:20.910 No. I could not erase what had happened in the past. 19:20.994 --> 19:22.829 -[bright music playing] -[people cheering] 19:23.872 --> 19:26.124 My senior year, we won the state championship. 19:26.207 --> 19:29.294 I have no idea how. We weren't the best team. 19:29.377 --> 19:31.963 But I was scoring a lot of points every night, 19:32.046 --> 19:33.298 -and our team-- -[Kenya] What's a lot? 19:33.381 --> 19:34.591 Do you remember how many points? 19:34.674 --> 19:36.426 [Jerry] [chuckling] Minimum 35. 19:36.509 --> 19:38.803 -[Kenya] What? -[Jerry] Minimum 35. 19:38.887 --> 19:40.555 -[Kenya laughs] -[Jerry] Yeah. 19:40.638 --> 19:43.141 I don't think anyone's ever broken those records, 19:43.224 --> 19:44.976 rebounding and scoring. 19:46.185 --> 19:47.854 I went to East Bank High School, 19:47.937 --> 19:50.189 and one day and one year after that, 19:50.273 --> 19:52.692 they changed the name to West Bank. 19:52.775 --> 19:55.737 It was such a important feeling... 19:56.571 --> 19:59.699 and to even think that it was possible 19:59.782 --> 20:02.452 that I could go to college? 20:02.535 --> 20:05.079 [triumphant music playing] 20:05.163 --> 20:08.416 I was a sophomore playing on the number one team in the country, 20:08.499 --> 20:10.043 which is difficult to do. 20:10.126 --> 20:11.753 You know, I would always be nervous, 20:11.836 --> 20:13.421 water dripping off my hands. 20:13.504 --> 20:15.214 ♪ I put that work in, I'm serving my service ♪ 20:15.298 --> 20:16.716 ♪ I go get it done... 20:16.799 --> 20:19.427 [Jerry] But I said, "Oh, my gosh, maybe I am pretty good 20:19.510 --> 20:21.054 and not just a common player." 20:21.137 --> 20:24.349 [commentator] Jerry West, sensational sophomore, scored 28 points. 20:24.432 --> 20:25.975 Growing up in West Virginia, 20:26.059 --> 20:29.771 from the time I was a freshman in high school, 20:29.854 --> 20:31.648 I became aware of Jerry. 20:31.731 --> 20:34.359 And then at West Virginia University, 20:34.442 --> 20:38.613 I was matched up with him, and that was an experience. 20:38.696 --> 20:41.407 You know, I was supposed to be the next Jerry West, 20:41.491 --> 20:45.244 and quickly found out that might not happen. 20:45.328 --> 20:48.247 [commentator] Here's West with two from close in for West Virginia. 20:48.331 --> 20:50.541 ♪ I show up and show out, they say I'm the leader... 20:50.625 --> 20:53.294 [commentator] ...pass to Jerry West, and West scores. 20:53.378 --> 20:55.254 ♪ Like it's on back of jerseys I'm worthy to some... 20:55.338 --> 20:56.798 [Jerry] I became very confident. 20:56.881 --> 20:58.216 Leading the team in scoring. 20:58.299 --> 21:00.551 My game just escalated real quickly. 21:00.635 --> 21:02.261 [commentator] And a pass to West. He breaks into the circle, 21:02.345 --> 21:05.473 puts up the winning bucket with only three seconds remaining. 21:05.556 --> 21:08.309 Jerry West, the 6'3" Cabin Creek sophomore 21:08.393 --> 21:10.812 has 8,000 fans looking on in disbelief. 21:10.895 --> 21:13.106 Keep your eye on number 44. 21:13.189 --> 21:15.233 ♪ I show up and show out, they say I'm the leader ♪ 21:15.316 --> 21:17.193 ♪ I know I'm the one ♪♪ 21:17.276 --> 21:19.195 [Jerry] To go from this extreme, 21:19.278 --> 21:21.948 when you didn't believe anything about yourself, 21:22.031 --> 21:23.825 to being selected for the Olympic team, 21:23.908 --> 21:25.576 first of all, I thought was a huge honor. 21:26.285 --> 21:27.787 [triumphant music playing] 21:27.870 --> 21:29.789 I can't tell you how beautiful it was. 21:29.872 --> 21:33.960 You know, being from West Virginia, except for Mary Lou Retton... 21:34.043 --> 21:35.420 -[Kenya laughs] -[Jerry] ...there hasn't... 21:35.503 --> 21:37.463 there haven't been very many people 21:37.547 --> 21:39.841 that got to represent the state. 21:39.924 --> 21:41.509 It was even more eye-opening 21:41.592 --> 21:43.428 because my brother had been killed in Korea. 21:44.429 --> 21:48.516 [Ryan] For my father, it wasn't just about representing the country, 21:48.599 --> 21:50.226 but also representing his brother. 21:50.309 --> 21:52.186 As somebody that fought for this country, 21:52.270 --> 21:55.857 it really meant a lot to him in multiple ways. 21:56.649 --> 21:57.859 That Olympics in general, 21:57.942 --> 22:01.195 is a pretty significant Olympics. 22:01.279 --> 22:04.240 There was a lot of historical figures that were involved. 22:04.991 --> 22:07.785 [Ryan] Some of the biggest names in the history of sports, 22:07.869 --> 22:11.330 Wilma Rudolph, Oscar Robertson, Rafer Johnson. 22:11.414 --> 22:13.708 I remember my dad telling me he'd be in his room 22:13.791 --> 22:17.170 and he'd hear this guy just yelling and screaming 22:17.253 --> 22:18.755 and running his mouth. 22:18.838 --> 22:21.132 He'd look out the window, it was Cassius Clay. 22:21.215 --> 22:22.592 It was Muhammad Ali. 22:23.843 --> 22:25.553 [commentator] And Jerry West of West Virginia, 22:25.636 --> 22:27.346 the United States Olympic team. 22:27.430 --> 22:30.349 The first night we played against the Italian team. 22:30.433 --> 22:32.685 [commentator speaking Italian] 22:32.769 --> 22:35.271 [Jerry] They scored the first two baskets of the game. 22:35.354 --> 22:37.190 This place was going crazy. 22:37.273 --> 22:39.067 [chanting in Italian] 22:40.359 --> 22:44.197 At that point in time, there was a lot going on in the war. 22:44.280 --> 22:48.242 [John F. Kennedy] Ask not what your country can do for you. 22:48.326 --> 22:50.912 Ask what you can do for your country. 22:50.995 --> 22:53.247 [Jerry] You had all the racists in the South, 22:53.331 --> 22:55.792 you had the threat of nuclear war. 22:55.875 --> 22:57.710 You had the Cold War. 22:57.794 --> 23:01.464 And so, you almost felt like you were, uh, participating 23:01.547 --> 23:02.965 in a mini war yourself. 23:03.049 --> 23:04.175 [crowd cheering] 23:04.258 --> 23:06.094 All of a sudden, it got pretty quiet. 23:07.220 --> 23:09.347 I think the next time I looked at the scoreboard, 23:09.430 --> 23:11.015 it was like 26 to 4. 23:11.099 --> 23:14.685 [commentator] West. Rebound by Big Jerry Lucas. 23:14.769 --> 23:17.188 [Jerry] After that, regardless of who we were playing, 23:17.271 --> 23:19.982 oh, my gosh, the score was horrendous in our favor. 23:20.066 --> 23:22.235 [commentator] Jerry West has really been hot. 23:22.318 --> 23:24.654 He averaged about 28 a game as collegiate... [indistinct]. 23:25.571 --> 23:28.032 [commentator 2] Oscar Robertson, he fakes the dot drive, 23:28.116 --> 23:30.034 jumps and hits. 23:30.118 --> 23:31.202 -[Jerry] Above all... -[commentator 3] Oscar Robertson... 23:31.285 --> 23:33.746 [Jerry] ...it was really exciting just having a chance to play 23:33.830 --> 23:35.623 with Oscar Robertson, the Big O. 23:35.706 --> 23:37.208 [commentator] West to Robertson. 23:38.292 --> 23:39.961 He just dominated games. 23:40.044 --> 23:42.338 It was hard to measure yourself against someone like him. 23:42.421 --> 23:44.173 -[upbeat music playing] -[commentator] USA ball 23:44.257 --> 23:45.591 with seven and a half minutes remaining here. 23:45.675 --> 23:46.801 USA on top. 23:49.137 --> 23:51.931 And won a gold medal, which frankly, 23:52.014 --> 23:54.934 was the greatest sports shield I've ever had. 23:55.017 --> 23:58.271 [orchestral "The Star-Spangled Banner" playing] 23:58.354 --> 24:02.567 [George Raveling] To go to Rome and to win the gold medal, 24:02.650 --> 24:06.362 inside yourself, there's like a little invisible t-shirt 24:06.445 --> 24:09.282 saying, "Mission accomplished." 24:09.365 --> 24:10.825 Dad's never been much for trophies... 24:12.410 --> 24:16.038 but that one for sure is super important to him. 24:16.122 --> 24:18.207 ["The Star-Spangled Banner" continues] 24:20.793 --> 24:22.628 [Jerry] And then, you know, all of a sudden, 24:22.712 --> 24:25.590 a big change in my life to go from... [chuckles softly] 24:25.673 --> 24:29.135 a town of about 500 people to Los Angeles, California... 24:29.218 --> 24:31.220 ♪ Are you ready? ♪ 24:31.304 --> 24:34.807 [Jerry] ...where I started my basketball career with the Lakers. 24:34.891 --> 24:37.685 ♪ Are you ready now ♪♪ 24:38.728 --> 24:40.771 [Jerry] The NBA was in its infancy. 24:40.855 --> 24:44.692 It was just so different from the game today. 24:44.775 --> 24:47.612 You know, there was no publicity when we played. None. 24:47.695 --> 24:49.447 Games were rarely on television. 24:49.530 --> 24:53.993 Most of the people followed games by radio, by newspaper. 24:54.702 --> 24:58.039 [Jerry] Teams had to move because no one would come watch 'em play. 24:58.122 --> 25:02.168 There was no exposure, no social media. 25:02.877 --> 25:04.045 There was not a lot of interest. 25:04.837 --> 25:07.798 [Raveling] Teams didn't have large coaching staffs. 25:07.882 --> 25:10.843 The coaching staffs were one head coach and an assistant. 25:10.927 --> 25:14.096 We had nothing when it came to a strength coach, 25:14.180 --> 25:15.848 an agility coach, a dietitian. 25:15.932 --> 25:17.600 It was a totally different world. 25:17.683 --> 25:20.561 [Jerry] Our mode of transportation were cars, 25:20.645 --> 25:23.272 which the players were driving, the coach were driving, 25:23.356 --> 25:25.524 and we'd go stay in these little motels 25:25.608 --> 25:27.443 out in the middle of nowhere. 25:27.526 --> 25:31.197 I said to myself, "My gosh, this is the NBA?" 25:31.280 --> 25:34.242 [David] I remember the Lakers would play on Friday and Sundays 25:34.325 --> 25:36.244 and on Saturday, he worked. 25:36.327 --> 25:39.080 He was at Sears in the parking lot somewhere 25:39.163 --> 25:41.457 promoting basketball, which had just come to the West Coast. 25:42.750 --> 25:45.086 [Jerry] So, here I am in Los Angeles. 25:45.169 --> 25:47.296 All of a sudden, instead of being important 25:47.380 --> 25:50.091 in your own state, it was different. 25:52.134 --> 25:54.011 Our first two games were against the New York Knicks. 25:54.095 --> 25:58.057 Like, 4,820 people in the audience. 25:58.808 --> 26:01.310 Every one of 'em were Knicks fans. 26:02.561 --> 26:05.815 We weren't the attraction, we were kind of a second-class act. 26:06.565 --> 26:07.733 We almost felt like, 26:07.817 --> 26:09.944 what's the purpose of moving to Los Angeles 26:10.027 --> 26:11.529 to draw more people? 26:11.612 --> 26:16.409 But now, started to build a life away from West Virginia. 26:16.492 --> 26:18.536 And it was an eye-opener. 26:18.619 --> 26:22.206 -[upbeat music playing] -[car horn blasts] 26:22.290 --> 26:23.541 It was really weird. 26:25.668 --> 26:27.878 [upbeat music continues] 26:29.171 --> 26:31.716 I'm saying to myself, "My gosh, I don't even know where I was." 26:33.509 --> 26:37.305 I had a wife and three young boys with me. 26:37.388 --> 26:40.516 They put me in a little motel. 26:40.599 --> 26:42.310 I'm not sure it's still there, 26:42.393 --> 26:44.520 but you would not have wanted to be... 26:44.603 --> 26:45.771 -[Kenya laughs] -...even then. 26:46.731 --> 26:49.400 I mean, I'm having a hard time breathing. It, like, hurt. 26:49.483 --> 26:50.776 And somebody said it's smog. 26:51.569 --> 26:53.696 Well, I was so bad in our practice. 26:53.779 --> 26:55.865 "Oh, my gosh," I says, "I'm lost." 26:55.948 --> 26:59.410 I didn't feel like I belonged, I mean, I was trembling. It was awful. 26:59.493 --> 27:03.289 And I said to myself, "My God, am I gonna be good enough 27:03.372 --> 27:05.166 to do something that I love to do?" 27:05.249 --> 27:07.043 [upbeat music continues] 27:07.126 --> 27:09.712 About midway in the season, we weren't very good, 27:09.795 --> 27:11.297 struggling like crazy, 27:11.380 --> 27:14.967 playing 82 games and winning 20. 27:16.427 --> 27:19.013 But then, Coach changed our back work. 27:19.096 --> 27:20.806 [Kenya] What'd he change it to? 27:20.890 --> 27:23.601 Frank Selvy, he was leading scorer in the country... 27:24.643 --> 27:26.354 and, uh, myself. 27:26.437 --> 27:28.356 [commentator] Jerry West of West Virginia 27:28.439 --> 27:30.149 taking the jumper and hitting. 27:30.232 --> 27:32.026 Sand has switched over, this time to West, 27:32.109 --> 27:33.778 and West goes in and makes it. 27:33.861 --> 27:36.906 Lakers maintain possession as West goes... 27:36.989 --> 27:38.657 [Jerry] I started to get to play a little bit more, 27:38.741 --> 27:42.036 and all of a sudden, I said, "You know, I'm gonna be okay." 27:42.119 --> 27:44.789 If you look at how he was as a pro, 27:44.872 --> 27:47.291 he got better and better, you know, as he went along. 27:47.375 --> 27:50.044 And it was because of being very bright, 27:50.127 --> 27:53.506 understanding what he needed to do to make the team better. 27:53.589 --> 27:57.927 [Jerry] We started winning games, and we became a formidable team. 27:58.010 --> 27:59.595 [Kenya] How long did that take? 27:59.678 --> 28:00.721 Just a year. 28:00.805 --> 28:02.014 -[Kenya] One year? -One year. 28:02.973 --> 28:04.558 [commentator] Listen to 'em count it off. 28:04.642 --> 28:06.227 The Lakers have done it! 28:06.310 --> 28:08.396 The crowd is standing at their feet. 28:08.479 --> 28:11.232 They are not fighting to get out as usual. 28:11.315 --> 28:14.235 [Jerry] It was fun to see the change, but particularly the fans. 28:14.318 --> 28:15.903 [Bob] Game night. 28:15.986 --> 28:18.030 The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. 28:18.114 --> 28:20.950 [Jerry] But the place was rockin', completely sold out. 28:23.202 --> 28:25.121 The press started to pay attention to us. 28:25.204 --> 28:28.249 This is the Mar Vista Playground in West Los Angeles, California. 28:28.332 --> 28:30.584 Working out with the youngsters is Jerry West, 28:30.668 --> 28:33.629 Los Angeles Lakers' red-hot sharpshooter from West Virginia. 28:33.712 --> 28:35.965 -Hi, Jerry, how are you? -Hello, Bob. How are you today? 28:36.048 --> 28:38.676 [Bob] NBA stars like West receive hundreds and hundreds 28:38.759 --> 28:40.177 of letters from fans every week, and often... 28:40.261 --> 28:42.555 [Jerry] It was like, oh, my gosh, you know, 28:42.638 --> 28:44.348 you're something special now. 28:44.432 --> 28:46.308 -It felt good. -[people applauding] 28:48.436 --> 28:49.854 [Richard Pryor] You know, niggas and white people fight, 28:49.937 --> 28:52.273 I'll always be rooting for the nigga, even if he bad. 28:53.315 --> 28:54.650 Please whoop the white folks. 28:54.733 --> 28:57.486 I don't want white folks to win nothing. Even Jerry West. 28:57.570 --> 28:59.780 I wish that motherfucker couldn't play basketball. 28:59.864 --> 29:02.199 [audience laughing] 29:03.284 --> 29:06.954 [Pryor] That's it. But that motherfucker can play some basketball. 29:07.037 --> 29:08.789 -[laughs] -[audience laughing] 29:08.873 --> 29:11.625 I mean, niggas be out here, and Jerry would make 22 points. 29:14.003 --> 29:16.714 -It's embarrassing, really. -[audience laughing] 29:18.174 --> 29:20.551 When I first heard it, I've said to myself, 29:20.634 --> 29:24.054 "Oh, my God, I think I've arrived in the Black community." [laughing] 29:24.138 --> 29:27.433 Mr. West was, excuse my French, a cold-ass white boy. 29:27.516 --> 29:30.394 What they say? You know, Jerry was giving it to all races back then. 29:30.478 --> 29:31.645 -[laughs] -No matter what you was, 29:31.729 --> 29:32.813 Jerry was scoring on everybody. 29:32.897 --> 29:35.357 Jerry came from West Virginia 29:35.441 --> 29:37.318 at a time when, you know, 29:37.401 --> 29:40.237 it was Black Panthers, it was Black Power, 29:40.321 --> 29:42.323 it was "I'm Black and I'm proud." 29:42.406 --> 29:43.782 It was civil rights. 29:44.492 --> 29:46.494 For him to be as good as he was during an era 29:46.577 --> 29:50.998 where Black players was becoming more dominant athletically 29:51.081 --> 29:52.750 and getting their own identity. 29:52.833 --> 29:55.711 -♪ Say it loud ♪ -♪ I'm Black and I'm proud... 29:56.962 --> 29:59.465 And yet, this dude went toe to toe with them 29:59.548 --> 30:02.134 and they had to respect him based on his talent, 30:02.218 --> 30:04.220 not his color, his talent. 30:04.887 --> 30:06.847 This dude, he was good. 30:06.931 --> 30:08.766 In my neighborhood, you say 30:08.849 --> 30:11.018 Jerry was a bad motherfucker, man. You know what I mean? 30:12.978 --> 30:14.480 ♪ Alright now ♪♪ 30:16.941 --> 30:19.151 [Kenya] So, what am I looking at here? What is this place? 30:19.235 --> 30:21.278 This was a, uh, Black school. 30:22.154 --> 30:25.950 The schools were segregated here, which is so stupid. 30:26.909 --> 30:29.954 West Virginia was very segregated when I was a kid. 30:30.037 --> 30:32.289 Didn't go to school with anyone Black. 30:32.373 --> 30:34.583 You know, I have seen on one occasion, 30:34.667 --> 30:36.877 uh, sitting outside at night looking over, 30:36.961 --> 30:39.797 there was a cross burning over on the hillside. 30:39.880 --> 30:42.049 -[Kenya] Oh, shit. -[Jerry] And it actually scared me. 30:42.132 --> 30:45.469 I didn't play with any Black athlete when I was in West Virginia. 30:45.553 --> 30:47.388 -[Kenya] Right. -I played against Black athletes. 30:47.471 --> 30:48.556 [Kenya] Mm-hmm. 30:48.639 --> 30:51.934 The first time I ever heard the name Jerry West, 30:52.017 --> 30:57.106 is we're preparing to go down to play West Virginia, 30:57.189 --> 30:59.775 and our coach is telling us they're gonna have 30:59.858 --> 31:02.945 probably the best player we're gonna play against 31:03.028 --> 31:06.407 all season long, named Jerry West. 31:06.490 --> 31:09.994 I mean, it made Jerry sound like he was God. 31:10.077 --> 31:13.163 So, I walked up to-- to my coach and I said, 31:13.247 --> 31:15.916 "Coach, is Jerry West white or Black?" 31:16.000 --> 31:17.960 -And he says, "He's white." -[gentle music playing] 31:18.043 --> 31:21.755 So I said, "Coach, let me guard Jerry West." 31:21.839 --> 31:24.216 And as the record will show, 31:24.300 --> 31:27.970 it was a bad request, 'cause he lit me up. 31:29.805 --> 31:33.225 -[crowd cheers] -[Raveling] We arrived at Morgantown, 31:33.309 --> 31:36.478 and now the first big revelation takes place. 31:37.521 --> 31:39.607 No one on the West Virginia team 31:39.690 --> 31:42.359 knew that Villanova had two Black players. 31:43.611 --> 31:45.863 Of course, that caused a little stir. 31:45.946 --> 31:48.240 [crowd cheering] 31:48.324 --> 31:50.242 [Raveling] And then they did the introductions, 31:50.326 --> 31:53.954 and number 44, Jerry West. 31:55.205 --> 31:57.166 And you might as well just said, 31:57.249 --> 32:00.586 "Ladies and gentlemen, the Lord is playing tonight." 32:00.669 --> 32:05.549 I had never played in a game where an opposing player 32:05.633 --> 32:08.093 got the adoration that Jerry did. 32:08.177 --> 32:10.220 [commentator] Riding the crest of 11 straight wins, 32:10.304 --> 32:13.265 West Virginia, ranked number one, moves in against Villanova. 32:13.349 --> 32:16.226 -The underdog... -So, the game is progressing. 32:16.310 --> 32:17.978 I'm running it behind him, 32:18.062 --> 32:20.481 and I'm coming so fast, and I hit him. 32:22.524 --> 32:25.152 And I knocked him into the first row of seats. 32:25.235 --> 32:26.445 [gasps] 32:27.738 --> 32:29.782 The place was utter silent. 32:32.117 --> 32:34.536 It seemed like Jerry was down there forever. 32:35.287 --> 32:37.206 And I'm thinking to myself, 32:37.289 --> 32:39.208 "Dear God, please let this boy get up." 32:41.210 --> 32:42.836 He looks up at me... 32:44.004 --> 32:45.172 and he puts his hand out... 32:45.255 --> 32:46.465 [gentle music playing] 32:46.548 --> 32:47.925 ...and I help him up. 32:49.218 --> 32:52.388 I always say he probably saved my life. [chuckles] 32:53.347 --> 32:56.225 [commentator] In professional basketball, there are certain players 32:56.308 --> 32:58.560 who are especially admired by their teammates. 32:59.353 --> 33:00.646 Jerry West is one. 33:00.729 --> 33:03.482 Another is Lakers captain Elgin Baylor. 33:04.441 --> 33:06.944 [Jerry] I had two great mentors 33:07.027 --> 33:09.822 in Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain, 33:09.905 --> 33:13.409 and particularly nights after games, we would play cards, 33:13.492 --> 33:16.328 and there was always four or five Black guys 33:16.412 --> 33:18.831 and one white guy, and that was me. 33:18.914 --> 33:21.250 And I've said it's the greatest learning experience of my life. 33:22.167 --> 33:25.003 My first roommate was Ray Felix. 33:25.087 --> 33:29.800 So, you're rooming with this Black guy, it's 1960. 33:29.883 --> 33:31.760 That wasn't a thing? 33:31.844 --> 33:33.011 No. 33:33.095 --> 33:36.056 And he was constantly, Ray, encouraging me 33:36.140 --> 33:37.433 and he was telling me all the time, 33:37.516 --> 33:39.476 "You gonna be one of the greatest players of all time." 33:39.560 --> 33:42.020 That was so uplifting to me. 33:42.104 --> 33:44.898 I never had anyone say anything like that to me. 33:44.982 --> 33:47.317 I learned more in those conversations 33:47.401 --> 33:50.946 than I've ever known to exist about their feelings, 33:51.029 --> 33:53.198 about things they were exposed to. 33:53.282 --> 33:55.701 I learned it was okay to laugh. 33:55.784 --> 33:57.411 It was okay to make fun of yourself. 33:57.494 --> 34:00.164 It drew me out of a shell. 34:00.247 --> 34:03.709 All of a sudden, I felt confidence in myself 34:03.792 --> 34:06.378 where I-- honestly, I couldn't believe it. 34:09.339 --> 34:11.341 [birds chirping] 34:16.430 --> 34:17.556 Oh, yeah, I see her. 34:18.724 --> 34:19.808 Hey, Makenna. 34:21.351 --> 34:22.478 What are you doing? 34:22.561 --> 34:24.480 -[Makenna] I'm blowing bubbles. -[chuckles] 34:25.314 --> 34:27.191 Oh, boy, big bubbles. [laughs] 34:28.609 --> 34:31.862 The game of basketball brought me so much, 34:31.945 --> 34:36.241 but the good times were far overshadowed by the bad times. 34:36.992 --> 34:38.577 I just hated losing. 34:40.204 --> 34:43.582 But I always felt you have to learn how to lose 34:43.665 --> 34:45.501 and you have to learn how to win. 34:45.584 --> 34:46.877 Um... 34:48.212 --> 34:50.714 I darn sure learn-- learned how to lose. 34:50.798 --> 34:53.967 [fanfare music playing] 34:54.051 --> 34:56.345 [commentator] This is it. The Los Angeles Lakers 34:56.428 --> 34:58.514 and the white-shirted Boston Celtics. 34:58.597 --> 35:00.599 Both teams alert for the breaks. 35:00.682 --> 35:03.310 [Jerry] Lakers versus the World Champion Boston Celtics. 35:04.394 --> 35:06.605 They have all these very famous names. 35:06.688 --> 35:08.774 Bill Russell and Bob Cousy. 35:09.983 --> 35:11.777 [crowd cheering] 35:11.860 --> 35:14.696 The '60s was truly like the Boston Celtic era, 35:14.780 --> 35:16.949 just winning year after year after year. 35:17.032 --> 35:20.536 [Riley] In competition, sometimes you carry these rivalries, 35:20.619 --> 35:23.372 but the Celtics and the Lakers 35:23.455 --> 35:27.292 were not just a heated rivalry, it was a hated rivalry. 35:28.168 --> 35:29.837 -[whistle blows] -[commentator] A pushing foul, 35:29.920 --> 35:31.922 and, boy, the whistle screams again. 35:32.005 --> 35:33.632 And it still is to this day. 35:33.715 --> 35:35.342 [commentator] To Worthy. Rambis. 35:37.803 --> 35:39.388 And now, let's watch it. 35:39.471 --> 35:42.224 Cooper and the Celtics, and now the bench is empty. 35:42.307 --> 35:44.101 [commentator speaks indistinctly] 35:44.184 --> 35:47.020 Pierce and Artest already grappling. 35:47.104 --> 35:50.440 It took 27 seconds for these two to go at it a bit. 35:50.524 --> 35:53.193 [Jerry] You sort of inherit that when you become part of the Lakers, 35:53.277 --> 35:55.445 that you become anti-Celtics. 35:55.529 --> 36:00.367 And Jerry being the perfectionist that he always has been, 36:00.450 --> 36:05.414 it was like a personal thing to beat Boston. 36:05.998 --> 36:07.833 The scenes we are about to see were videotaped 36:07.916 --> 36:10.210 during the playing of the seventh and final game 36:10.294 --> 36:11.753 of the world championship series 36:11.837 --> 36:14.756 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. 36:14.840 --> 36:16.258 [commentator] Six-point lead for the Celtics. 36:16.341 --> 36:17.634 This is the final half. 36:17.718 --> 36:19.887 [Jerry] The first year we played in the finals 36:19.970 --> 36:22.014 was really kind of an epic battle. 36:22.097 --> 36:23.807 [commentator] 58-53. 36:23.891 --> 36:25.934 Baylor with a rebound. The eighth. 36:26.018 --> 36:27.519 Stolen by Ramsey. 36:27.603 --> 36:29.146 Cousy with daylight. 36:29.229 --> 36:30.564 [crowd cheers] 36:30.647 --> 36:32.357 60 to 54. 36:32.441 --> 36:33.859 [Jerry] But our ultimate goal, 36:33.942 --> 36:37.195 something that was part of your mental process 36:37.279 --> 36:40.032 since the time you started playing professional basketball, 36:40.115 --> 36:42.409 you know, how can we win this first championship? 36:42.492 --> 36:45.078 [commentator] West shooting over Loscutoff and hitting. 36:45.162 --> 36:49.249 This is Huntley. Stolen by Ramsey, to Jones. 36:49.917 --> 36:51.960 And the Garden is going crazy. 36:52.044 --> 36:54.129 [Jerry] We had a shot to win the game in regulation, 36:54.212 --> 36:55.505 and it didn't go in... 36:55.589 --> 36:56.798 [commentator] And time runs out. 36:56.882 --> 36:58.759 [Jerry] And so, we went into overtime. 36:58.842 --> 37:00.636 [commentator] Bob Cousy to Russell. 37:00.719 --> 37:02.387 [dramatic musical thud] 37:02.471 --> 37:05.515 The Celtics have it wrapped up, 110 to 107. 37:05.599 --> 37:06.600 [Jerry] It hurt. 37:07.601 --> 37:10.062 Little did I know, that was gonna be the start 37:10.145 --> 37:14.274 of a very painful period involving the Celtics and the Lakers. 37:14.358 --> 37:17.361 [commentator] Boston Celtics gunning for an unprecedented 37:17.444 --> 37:19.821 fifth world championship in a row. 37:19.905 --> 37:21.490 Taken by West of the Lakers. 37:21.573 --> 37:24.242 [Jerry] It just seemed like no matter how we played, 37:24.326 --> 37:26.578 usually when I was at my best... 37:26.662 --> 37:27.788 [commentator] West again. 37:28.830 --> 37:30.290 [Jerry] And Elgin was at his best. 37:30.374 --> 37:31.583 [commentator] He and Baylor, of course, 37:31.667 --> 37:33.585 are the two big men for the Lakers. 37:33.669 --> 37:35.963 [Jerry] But we just could not get a bounce. 37:36.046 --> 37:37.547 -[commentator] With a second to go... -[horn blows] 37:37.631 --> 37:39.633 Cousy throws it high in the air, 37:39.716 --> 37:42.094 and the Boston Celtics are the world champions. 37:42.844 --> 37:45.097 [commentator 2] Boston Celtics get off to a bouncy start. 37:45.180 --> 37:47.599 The Lakers managed to stay within striking distance 37:47.683 --> 37:48.725 for the first quarter. 37:48.809 --> 37:50.310 [Jerry] And there was a game that seemed like 37:50.394 --> 37:53.605 everything that you'd worked so hard for, everything... 37:53.689 --> 37:55.107 -[whistle blows] -...it didn't work. 37:55.190 --> 37:58.318 [commentator 2] With the final whistle, Celtics make record book history tonight. 37:59.528 --> 38:01.780 [commentator 3] Fourteen thousand fans jam Boston Garden 38:01.863 --> 38:04.992 for the final Celtics-Lakers NBA playoff game. 38:05.075 --> 38:06.952 [Jerry] I was questioning everything. 38:07.035 --> 38:08.328 [commentator 3] But it's all in vain. 38:08.412 --> 38:12.374 The Celtics win it 95 to 93 for their eighth straight title 38:12.457 --> 38:14.001 and their ninth in 10 years. 38:14.084 --> 38:17.546 [Jerry] Myself, our players, were we good enough? 38:17.629 --> 38:19.631 [commentator 4] This is the fifth time in seven years 38:19.715 --> 38:22.134 that these two have faced in the NBA final. 38:22.217 --> 38:24.636 Jerry West. He drives around and lays it in. 38:24.720 --> 38:26.138 Man, is he great? 38:26.221 --> 38:27.347 [Kupchak] You're kinda like, 38:27.431 --> 38:29.349 "I'm supposed to be one of the greatest players ever. 38:29.433 --> 38:32.102 I'm averaging 28 points a game, and I can't win." 38:32.185 --> 38:33.979 What do you think that does to a person? 38:34.062 --> 38:35.439 [commentator 4] And the never-say-die Boston team 38:35.522 --> 38:38.483 wins the world's professional basketball crown. 38:38.567 --> 38:41.111 [Kupchak] He was tortured when it came to those games. 38:41.194 --> 38:42.738 I was angry. 38:42.821 --> 38:45.741 I mean, you want to just... scream, 38:45.824 --> 38:47.784 "Why, why, why, why?" 38:48.994 --> 38:51.955 [commentator 5] Boston, trying for its 11th championship 38:52.039 --> 38:53.832 in 13 years 38:53.915 --> 38:55.709 and the Lakers trying to end it. 38:55.792 --> 38:58.128 Game seven of the '69 finals. 38:58.211 --> 39:01.214 I mean, it was one of the great performances of his career. 39:01.298 --> 39:04.342 [Punter] You gotta get that ball down and get a quick move. 39:04.426 --> 39:06.970 [commentator 5] A beautiful move by Jerry West. 39:07.054 --> 39:08.638 Jerry West. Another one. 39:08.722 --> 39:10.807 Powell switches off on West. 39:10.891 --> 39:13.602 [Jerry] That was the one I think our whole team 39:13.685 --> 39:15.395 was confident we were gonna win. 39:15.479 --> 39:16.646 [commentator] This superstar. 39:16.730 --> 39:18.273 [Punter] Superstar he is, 39:18.356 --> 39:20.192 and the Celtics are doing everything they can. 39:21.109 --> 39:22.819 [commentator 5] George. Rebound. 39:24.362 --> 39:25.572 And Jerry West. 39:26.406 --> 39:28.784 -[crowd cheers] -And the Lakers come back. 39:28.867 --> 39:30.535 Forty points for Jerry West. 39:30.619 --> 39:33.246 [Punter] The Celtics double-teaming. They would have-- rather have 39:33.330 --> 39:35.874 -Egan or Erickson take the shot than West. -[whistle blows] 39:37.834 --> 39:41.379 [commentator 5] 108 to 104, seven seconds. 39:42.297 --> 39:43.590 Four, three... 39:44.508 --> 39:48.303 And time has run out, and the Boston Celtics have done it again. 39:49.971 --> 39:50.972 [Jerry sighs] 39:51.056 --> 39:54.810 [commentator 5] Another jewel in that crown. 39:54.893 --> 39:57.896 The 1969 loss was brutal. 39:57.979 --> 40:01.566 [commentator 5] A two-point victory by Boston. 40:01.650 --> 40:05.862 That was probably the-- the worst day of his life. 40:05.946 --> 40:08.532 I felt so horrible... 40:09.491 --> 40:11.284 that we had let our fans down. 40:11.368 --> 40:12.619 It was just... 40:13.453 --> 40:14.913 um... [clears throat] 40:16.706 --> 40:17.833 devastating. 40:19.084 --> 40:22.671 [commentator] Rivalry renewed as Los Angeles and Boston 40:22.754 --> 40:26.091 have been in the finals six of the last eight years 40:26.174 --> 40:29.719 and now the Lakers have lost all six. 40:29.803 --> 40:32.013 I'm on here to hit the floor with Red Auerbach... 40:32.097 --> 40:33.974 -Who else? -And Sam Jones. 40:34.057 --> 40:36.393 Just seeing that clip with Red Auerbach... 40:36.476 --> 40:40.313 I want to say that Jerry West was absolutely fantastic. 40:40.397 --> 40:43.191 That was one of the greatest exhibitions I ever saw in my life. 40:43.275 --> 40:44.693 [Jonnie] Like, they had just won a championship, 40:44.776 --> 40:46.695 and that was one of the first things out of his mouth. 40:47.445 --> 40:48.613 Jerry's not... 40:49.406 --> 40:52.325 he doesn't care if you think he's the greatest. 40:52.409 --> 40:55.662 He doesn't care if you think if he did this or did that. 40:55.745 --> 40:57.455 All Jerry wanted to do was win. 40:58.373 --> 41:00.959 And that's all great players want to do, is win. 41:01.042 --> 41:02.961 Like me, I'm the Shaq. 41:04.045 --> 41:05.547 You think I care about being the Shaq 41:05.630 --> 41:07.716 if I don't got those three rings in LA? 41:07.799 --> 41:09.050 No. 41:09.134 --> 41:11.428 [commentator] And tonight, a Most Valuable Player award 41:11.511 --> 41:13.638 will be given for the man most valuable 41:13.722 --> 41:16.308 during the entire seven games. 41:16.391 --> 41:19.311 And Jerry West has won it. 41:19.394 --> 41:21.479 [Vitti] The other thing that haunted him 41:21.563 --> 41:24.733 was being the MVP on a losing team, 41:24.816 --> 41:27.110 the only one in the history of the NBA. 41:27.194 --> 41:29.988 That doesn't bring him any joy at all. 41:30.071 --> 41:32.908 It just poured more salts on the wound. 41:34.659 --> 41:36.912 "Don't insult me," you know, 41:36.995 --> 41:40.874 "and give me this MVP award when the trophy is being soaked 41:40.957 --> 41:43.376 in champagne in the other locker room." 41:44.502 --> 41:47.839 [Kenya] MVP of the finals without winning a final. 41:47.923 --> 41:49.716 Also did it in college. 41:49.799 --> 41:52.677 Well, in college, um, 41:52.761 --> 41:55.430 you know, we lost the NCAA finals by one point, 41:55.513 --> 41:57.557 and I have the ball in my hand at mid-court 41:57.641 --> 41:58.892 and couldn't get a shot. 41:58.975 --> 42:01.811 Uh, I didn't get over that for a long time. 42:01.895 --> 42:03.980 And then, the NBA finals, um... 42:05.649 --> 42:08.443 He and I would've definitely not liked that trophy 42:08.526 --> 42:10.278 on a losing scenario. 42:10.362 --> 42:11.947 You know, I-- I totally understand it. 42:12.030 --> 42:14.741 It's like you're rewarding me for losing. 42:14.824 --> 42:16.952 [David] It didn't matter. He could be the best player on the court, 42:17.035 --> 42:19.412 but it wasn't enough to beat the Celtics 42:19.496 --> 42:24.125 and, uh, it was so bad that even to this day, 42:24.209 --> 42:26.461 nobody in our family ever wears green. 42:27.295 --> 42:31.424 Jerry West, congratulations on being named the Most Valuable Player. 42:31.508 --> 42:34.052 [Ryan] When I went to New York not long after, 42:34.135 --> 42:35.512 to accept my booby prize, 42:35.595 --> 42:39.766 a brand-new souped-up Dodge Charger-- green, no less-- 42:39.849 --> 42:41.518 it was probably intended for a Celtic. 42:41.601 --> 42:43.812 I felt like putting a stick of dynamite in it 42:43.895 --> 42:46.523 and blowing it up right there in Manhattan. 42:46.606 --> 42:49.234 When you expect to win something and you don't win something, 42:49.317 --> 42:50.902 then it's even harder to accept. 42:50.986 --> 42:53.196 We felt we were the better team, 42:53.280 --> 42:54.572 but it didn't prove to be that way. 42:54.656 --> 42:56.950 And I know that it's gonna be particularly hard 42:57.033 --> 42:58.451 for me to understand this summer. 43:00.453 --> 43:02.622 [birds chirping] 43:04.874 --> 43:07.294 Losing all those years to the Celtics, 43:07.377 --> 43:08.753 I started thinking to myself... 43:09.587 --> 43:12.716 "I can't deal with this anymore. It's just too hard." 43:14.801 --> 43:17.804 [Riley] When you're the kind of competitor that Jerry was, 43:17.887 --> 43:19.681 losing all those years, 43:19.764 --> 43:21.808 that would do something to you psychologically. 43:21.891 --> 43:24.769 Absolutely. It would do something. And it did. 43:24.853 --> 43:26.604 [Thorn] Jerry took it personally. 43:26.688 --> 43:31.067 It was like, "I am the failure here, not the team." 43:31.151 --> 43:33.403 When the actuality was, it was the team. 43:34.529 --> 43:36.906 [Ryan] I think there are certain holes in his heart 43:36.990 --> 43:40.744 that can never be filled, the loss of David being one, 43:40.827 --> 43:43.580 and I think all the losses to the Celtics, to this day, 43:43.663 --> 43:45.457 it's something that he can't get over. 43:46.249 --> 43:50.253 [Rick Barry] He always tagged himself in a way that was not the truth. 43:50.337 --> 43:51.838 As a loser. 43:54.883 --> 43:56.593 [reporter] Throughout your whole career, 43:56.676 --> 43:59.220 you were almost as famous for the amount of injuries 43:59.304 --> 44:02.307 that you had as almost about your basketball playing ability. 44:02.390 --> 44:07.187 The 1970, '71 season, you had a knee injury, was operated on, 44:07.270 --> 44:08.730 missed the last couple of weeks of the season, 44:08.813 --> 44:10.065 missed the playoffs. 44:10.148 --> 44:12.776 [Jerry] When it happened, the doctor told me 44:12.859 --> 44:14.361 that I had torn this ligament 44:14.444 --> 44:17.030 and that they're gonna have to operate on it. 44:17.947 --> 44:20.116 I basically thought my career was over. 44:20.200 --> 44:22.535 [reporter] Los Angeles fans turned out in your honor 44:22.619 --> 44:24.621 for the Jerry West Nights. 44:24.704 --> 44:26.039 Well, that was one of the things I think 44:26.122 --> 44:28.291 every athlete probably dreams of having. 44:28.375 --> 44:31.419 The night was really a very special night in more ways than one. 44:32.337 --> 44:33.505 The night... 44:35.465 --> 44:36.800 really meant nothing. 44:38.259 --> 44:40.637 To me, it wasn't a night of celebration. 44:41.429 --> 44:44.849 It felt like a farewell night. I didn't want that. 44:47.477 --> 44:50.647 But... it helped for one reason. 44:51.815 --> 44:53.358 I became more defiant. 44:53.441 --> 44:55.110 You're not gonna break me. 44:56.528 --> 44:58.029 There's no way. 44:59.280 --> 45:01.074 And so, through encouragement 45:01.157 --> 45:03.868 and almost a miracle, 45:03.952 --> 45:07.288 started me to realize that maybe I could get back and play. 45:08.998 --> 45:10.917 [commentator] Chamberlain blocks another one. 45:11.000 --> 45:12.627 Wilt stops it. And West. 45:12.710 --> 45:14.796 Frazier with 32, Jerry West 20. 45:14.879 --> 45:16.840 Jerry West now with 22 points. 45:16.923 --> 45:19.551 [upbeat music playing] 45:26.015 --> 45:28.601 [commentator] Lakers trying to pressure the inbound pass, 45:28.685 --> 45:30.311 and it comes in to Walt Frazier 45:30.395 --> 45:32.939 with ten seconds now showing on the clock. 45:33.022 --> 45:36.734 Eight seconds left to go on the clock. Seven, six, five. 45:36.818 --> 45:38.153 The Butcher shoots. 45:38.236 --> 45:39.821 He had epic battles with the Knicks, 45:39.904 --> 45:42.073 and in that particular finals game, 45:42.157 --> 45:45.201 he knew the-- the pressures that were being put upon him. 45:45.285 --> 45:49.122 Probably in his mind, you know, he's thinking, "Oh, here we go again." 45:49.205 --> 45:51.249 [commentator] With three seconds to go. 45:51.332 --> 45:55.086 Two seconds, one second, West throws it up. 45:55.170 --> 45:57.547 -[crowd roars] -He makes it! 45:57.630 --> 45:59.424 West throws it up and makes it. 45:59.507 --> 46:02.385 The half-court shot in the finals against the Knicks. 46:02.469 --> 46:06.931 That's my image that's seared in my brain from my childhood. 46:07.015 --> 46:08.141 [Cooper] I'll never forget the Chicag-- 46:08.224 --> 46:10.810 "Jerry West, the kid from Cabin Creek, 46:10.894 --> 46:12.645 throws it up, and it's good, it's good." 46:12.729 --> 46:14.230 And you know, the game goes into overtime. 46:14.314 --> 46:16.691 [commentator] With a minute 27 remaining in the overtime, 46:16.774 --> 46:18.359 Dick Barnett closed out the scoring 46:18.443 --> 46:21.237 to give New York a 111 to 108 victory. 46:21.321 --> 46:24.282 [Cooper] If the three-point line was in play at that time, 46:24.365 --> 46:27.702 that half-court shot he threw in would've beaten the Knicks. 46:27.785 --> 46:29.037 I told him, I said, you know, 46:29.120 --> 46:31.706 "I died a thousand deaths when you hit that shot." 46:31.789 --> 46:36.294 And he looked at me with this really serious face and said, 46:36.377 --> 46:38.755 "I wish I never made that shot," 46:38.838 --> 46:40.256 and turned around and walked away. 46:41.341 --> 46:43.843 Be-- because they ended up losing anyway. 46:43.927 --> 46:45.678 So, everybody talks about the shot. 46:45.762 --> 46:48.431 All he remembers is-- is the loss. 46:49.849 --> 46:51.476 [Riley] He couldn't deal with it that well, 46:51.559 --> 46:54.395 and it affected him immensely. 46:54.479 --> 46:57.273 But then, in '71, '72, he had such a great year. 46:57.357 --> 46:58.525 It was a storybook year. 46:58.608 --> 47:00.818 [commentator] And the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, 47:00.902 --> 47:02.153 Bill Sharman. 47:02.237 --> 47:06.074 [Riley] And the irony was that his two greatest nemesis, 47:06.157 --> 47:08.159 Bill Sharman and Casey Jones, 47:08.243 --> 47:11.204 who played for the Celtics, were our head coaches. 47:11.287 --> 47:13.873 So, I'm just tremendously pleased 47:13.957 --> 47:15.959 and looking forward to this opportunity. 47:16.042 --> 47:19.879 Jerry was not happy. He says, "I'm gonna quit. [laughing] 47:19.963 --> 47:23.007 You know, I-- I ain't gonna play for those guys." 47:23.091 --> 47:26.511 Eventually, he was very, very respectful of Bill. 47:26.594 --> 47:29.222 [Tom] Jerry, what's your opinion of your new coach, Bill Sharman? 47:29.305 --> 47:31.683 Well, Tom, he is a stickler for conditioning. 47:31.766 --> 47:35.061 And I say, we have had about four nightly workouts so far, 47:35.144 --> 47:37.188 and I'm kinda sore right now. 47:37.272 --> 47:40.191 [Jerry] At the start of the season, Bill Sharman said, 47:40.275 --> 47:42.151 you know, "I want you to lead the league in assists." 47:43.152 --> 47:46.906 I'd never played that way, and I said, "Well, I'll try." 47:46.990 --> 47:49.409 [upbeat music playing] 47:50.618 --> 47:53.121 [commentator] November 5th, 1971. 47:53.204 --> 47:54.914 The Lakers now have their longest win streak 47:54.998 --> 47:56.916 of the year at five games. 47:57.000 --> 48:01.462 And all of a sudden, we didn't lose a game for two and a half months. 48:01.546 --> 48:03.506 [commentator] Wilt Chamberlain wears number 13, 48:03.590 --> 48:06.134 and he stars in his 13th straight victory. 48:06.217 --> 48:09.971 The Los Angeles Lakers achieving their 15th consecutive victory. 48:10.054 --> 48:12.098 -[upbeat music continues] -[Jerry] It was beautiful to watch. 48:12.181 --> 48:13.641 You're invincible. 48:13.725 --> 48:14.892 [commentator] West with a fast break to Goodrich. 48:14.976 --> 48:16.185 Another assist for Jerry West 48:16.269 --> 48:18.313 who leads the league averaging nine a game. 48:18.396 --> 48:19.564 [Jerry] I led the league in assists. 48:19.647 --> 48:23.192 [commentator] The Lakers win their 18th game in a row. 48:23.276 --> 48:26.404 If the Los Angeles Lakers tonight defeat the Atlanta Hawks, 48:26.487 --> 48:29.449 they will have won 21 consecutive games. 48:29.532 --> 48:32.035 [David] In the early '70s, it was all very surreal 48:32.118 --> 48:34.829 because everyone wanted a piece of his time... 48:35.580 --> 48:37.790 and you see all the attention that he's getting. 48:37.874 --> 48:41.002 After the games, he would sign autographs forever. 48:41.085 --> 48:44.839 I really enjoyed watching him be idolized by so many of the fans. 48:45.757 --> 48:48.009 We had season tickets, and more and more people 48:48.092 --> 48:50.928 kept coming over, introducing themselves, and saying hi. 48:51.012 --> 48:54.057 And then you started seeing more of the movie stars show up. 48:54.140 --> 48:57.060 [Jerry] It just got easier and easier and easier, 48:57.143 --> 49:00.271 and the team just kept getting better and better and better. 49:00.355 --> 49:04.067 We won one, then we won two, and then we won 33 in a row. 49:04.150 --> 49:06.694 [commentator] The Los Angeles Lakers are the greatest winning team 49:06.778 --> 49:10.365 in the history of basketball for consecutive wins. 49:10.448 --> 49:13.701 The team that can play nearly the way that they want to play 49:13.785 --> 49:15.536 is gonna be the winner of this series. 49:15.620 --> 49:17.413 [interviewer] What about your team morale? 49:17.497 --> 49:19.332 Well, I think that if you're in this locker room tonight, 49:19.415 --> 49:20.583 it's pretty good, don't you think? 49:20.667 --> 49:23.628 And I really thought that this would be the chance 49:23.711 --> 49:25.421 for us to win a championship. 49:25.505 --> 49:27.674 [commentator] The Forum in Inglewood, California, 49:27.757 --> 49:32.261 tonight, game number five of the NBA championship playoffs, 49:32.345 --> 49:36.391 with the Los Angeles Lakers leading in the series three games to one. 49:36.474 --> 49:38.101 Can the Lakers handle the Knicks? 49:38.184 --> 49:41.187 Yes, they can, but will they is the question. 49:41.270 --> 49:44.107 Will the Lakers work so hard that they can overcome 49:44.190 --> 49:45.316 the injuries to the key guys? 49:45.400 --> 49:46.651 [announcer] Jerry West. 49:47.360 --> 49:50.571 [Ryan] I think '72 was the ultimate paradox for him. 49:50.655 --> 49:53.825 At 33, he knew he wasn't the same as a player anymore. 49:53.908 --> 49:56.285 [announcer] And at guard, Walt Frazier. 49:57.203 --> 50:00.081 [Ryan] Playing against Walt Frazier, who's seven years younger than him, 50:00.164 --> 50:03.334 somebody that was becoming one of the best guards in the league. 50:03.418 --> 50:05.962 [commentator] The tip is controlled by Gail Goodrich, 50:06.045 --> 50:07.296 deep in the corner. 50:07.380 --> 50:08.923 -Jerry West. -[crowd cheers] 50:09.006 --> 50:12.719 This is a man who is one of the superstars of the NBA. 50:12.802 --> 50:15.388 He's never enjoyed the taste of a championship. 50:15.471 --> 50:17.098 Frazier. Good. 50:17.181 --> 50:20.017 The New York Knicks have the lead for the first time. 50:20.101 --> 50:21.477 Walt Frazier gets the basket. 50:21.561 --> 50:23.312 The Knicks go back on top by two. 50:23.396 --> 50:26.983 Here's Frazier. Walter hits a beauty. 50:27.066 --> 50:29.485 Jerry West loses, it's picked up by Frazier. 50:29.569 --> 50:32.572 So, the score at halftime, 53 apiece. 50:32.655 --> 50:36.451 Ball game that is just as rugged and tough as we thought it would be. 50:36.534 --> 50:39.245 [commentator] Chamberlain tips, Hairston has it slapped away from him, 50:39.328 --> 50:41.622 and the New York Knicks get the ball. 50:41.706 --> 50:43.708 And Walt Frazier now with 16 points. 50:43.791 --> 50:45.877 We're tied at 57. 50:46.544 --> 50:48.004 West. 50:48.087 --> 50:51.716 After three, Los Angeles 83, New York 78. 50:51.799 --> 50:53.676 [commentator 2] The crowd is going berserk 50:53.760 --> 50:56.929 in anticipation of what they hope will be the final game. 50:57.013 --> 50:59.557 I've never heard anything like this in Los Angeles. 50:59.640 --> 51:01.559 [commentator] Five, four... 51:01.642 --> 51:03.644 -[crowd cheers] -...three, two... 51:04.270 --> 51:05.980 [indistinct] 51:08.274 --> 51:09.859 And they run it out. 51:09.942 --> 51:14.864 And the Los Angeles Lakers have won their first NBA title ever. 51:14.947 --> 51:16.574 [Ryan] After all my dad had been through, 51:16.657 --> 51:19.660 all the defeats, all the losses, all the disappointments, 51:19.744 --> 51:20.912 finally they win. 51:20.995 --> 51:21.996 They won. 51:22.079 --> 51:23.623 [commentator 2] And the Los Angeles Lakers 51:23.706 --> 51:26.334 are the world champions of basketball. 51:26.417 --> 51:29.629 [David] Winning matters and rings matter. And he was able to overcome. 51:29.712 --> 51:32.715 I was more happy for Jerry than I was for myself, 51:32.799 --> 51:35.802 that he could finally get his world championship. 51:35.885 --> 51:37.386 [Kupchak] It would've been just horrible 51:37.470 --> 51:40.348 for one of the all-time greats to go through a career 51:40.431 --> 51:41.641 and not have won a championship. 51:41.724 --> 51:45.394 [Thorn] To go to the finals nine times, ten times. 51:45.478 --> 51:47.772 I mean, LeBron's been there a lot. 51:47.855 --> 51:50.733 You know, other than Russell and maybe some of those guys 51:50.817 --> 51:52.485 who've played with the Celtics, I mean, 51:52.568 --> 51:55.696 nobody's been to the finals that many times. 51:55.780 --> 51:58.658 [commentator] And the Lakers conclude their basketball season 51:58.741 --> 52:03.246 with a record of 81 victories and only 16 defeats. 52:03.329 --> 52:05.623 If you would have asked me before the season started, 52:05.706 --> 52:08.000 "Could that ever be done by any team?" 52:08.084 --> 52:09.669 I would have thought that you were crazy. 52:11.420 --> 52:14.215 All the times that we let them down here in Los Angeles, 52:14.298 --> 52:16.259 we lost in the finals, 52:16.342 --> 52:19.554 what, eight times or nine times. 52:19.637 --> 52:22.223 -But you got there. -One time. 52:22.306 --> 52:24.267 [Ryan] I don't even know how excited he is 52:24.350 --> 52:26.143 that he won one championship. 52:26.227 --> 52:29.021 It's something that doesn't make sense in his mind. 52:29.105 --> 52:31.816 When you lost in the finals, you know, 52:31.899 --> 52:35.653 seven or eight times in a row before you won it, 52:35.736 --> 52:39.532 winning the championship in '71, '72 was like a Band-Aid. 52:40.449 --> 52:42.034 -It was a Band-Aid. -[soft music playing] 52:42.118 --> 52:44.912 [Jerry] We have beaten everyone they asked us to beat. 52:46.289 --> 52:47.665 But I get in the locker room 52:47.748 --> 52:50.001 and I said, "Oh, my God, is that all there is?" 52:50.918 --> 52:54.088 He was used to losing, and he hated it, 52:54.171 --> 52:56.215 but when he won, 52:56.299 --> 53:00.720 it was difficult to enjoy because he didn't grow up winning 53:00.803 --> 53:03.055 and he didn't know how to handle it. 53:07.810 --> 53:13.482 In the newspaper, there was an unbelievable derogatory column 53:13.566 --> 53:15.359 written about me, 53:15.443 --> 53:19.238 talking about it looked like I was done as a player. 53:21.449 --> 53:25.995 Basketball was my life, my love, what I cared about deeply. 53:26.078 --> 53:28.164 But after I read that article... 53:29.081 --> 53:31.751 that was like a real wake-up call to me. 53:31.834 --> 53:35.046 [soft music continues] 53:37.673 --> 53:41.010 It brought me back to growing up. 53:44.388 --> 53:47.058 -[soft music continues] -[insects chirping] 53:54.482 --> 53:56.943 You know, am I gonna be discarded? 53:59.612 --> 54:01.113 I think that, uh... 54:02.865 --> 54:05.409 that when you set standards for yourself... 54:06.327 --> 54:08.412 and when you are willing to... 54:09.789 --> 54:11.248 sacrifice some of those standards, 54:11.332 --> 54:13.793 then you're not being very honest with yourself. 54:13.876 --> 54:16.545 And, uh, I know myself that, uh, 54:16.629 --> 54:19.173 I didn't want to sacrifice those standards. 54:19.256 --> 54:20.967 [Rosen] Jerry certainly could have continued to play 54:21.050 --> 54:23.427 at a really high level, and I'm sorry he retired, 54:23.511 --> 54:28.557 but, you know, when he decides on something, he does it. 54:28.641 --> 54:31.644 [soft music playing] 54:33.145 --> 54:36.148 [pen scratching] 54:41.988 --> 54:44.407 I have thought long and hard 54:44.490 --> 54:49.662 that if I would've left the game and said, "Hell with this..." 54:50.746 --> 54:53.457 w-where would my life have been? I have no clue. 54:54.750 --> 54:57.420 [commentator] Jerry West has stayed close to the game 54:57.503 --> 55:02.383 and the team that he loves since retiring in 1974 at the age of 36. 55:02.466 --> 55:06.595 [Jerry] Now, all of a sudden, I was responsible for 11 players 55:06.679 --> 55:09.432 and I thought we had a great chance to win. 55:09.515 --> 55:11.267 [upbeat music playing] 55:11.350 --> 55:13.060 Even though we had a winning record... 55:14.186 --> 55:16.564 and we're in the playoffs, injuries, 55:16.647 --> 55:19.358 everything you think could happen, down we go. 55:19.442 --> 55:21.652 ♪ Living hell ♪♪ 55:21.736 --> 55:23.571 [Jerry] That was extremely difficult. 55:24.572 --> 55:26.198 [Cooper] There's an old saying in the NBA, 55:26.282 --> 55:28.034 "Great players don't make great coaches," 55:28.117 --> 55:30.703 and that's very true. Jerry West was not a good coach. 55:30.786 --> 55:33.914 He couldn't handle the players making mediocre mistakes. 55:33.998 --> 55:35.833 [Abdul-Jabbar] Jerry felt everybody could improve. 55:35.916 --> 55:39.628 If he had something to tell you about how you could improve, 55:39.712 --> 55:41.255 he'd let you know. 55:41.338 --> 55:43.299 [Jerry] When I got to the third year, 55:43.382 --> 55:47.845 my inability to not only communicate with these players 55:47.928 --> 55:51.348 but to be kind of friendly with 'em, that was gone. 55:52.600 --> 55:54.268 One night in the locker room, I said, 55:54.351 --> 55:57.021 "I know you don't want me to be your coach. 55:57.104 --> 55:59.231 I wouldn't want to play for myself either." 55:59.315 --> 56:00.357 Do you have fun as a coach? 56:00.441 --> 56:03.819 Uh, Scott, it's probably the most unenjoyable three years 56:03.903 --> 56:05.905 -I've ever had in my life. -[Scott laughing] 56:05.988 --> 56:08.949 I-- I simply emotionally was not cut out to be a coach. 56:09.033 --> 56:11.118 I-I just did not like it at all. 56:11.202 --> 56:14.789 I couldn't do it anymore. I-I just... I was done. 56:14.872 --> 56:15.998 [newscaster] Now, in related news tonight, 56:16.082 --> 56:18.417 Jerry West has resigned as coach of the Lakers... 56:18.501 --> 56:21.087 [Jerry] Thinking back about that, it served me well. 56:21.962 --> 56:24.715 I couldn't be the solver of every problem 56:24.799 --> 56:26.759 because I couldn't even solve my own problem. 56:26.842 --> 56:27.968 [Kenya] Mm-hmm. 56:28.052 --> 56:30.513 One of the things that I'm drawn to 56:30.596 --> 56:33.182 is the idea of family. 56:33.265 --> 56:35.476 You know what I'm saying? And, like, marriage, 56:35.559 --> 56:37.853 being a father, going through a divorce. 56:37.937 --> 56:40.689 How was that time in your life? 56:42.108 --> 56:43.359 That's... [sighs] 56:43.442 --> 56:44.819 I guess probably the... 56:46.320 --> 56:50.783 thing that I beat myself up more than anything about. 56:50.866 --> 56:52.284 [interviewer] Did you say you haven't seen Jerry 56:52.368 --> 56:54.120 for... for a while? 56:54.203 --> 56:55.454 [Martha] For weeks. 56:55.538 --> 56:57.248 [interviewer] What time do they practice when-- 56:57.331 --> 56:59.083 For instance, today did they practice? 56:59.166 --> 57:03.087 [Martha] Practiced at 11 o'clock to about quarter of one. 57:03.170 --> 57:04.797 Then he had a pre-game meal out, 57:04.880 --> 57:06.841 and then he came home and took a nap, 57:06.924 --> 57:08.259 and then he left for the game. 57:08.342 --> 57:10.052 [interviewer] When does he think the season's gonna be over? 57:10.136 --> 57:11.512 [Martha] [laughs] I don't know anything. 57:11.595 --> 57:13.347 [interviewer] What does he really think about Chicago, for instance? 57:13.430 --> 57:15.224 -Does he... -[Jerry] Because you're giving your life 57:15.307 --> 57:17.351 and your heart and soul to this, 57:17.434 --> 57:21.021 there's things that you have to neglect, 57:21.105 --> 57:22.439 and it wasn't because... 57:23.566 --> 57:25.526 I didn't enjoy being a father. 57:26.485 --> 57:29.989 It was because my calling in life kept me away... 57:30.865 --> 57:34.994 and my crazy desire to win 57:35.077 --> 57:36.829 kept me concentrating on that 57:36.912 --> 57:39.456 instead of concentrating on my older children. 57:40.416 --> 57:43.127 [David] What I remember most about the '60s and growing up 57:43.210 --> 57:46.046 was going to the airport and wishing Dad 57:46.130 --> 57:47.381 good luck on the trip. 57:47.464 --> 57:48.841 He wasn't around a lot. 57:48.924 --> 57:51.010 [interviewer] If you're gonna pick the great moments in your life, 57:51.093 --> 57:52.636 would they be out on the court? 57:52.720 --> 57:54.930 [Jerry] Oh, I don't think there's any question that-- 57:55.014 --> 57:56.348 maybe unfortunately so, 57:56.432 --> 58:00.019 that most of the high and low moments in my life 58:00.102 --> 58:02.813 have really involved basketball. 58:02.897 --> 58:04.690 [Barry] You have to go to practice all the time. 58:04.773 --> 58:06.192 Then you're off on the road. 58:06.275 --> 58:08.819 You spend more time during the course of an NBA season 58:08.903 --> 58:10.654 with your teammates than you do with your family 58:10.738 --> 58:11.989 if you have a family. 58:13.032 --> 58:15.659 [David] My earliest reflection was really more about 58:15.743 --> 58:17.620 did they win or lose the night before 58:17.703 --> 58:19.413 and what his mood was gonna be like. 58:19.496 --> 58:22.416 If they lost on a Friday night, 58:22.499 --> 58:25.753 Saturday morning was not gonna be too much fun. 58:25.836 --> 58:27.630 He could be really tough at times 58:27.713 --> 58:29.757 and get very quiet and grouchy. 58:31.091 --> 58:34.178 [Jerry] It was all consuming for me. That's all I cared about. 58:34.261 --> 58:37.139 The day of the game, no noise in my house. 58:37.223 --> 58:39.850 I don't want to hear any noise, none. 58:40.976 --> 58:43.479 Quiet. Basically, don't talk to me. 58:43.562 --> 58:47.858 [David] He could be unfairly tough at times, 58:47.942 --> 58:50.069 and he expected a lot out of us. 58:50.152 --> 58:52.780 He ran a tight ship and, you know, he, um... 58:53.822 --> 58:55.532 uh... 58:55.616 --> 58:57.326 it wa-- it was a little tough. 58:57.409 --> 59:00.412 [kids shouting indistinctly] 59:02.248 --> 59:04.083 [Jerry] Three young boys, 59:04.166 --> 59:07.336 very awkward period of life to grow up, 59:07.419 --> 59:09.338 and today when I'm around, 59:09.421 --> 59:13.634 I just see damage that the father wasn't around. 59:15.344 --> 59:17.096 After we've separated, 59:17.179 --> 59:20.266 I couldn't sleep at night wondering how my kids were doing. 59:20.349 --> 59:23.602 I would drive by my former house. 59:23.686 --> 59:25.604 I drove by every night. 59:25.688 --> 59:29.233 Everything I was doing, I was blaming myself, 59:29.316 --> 59:31.360 and that was probably the most depressed period 59:31.443 --> 59:32.987 I've ever had in my life... 59:33.821 --> 59:37.241 where I just loathed anything about me. 59:40.119 --> 59:42.037 [Kenya] I think that's really understandable. 59:42.121 --> 59:44.540 I felt that way myself. My biggest regret, you know. 59:44.623 --> 59:46.292 My-- it's like a death in the family 59:46.375 --> 59:47.501 going through a divorce, 59:47.584 --> 59:49.169 and I'm asking this personally, like, 59:49.253 --> 59:52.256 what then gave you the courage to do it again? 59:55.676 --> 59:57.344 -[gentle music playing] -[Karen] When I first met Jerry 59:57.428 --> 59:59.972 in the hour and a half that I spent with him, 01:00:00.055 --> 01:00:03.767 he, you know, basically told me his whole life story. 01:00:03.851 --> 01:00:04.852 [laughs] 01:00:04.935 --> 01:00:07.563 [Jerry] I remember how happy, 01:00:07.646 --> 01:00:10.024 how cheerful, how spirited she was, 01:00:10.107 --> 01:00:12.818 something that I was missing. 01:00:13.610 --> 01:00:16.864 She was willing to listen to some of the things 01:00:16.947 --> 01:00:20.117 that I would never have been able to express to anyone else. 01:00:20.200 --> 01:00:24.621 [Karen] I did live in Los Angeles, I knew him as that superstar. 01:00:24.705 --> 01:00:29.168 But he was intelligent, intense, emotional. 01:00:29.251 --> 01:00:32.755 He was very serious, but he had a funny side to him. 01:00:32.838 --> 01:00:34.757 Three years later, we got married. 01:00:34.840 --> 01:00:37.134 He said he would not ever wear a tuxedo. 01:00:38.677 --> 01:00:39.970 But he did. 01:00:41.138 --> 01:00:43.515 -[soft music playing] -[reporter] After years of ups and downs, 01:00:43.599 --> 01:00:45.809 Jerry West appears to have it all. 01:00:45.893 --> 01:00:48.687 Happiness as a father and as a husband. 01:00:48.771 --> 01:00:50.939 [giggling] 01:00:51.023 --> 01:00:54.026 Two years ago, Jerry West became a new father. 01:00:54.109 --> 01:00:57.112 Meet future slam dunker Jonathan West 01:00:57.196 --> 01:00:59.031 and his older brother Ryan. 01:00:59.114 --> 01:01:01.450 [Jerry] I don't think you ever dream you're gonna be a father when you're 50. 01:01:01.533 --> 01:01:04.244 We have a-- a little boy who's a lot of fun. 01:01:04.328 --> 01:01:07.331 It's fun to watch him grow up, but I'm home more now. 01:01:07.414 --> 01:01:08.874 [Kenya] So, how would you describe him? 01:01:10.376 --> 01:01:13.212 I'd-- I'd describe my father as a... 01:01:14.797 --> 01:01:17.007 probably very misunderstood person. 01:01:18.384 --> 01:01:20.177 You know, when we first met, 01:01:20.260 --> 01:01:23.305 I felt like he was a very sad man. 01:01:24.473 --> 01:01:26.517 I sort of felt sorry for him. 01:01:27.726 --> 01:01:29.061 -[David] Hi. -[Karen] Hi. 01:01:29.144 --> 01:01:30.562 -Perfect timing. -[Jerry] Oh, yeah. 01:01:30.646 --> 01:01:32.564 -Surprise, surprise. -Just got back from Sacramento. 01:01:32.648 --> 01:01:34.983 [Karen] When I first met Jerry's older sons... 01:01:36.026 --> 01:01:37.569 it was so awkward to me 01:01:37.653 --> 01:01:40.656 that as they entered the room, they shook hands. 01:01:40.739 --> 01:01:44.993 Jerry shook their hand, and I thought, "Gosh, my dad would never do that." 01:01:45.077 --> 01:01:47.454 You said, you never heard your father say, "I love you." 01:01:47.538 --> 01:01:49.248 Right. 01:01:49.331 --> 01:01:51.166 -Did you ever-- -I don't use, "I love you." 01:01:53.419 --> 01:01:56.255 I don't know if it's in-- inside of me. I really don't. 01:01:56.338 --> 01:01:58.006 We were with a friend one time, 01:01:58.090 --> 01:01:59.925 and they had him look it up in the dictionary 01:02:00.008 --> 01:02:01.802 and, you know, Jerry was still... 01:02:01.885 --> 01:02:04.179 -It-it's like... -...he can't put his finger around that. 01:02:04.263 --> 01:02:07.516 ...three words... I'm afraid of. 01:02:08.434 --> 01:02:11.478 "I love you." I'm afraid of those three words. 01:02:11.562 --> 01:02:14.523 [Karen] I think Jerry deals with inner demons. 01:02:18.277 --> 01:02:22.197 He'll go to his own quiet place, and you sorta just let him. 01:02:23.699 --> 01:02:26.535 [Jerry] Used to love to fish, and I just fished off the shore 01:02:26.618 --> 01:02:29.079 and I could stay out here forever. 01:02:29.163 --> 01:02:31.748 I just-- I love the serenity of it, 01:02:31.832 --> 01:02:35.377 and I've always been attracted to the outdoors, 01:02:35.461 --> 01:02:39.173 and this is the thing that probably I've carried most with me 01:02:39.256 --> 01:02:42.134 as I've gotten older, but I love fishing. 01:02:42.217 --> 01:02:46.138 It's, uh, solitary, and I'm a very solitary person. 01:02:47.097 --> 01:02:49.224 [David] When he's going through things, he has a tendency 01:02:49.308 --> 01:02:51.894 to withdraw and really keep to himself. 01:02:52.769 --> 01:02:57.065 As a young wife, it felt very, um, uncomfortable. 01:02:57.983 --> 01:03:00.777 He took his work home. 01:03:00.861 --> 01:03:03.530 There were times when he just would go into a shell 01:03:03.614 --> 01:03:06.074 and not speak for days. 01:03:07.034 --> 01:03:08.535 I didn't know how to act. 01:03:08.619 --> 01:03:12.831 I-I'd go in my closet and cry because I thought it was me. 01:03:12.915 --> 01:03:15.125 I thought I did something wrong. 01:03:15.209 --> 01:03:16.460 [birds chirping] 01:03:17.211 --> 01:03:22.007 There is a real affable, genuine, humorous side to Jerry, 01:03:22.090 --> 01:03:23.800 and then there is the other side, 01:03:23.884 --> 01:03:26.428 a very dark, depressive side. 01:03:27.429 --> 01:03:29.348 [Kupchak] The title of his book is perfect, 01:03:29.431 --> 01:03:31.600 My Charmed and Tormented Life. 01:03:31.683 --> 01:03:34.061 That tells you a lot of what you need to know. 01:03:34.144 --> 01:03:36.063 I think he deals with it as best he could. 01:03:36.146 --> 01:03:38.607 He's-- he's not a simple person. 01:03:38.690 --> 01:03:40.192 [Arn Tellem] Battling depression, 01:03:40.275 --> 01:03:42.069 battling all the ups and downs of his career, 01:03:42.152 --> 01:03:43.320 even his personal life, 01:03:43.403 --> 01:03:45.447 these are hard issues to navigate. 01:03:47.449 --> 01:03:49.952 [exhales sharply] Some days I don't function very well. 01:03:50.035 --> 01:03:53.038 You know, if I happen to get in a mood like that... 01:03:54.206 --> 01:03:55.415 um... 01:03:55.499 --> 01:03:57.501 [soft music continues] 01:04:03.131 --> 01:04:04.758 What would turn this switch, you know, 01:04:04.841 --> 01:04:08.887 where I felt fantastic about things and then the next, 01:04:08.971 --> 01:04:10.722 I feel the bottom of the ocean? 01:04:11.848 --> 01:04:15.435 All the books I've read, self-help books, 01:04:15.519 --> 01:04:17.479 I have never come to grips with that. 01:04:17.563 --> 01:04:20.315 You know, it's really an honor to meet you. [laughing] 01:04:20.399 --> 01:04:21.775 [Ryan] Some days, you'll call him, 01:04:21.858 --> 01:04:23.860 and he'll be in a very talkative mood 01:04:23.944 --> 01:04:25.862 and you can't get him off the phone. 01:04:25.946 --> 01:04:27.656 Other days, he'll say, 01:04:27.739 --> 01:04:30.200 "I'm so depressed, I don't want to live." 01:04:34.246 --> 01:04:36.373 And you don't know what triggers it. 01:04:36.456 --> 01:04:37.666 It's painful. 01:04:40.002 --> 01:04:43.380 [Karen] I know deep in his heart who he loves. 01:04:44.298 --> 01:04:48.218 I just, you know, I just support him when I can. 01:04:51.513 --> 01:04:54.391 Reports persist that Jack Kent Cooke has sold the Lakers, 01:04:54.474 --> 01:04:56.935 the Kings, and his Fabulous Forum 01:04:57.019 --> 01:05:00.147 to ex-world team tennis mogul Jerry Buss. 01:05:00.230 --> 01:05:03.692 The price being bandied about is $67 million. 01:05:03.775 --> 01:05:05.360 That would make it by far 01:05:05.444 --> 01:05:07.946 the biggest deal in the history of sports. 01:05:08.905 --> 01:05:10.407 [Jerry] Jerry Buss wanted me to coach the team 01:05:10.490 --> 01:05:11.742 when he bought it from Jack Cooke. 01:05:11.825 --> 01:05:13.327 I told him I'm not doing it. 01:05:13.410 --> 01:05:14.745 There was no way. 01:05:14.828 --> 01:05:17.956 So, he hired me as a consultant, 01:05:18.040 --> 01:05:20.626 and from there things changed. 01:05:20.709 --> 01:05:22.753 All of a sudden, I'm the general manager. 01:05:22.836 --> 01:05:25.631 Going from a player to an executive, 01:05:25.714 --> 01:05:29.259 it was really the start of a whole new life, 01:05:29.343 --> 01:05:31.553 and I guess, career. 01:05:31.637 --> 01:05:32.846 I didn't look at it like that. 01:05:32.929 --> 01:05:35.515 To me, it was an extension of what I loved. 01:05:35.599 --> 01:05:36.975 I loved basketball. 01:05:37.059 --> 01:05:40.020 [upbeat music continues] 01:05:40.103 --> 01:05:41.605 [Jonnie] To be a great general manager, 01:05:41.688 --> 01:05:43.523 like, you obviously have to have this ability 01:05:43.607 --> 01:05:45.692 to lead great athletes. 01:05:45.776 --> 01:05:47.277 That's the number one thing. 01:05:47.361 --> 01:05:49.821 This ability to identify talent, 01:05:49.905 --> 01:05:51.865 whether that's young players... 01:05:52.908 --> 01:05:54.951 new players you're adding to your team, coaches, 01:05:55.035 --> 01:05:56.495 like, there's so much that goes into it. 01:05:56.578 --> 01:05:59.331 He sees, like, the puzzle piece of team building 01:05:59.414 --> 01:06:01.041 better than anybody ever has. 01:06:01.124 --> 01:06:04.878 [Kenya] As an executive, what do you think that part for you is 01:06:04.961 --> 01:06:07.005 that has made you sort of be able to be 01:06:07.089 --> 01:06:10.300 as successful as you've been? 01:06:11.343 --> 01:06:13.303 Very much like a player. 01:06:13.387 --> 01:06:15.138 I'm not afraid to make a mistake. 01:06:15.222 --> 01:06:17.182 I trust my instincts. 01:06:17.265 --> 01:06:21.144 Jerry West is synonymous with several organizations now. 01:06:22.229 --> 01:06:25.357 They've all trended upwards due to his tutelage, 01:06:25.440 --> 01:06:28.443 due to his tenacity, due to his presence. 01:06:28.527 --> 01:06:31.863 And there's not many people that can say that in the NBA. 01:06:31.947 --> 01:06:34.032 There's not many people that can say that in the world. 01:06:34.116 --> 01:06:36.034 I almost call it the Midas Touch. 01:06:36.118 --> 01:06:39.246 It's not luck. That's-- that's Jerry West. 01:06:39.329 --> 01:06:42.040 Jerry could have went anywhere, but he's gonna always make those moves. 01:06:42.124 --> 01:06:45.210 I always compare him to a professional chess player. 01:06:45.293 --> 01:06:46.795 You know how Magic has the magic? 01:06:46.878 --> 01:06:50.090 Well, Jerry has that same magic from the front office side. 01:06:50.173 --> 01:06:52.050 [Riley] Jerry was an ex-player, 01:06:52.134 --> 01:06:56.513 and so he had a tremendous knowledge of talent. 01:06:56.596 --> 01:06:58.056 He could see talent. 01:06:58.140 --> 01:06:59.182 [whistle blows] 01:06:59.266 --> 01:07:00.851 He was constantly on the road 01:07:00.934 --> 01:07:04.938 going to every 500 population town in this country 01:07:05.021 --> 01:07:08.567 to find players, high school players, college players. 01:07:08.650 --> 01:07:11.695 [Jordan] He would go to every gym that you can think of to find talent. 01:07:11.778 --> 01:07:14.531 But at some point in time, you gotta make a decision on that talent. 01:07:14.614 --> 01:07:16.700 That's what Jerry really, really was good at. 01:07:16.783 --> 01:07:19.453 What, to me, separated Jerry... 01:07:20.620 --> 01:07:24.124 was his willingness to speak truth. 01:07:24.207 --> 01:07:28.128 If he thought a player was not playing at a certain level, 01:07:28.211 --> 01:07:29.546 he said it. 01:07:29.629 --> 01:07:31.757 What made him such a credible GM 01:07:31.840 --> 01:07:34.593 was his ability to look into people 01:07:34.676 --> 01:07:37.345 and have a sense of what was really making them tick. 01:07:37.429 --> 01:07:41.349 He's the best executive in the history of the NBA. 01:07:41.433 --> 01:07:44.394 To accomplish what he accomplished 01:07:44.478 --> 01:07:46.480 as an executive at the Lakers... 01:07:47.689 --> 01:07:49.149 can't be matched. 01:07:49.232 --> 01:07:51.193 As long as there's an organization, 01:07:51.276 --> 01:07:53.695 Jerry West will be with it. When he's no longer here, 01:07:53.779 --> 01:07:56.448 we'll probably throw away the organization. 01:07:57.741 --> 01:07:59.868 [Jerry] Now all of a sudden, I had a chance 01:07:59.951 --> 01:08:02.579 to run the Lakers through my eyes. 01:08:04.039 --> 01:08:07.834 We had Abdul-Jabbar back there who was anchoring our defense, 01:08:07.918 --> 01:08:10.796 and certainly adding Earvin Johnson 01:08:10.879 --> 01:08:13.423 to that group was special. 01:08:13.507 --> 01:08:14.883 Yeah, the first time I met him, 01:08:14.966 --> 01:08:17.969 was actually when I flew to Los Angeles 01:08:18.053 --> 01:08:21.223 to really talk about the possibility of me 01:08:21.306 --> 01:08:23.934 coming out of school and the Lakers drafting me, 01:08:24.017 --> 01:08:28.438 and I was in awe to be able to shake his hand, to meet him. 01:08:28.522 --> 01:08:29.898 I was calling everybody. 01:08:29.981 --> 01:08:32.859 I said, "Man, I just had lunch with Jerry West. 01:08:32.943 --> 01:08:34.486 -I met with him," You know? -[Kenya laughs] 01:08:34.569 --> 01:08:37.155 Okay, so there's a question I've been dying to ask you. 01:08:37.239 --> 01:08:38.657 Something I heard throughout the years, you know, 01:08:38.740 --> 01:08:39.991 about you and Magic. 01:08:40.075 --> 01:08:43.578 You-- they were like, you didn't know if you wanted Magic. 01:08:43.662 --> 01:08:44.913 Is that true? 01:08:44.996 --> 01:08:46.331 [Jerry] Oh, gosh, no. 01:08:46.414 --> 01:08:48.959 A writer started this, okay? 01:08:49.042 --> 01:08:50.794 A writer started it. 01:08:50.877 --> 01:08:52.838 And he said he knew for a fact. 01:08:53.839 --> 01:08:55.215 It wasn't true. 01:08:55.298 --> 01:08:57.050 -[laughs] -It wasn't true. 01:08:57.133 --> 01:09:01.304 The Los Angeles Lakers select Earvin Magic Johnson. 01:09:02.347 --> 01:09:04.057 [Johnson] It just means so much to me. 01:09:04.140 --> 01:09:06.560 It's undescribable how much the billing means to me. 01:09:06.643 --> 01:09:10.105 And, um, I would just like to have it, and I'm-- I'm gonna go get it. 01:09:10.188 --> 01:09:13.191 [upbeat music playing] 01:09:13.275 --> 01:09:17.320 [Jerry] Now, we needed someone to play a high-risk offense. 01:09:17.404 --> 01:09:20.115 [Johnson] The biggest decision he made-- this is really something, 01:09:20.198 --> 01:09:22.033 I don't know how he did this. 01:09:22.117 --> 01:09:25.120 When you got Terry Cummings, Dominique Wilkins, 01:09:25.203 --> 01:09:28.748 and James Worthy, and you got to pick one of 'em. 01:09:28.832 --> 01:09:30.709 [all laughing] 01:09:30.792 --> 01:09:33.253 All three of those guys were first-rate. 01:09:33.336 --> 01:09:34.838 [announcer] For the first pick... 01:09:34.921 --> 01:09:36.172 [Abdul-Jabbar] Jerry had it figured out 01:09:36.256 --> 01:09:38.967 as to who was gonna be a winner and who was not. 01:09:39.050 --> 01:09:40.302 James Worthy. 01:09:41.136 --> 01:09:42.888 [Johnson] So, he brought another champion 01:09:42.971 --> 01:09:46.099 into a championship locker room. 01:09:46.182 --> 01:09:48.226 The next biggest move was to decide 01:09:48.310 --> 01:09:50.186 whether to trade Norm Nixon. 01:09:50.270 --> 01:09:52.063 Norm was very popular. 01:09:52.147 --> 01:09:55.150 I was like, "Wow, that's-- that's a-- that's a big trade." 01:09:55.233 --> 01:09:56.818 Guy's part of the fast break. 01:09:56.902 --> 01:09:59.237 He's had a lot of success here in LA. 01:09:59.321 --> 01:10:02.574 Dating Debbie Allen. I mean, that's star power. 01:10:02.657 --> 01:10:04.784 We all thought he was-- he was wrong. 01:10:04.868 --> 01:10:06.661 Norm was our boy. 01:10:06.745 --> 01:10:10.749 But Jerry West said, "Mm, I-- I don't care if he popular. 01:10:10.832 --> 01:10:15.378 We gotta get better and trade for Byron Scott." 01:10:15.462 --> 01:10:17.005 [Byron Scott] When Jerry made the trade for me, 01:10:17.088 --> 01:10:19.341 most people said it was the worst trade he ever made. 01:10:19.424 --> 01:10:21.176 This man is losing it. 01:10:21.259 --> 01:10:22.761 [Jerry] Some people are afraid to be criticized. 01:10:22.844 --> 01:10:26.640 I'm not, because when I grew up, I was criticized all the time. 01:10:26.723 --> 01:10:28.558 -[Kenya] Right. -For nothing. 01:10:28.642 --> 01:10:31.478 And they can think what they-- I don't give a fuck what they think. 01:10:31.561 --> 01:10:33.104 I don't. I could care less. 01:10:33.188 --> 01:10:34.940 [Johnson] Jerry absolutely was right. 01:10:35.023 --> 01:10:37.192 Byron Scott was the guy we needed. 01:10:37.275 --> 01:10:39.486 [upbeat music playing] 01:10:39.569 --> 01:10:41.780 And boy, we were off and running, 01:10:41.863 --> 01:10:43.031 -I tell you. -[laughs] 01:10:43.114 --> 01:10:46.493 ♪ California, no doubt about it ♪ 01:10:46.576 --> 01:10:47.827 ♪ California... 01:10:47.911 --> 01:10:49.746 [Johnson laughing] 01:10:49.829 --> 01:10:52.832 [Johnson] And it was full speed every single night. 01:10:52.916 --> 01:10:56.795 ♪ ...of LA, in the city... 01:10:56.878 --> 01:10:58.964 And then, you know, I just started dancing. 01:10:59.047 --> 01:11:03.259 You know, I was... [vocalizes] It's on now. 01:11:03.343 --> 01:11:05.011 ♪ They pop locking, whoo! ♪ 01:11:05.095 --> 01:11:08.056 [Jerry] The crowds were absolutely electric. 01:11:08.139 --> 01:11:09.474 The team was beloved. 01:11:10.684 --> 01:11:13.436 [Johnson] We would hit you with it so fast 01:11:13.520 --> 01:11:16.815 that the crowd gave us one standing ovation. 01:11:16.898 --> 01:11:18.316 By the time we came back, 01:11:18.400 --> 01:11:20.527 we hit you with another 18-0 run, 01:11:20.610 --> 01:11:22.946 and now they still going goo-goo ga-ga. 01:11:23.989 --> 01:11:25.615 Teams would start saying, 01:11:25.699 --> 01:11:29.077 "Don't go for the offensive rebound against the Lakers." 01:11:29.160 --> 01:11:31.371 And we would still beat 'em down the court. 01:11:31.454 --> 01:11:34.541 -[indistinct commentary] -[crowd cheering] 01:11:37.127 --> 01:11:38.128 Magic... 01:11:39.295 --> 01:11:42.007 And Jerry was the architect of Showtime. 01:11:42.090 --> 01:11:44.509 There's no Showtime without Jerry West, 01:11:44.592 --> 01:11:46.761 because he's the one who brought us all together. 01:11:46.845 --> 01:11:49.264 And making sure that you understood, 01:11:49.347 --> 01:11:51.349 if you come to the Lakers, 01:11:51.433 --> 01:11:54.728 you gotta be about winning and you gotta be unselfish. 01:11:55.854 --> 01:11:57.981 [Jerry] People have to complement each other. 01:11:59.024 --> 01:12:00.400 There's nothing that beats chemistry. 01:12:01.526 --> 01:12:02.944 Nothing beats chemistry. 01:12:03.028 --> 01:12:07.323 You have some guys in a locker room that won't say a word. 01:12:07.407 --> 01:12:09.576 All of a sudden, he'll come up with something really funny, 01:12:09.659 --> 01:12:11.494 and everyone in the whole room is laughing. 01:12:11.578 --> 01:12:12.996 "Where have you been?" You know? 01:12:13.872 --> 01:12:17.000 Those are the things that are truly chemistry, 01:12:17.083 --> 01:12:19.169 and it brings closeness to players. 01:12:19.252 --> 01:12:22.464 But, as I say, I love to laugh 01:12:22.547 --> 01:12:25.008 because I never did a lot of it in my life. 01:12:25.091 --> 01:12:27.302 [commentator] And the Lakers also know, Tom, 01:12:27.385 --> 01:12:29.262 that they-- if they're going to win the title, 01:12:29.345 --> 01:12:31.264 they've gotta win it in the lair of the Celtics. 01:12:31.347 --> 01:12:34.434 -[crowd cheering] -The Green will be really out in force 01:12:34.517 --> 01:12:36.144 at the Boston Garden. 01:12:36.227 --> 01:12:37.812 -They got to win two... -[Ryan] As a kid, 01:12:37.896 --> 01:12:39.731 I had never been to Boston Garden, 01:12:39.814 --> 01:12:43.068 so he arranged for he and I to go. 01:12:43.151 --> 01:12:46.696 We walked into the arena and I looked at him, 01:12:46.780 --> 01:12:48.573 and he was starting to panic. 01:12:48.656 --> 01:12:50.075 [soft music playing] 01:12:50.158 --> 01:12:52.827 And I said, you know, "Dad, what's wrong?" 01:12:52.911 --> 01:12:54.954 And he said, "Ryan, I can't be in this building. 01:12:55.038 --> 01:12:56.539 I have to leave right now." 01:12:57.749 --> 01:12:59.250 And even as an 11-year-old, 01:12:59.334 --> 01:13:01.377 it's something that always hit me. 01:13:01.461 --> 01:13:03.922 And it-- it still resonates with me to this day 01:13:04.005 --> 01:13:06.216 just how painful those losses were to him. 01:13:08.218 --> 01:13:09.552 [upbeat music playing] 01:13:09.636 --> 01:13:11.346 [commentator] And welcome to the Boston Garden, 01:13:11.429 --> 01:13:14.808 which through the years, has been the home court advantage. 01:13:14.891 --> 01:13:17.310 The fans here don't hope, they believe, 01:13:17.393 --> 01:13:20.563 and they're already making plans for a game seven Tuesday night. 01:13:20.647 --> 01:13:24.859 But inside, the Los Angeles Lakers are making other plans. 01:13:24.943 --> 01:13:28.196 It's game six, and the Lakers are just one victory away 01:13:28.279 --> 01:13:30.323 from a world championship and ending 01:13:30.406 --> 01:13:33.368 one of the longest jinxes in the history of professional sport. 01:13:33.451 --> 01:13:35.620 [Riley] In '85, all of a sudden, 01:13:35.703 --> 01:13:39.833 that whole dilemma was foisted on our back, 01:13:39.916 --> 01:13:41.334 that we were the team 01:13:41.417 --> 01:13:45.046 that had to get rid of this Boston Celtic hex. 01:13:45.130 --> 01:13:47.006 [commentator] Nothing could be sweeter for Pat Riley 01:13:47.090 --> 01:13:48.675 and the Lakers to win it here. 01:13:48.758 --> 01:13:52.303 Can they handle the aggressiveness and intimidation 01:13:52.387 --> 01:13:55.765 and confrontation that the Celtics put on them last year? 01:13:55.849 --> 01:14:00.812 Especially because we went through two real bad losses in '83 and '84. 01:14:00.895 --> 01:14:03.815 [commentator] Fifteenth world championship for the Boston Celtics, 01:14:03.898 --> 01:14:05.275 the best record in the league 01:14:05.358 --> 01:14:07.569 beating the team with the second best record in the league. 01:14:07.652 --> 01:14:10.238 [Riley] In '84, we actually choked away a championship 01:14:10.321 --> 01:14:12.907 and further got pounded for it in the media. 01:14:12.991 --> 01:14:15.702 Whatever happened to the Los Angeles dynasty? 01:14:15.785 --> 01:14:17.287 Here's where it is, right here! 01:14:17.370 --> 01:14:22.041 But in '85, I really felt comfortable and confident 01:14:22.125 --> 01:14:24.627 that we could finally beat the Celtics. 01:14:24.711 --> 01:14:26.629 [Jerry] The playoffs, of course, is a very special time 01:14:26.713 --> 01:14:28.464 and a very nervous time, and those are the times 01:14:28.548 --> 01:14:31.593 when you always feel that you need to win. 01:14:31.676 --> 01:14:34.679 You need to win for your franchise to keep it growing 01:14:34.762 --> 01:14:36.806 and give your fans some hope that you can beat 01:14:36.890 --> 01:14:38.892 those bullies from Boston. 01:14:38.975 --> 01:14:41.352 [commentator] ...continues. The tip controlled by Boston... 01:14:41.436 --> 01:14:43.396 [Jerry] And I happen to remember that day very well. 01:14:43.479 --> 01:14:46.524 It's my son's birthday. His name is Ryan. 01:14:46.608 --> 01:14:48.276 Surprisingly, that day, 01:14:48.359 --> 01:14:50.320 we had a birthday party at my house. 01:14:51.487 --> 01:14:52.572 [party horn squeaking] 01:14:52.655 --> 01:14:54.616 [Jerry] And we sat here in this room 01:14:54.699 --> 01:14:57.202 and watched this basketball game. 01:14:57.285 --> 01:14:58.661 The TV went out. 01:15:00.455 --> 01:15:02.207 [Ryan] No TV reception, nothing. 01:15:03.625 --> 01:15:05.084 [commentator] [on radio] They asked him, he had his... 01:15:05.168 --> 01:15:08.463 [Ryan] So, he had to listen to the rest of the game on the radio. 01:15:08.546 --> 01:15:10.048 [indistinct radio commentary] 01:15:10.131 --> 01:15:11.716 We're trying to listen to something. 01:15:11.799 --> 01:15:14.344 [Ryan] But he got to listen to Chick Hearn 01:15:14.427 --> 01:15:16.012 call the rest of the game. 01:15:16.095 --> 01:15:19.265 [Chick] Good. And it's 47 to 45, the Lakers trailing. 01:15:19.349 --> 01:15:21.309 The Celtics have led twice. 01:15:21.392 --> 01:15:23.061 [Ryan] We get behind late in the ball game. 01:15:23.144 --> 01:15:25.063 That's ten for Bird, eight in this quarter. 01:15:25.146 --> 01:15:26.522 The Celtics lead by two... 01:15:26.606 --> 01:15:29.776 And all of a sudden, the momentum changed. 01:15:29.859 --> 01:15:31.069 [commentator] If you ask Pat Riley, 01:15:31.152 --> 01:15:33.279 "How would you like a nine-point lead 01:15:33.363 --> 01:15:36.157 going into the fourth period and a chance to close it out, 01:15:36.241 --> 01:15:37.450 he'd say, 'I'd take it.'" 01:15:37.533 --> 01:15:40.453 [Jerry] And suddenly, this very hungry team 01:15:40.536 --> 01:15:44.082 made all the plays a championship team has to make to win. 01:15:44.165 --> 01:15:46.000 [commentator] The Lakers are winning it. 01:15:46.834 --> 01:15:48.169 Three in six years. 01:15:48.253 --> 01:15:50.964 LA comes to Boston and wins the world title. 01:15:51.047 --> 01:15:53.716 [triumphant music playing] 01:15:55.385 --> 01:15:56.594 [Jerry] That was a day, 01:15:56.678 --> 01:16:00.098 that was the happiest day of my athletic life. 01:16:00.932 --> 01:16:04.394 [commentator] And Red Auerbach and Alan Cohen walk off. 01:16:04.477 --> 01:16:06.604 [players cheering] 01:16:09.649 --> 01:16:12.068 Whoo! Yeah, it feels good. 01:16:12.151 --> 01:16:13.945 [commentator] They finally snapped the jinx 01:16:14.028 --> 01:16:16.823 underneath the banners of the Boston Garden. 01:16:16.906 --> 01:16:18.658 Hey, look at this, huh? 01:16:18.741 --> 01:16:19.784 [inaudible dialogue] 01:16:19.867 --> 01:16:21.995 [Kupchak] A lot of demons were exorcized 01:16:22.078 --> 01:16:24.706 when the Lakers finally beat the Celtics. 01:16:24.789 --> 01:16:26.499 It can never again be said 01:16:26.582 --> 01:16:29.294 that the Lakers have never beaten the Celtics. 01:16:29.377 --> 01:16:31.170 -[cheering] -[players chanting] 01:16:31.254 --> 01:16:33.006 It was probably the happiest day of my life, 01:16:33.089 --> 01:16:34.841 even though I wasn't there. 01:16:34.924 --> 01:16:36.676 And of all the years of frustration, 01:16:36.759 --> 01:16:40.596 and that gave me the greatest sense of accomplishment 01:16:40.680 --> 01:16:42.765 of anything I've ever done in Los Angeles. 01:16:42.849 --> 01:16:46.060 It is my pleasure to be here tonight 01:16:46.144 --> 01:16:49.439 to present to them their championship rings. 01:16:50.356 --> 01:16:53.401 That was the one championship ring that he wore forever. 01:16:53.484 --> 01:16:56.154 When I turned 25, we were out at dinner, 01:16:56.237 --> 01:16:58.239 he was being very sentimental, 01:16:58.323 --> 01:16:59.991 and we were talking about that day 01:17:00.074 --> 01:17:02.910 and talking about me growing up, and me as a man. 01:17:02.994 --> 01:17:06.831 And he gifted me that ring for my 25th birthday. 01:17:07.707 --> 01:17:10.835 And it's something that I'll cherish forever. 01:17:12.211 --> 01:17:16.591 [Vitti] I'm sure Jerry had a quick good feeling about the win, 01:17:16.674 --> 01:17:19.594 but he was already on to the next-- the next thing. 01:17:19.677 --> 01:17:21.554 In competitive sports... 01:17:22.472 --> 01:17:25.266 it's the most difficult thing that you can do, 01:17:25.350 --> 01:17:27.143 to try to win a championship. 01:17:27.226 --> 01:17:29.354 -[upbeat music playing] -[crowd]: Five, four, 01:17:29.437 --> 01:17:31.647 three, two, one! 01:17:31.731 --> 01:17:33.733 [crowd cheering] 01:17:34.859 --> 01:17:37.695 [commentator] Final celebration belongs here. 01:17:37.779 --> 01:17:39.989 The champagne is flowing in the locker room 01:17:40.073 --> 01:17:42.784 of the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. 01:17:42.867 --> 01:17:45.078 And if you do, can you repeat? 01:17:45.161 --> 01:17:46.746 [upbeat music continues] 01:17:46.829 --> 01:17:50.458 [commentator] The game ends. The Lakers have won it again. 01:17:50.541 --> 01:17:53.127 The Lakers are back-to-back champions. 01:17:53.211 --> 01:17:55.630 The first team to do so in 19 years. 01:17:55.713 --> 01:17:57.090 ♪ We love it ♪ 01:17:59.675 --> 01:18:01.052 ♪ We love it ♪ 01:18:02.678 --> 01:18:04.222 ♪ I love LA ♪ 01:18:06.808 --> 01:18:08.059 ♪ We love it ♪♪ 01:18:11.687 --> 01:18:14.315 [somber music playing] 01:18:16.234 --> 01:18:17.819 [Rosen] The Lakers were on their way to play 01:18:17.902 --> 01:18:21.447 in a exhibition game, and I got a call saying 01:18:21.531 --> 01:18:25.326 um, there's an issue with Earvin's life insurance. 01:18:26.369 --> 01:18:27.995 Sorry, we can't give you any information. 01:18:28.079 --> 01:18:31.707 The only one we can give information to is Earvin Johnson. 01:18:31.791 --> 01:18:34.419 I then called Earvin and said, "Earvin, I got this call. 01:18:34.502 --> 01:18:35.962 Um, you need to come back." 01:18:36.045 --> 01:18:38.881 And I decide I can't wait in my office. 01:18:38.965 --> 01:18:42.969 So, I drive to The Forum, I drive to see Jerry and Mitch, 01:18:43.052 --> 01:18:45.847 and we sat there for an hour and a half. 01:18:47.306 --> 01:18:48.724 What could this be? 01:18:48.808 --> 01:18:51.018 You know, just running things through our head 01:18:51.102 --> 01:18:54.730 like what could be go-- what could be going on, right? 01:18:54.814 --> 01:18:58.484 And of course, your mind, you know, goes into bad places. 01:18:58.568 --> 01:19:00.695 I pick Earvin up at the airport, 01:19:00.778 --> 01:19:03.114 we drive to the doctor's office. 01:19:04.449 --> 01:19:06.868 Uh, the doctor calls Earvin, um, 01:19:06.951 --> 01:19:09.328 and it ended up being me into his office. 01:19:09.412 --> 01:19:11.998 And, um, he gave Earvin the news, 01:19:12.081 --> 01:19:14.208 the devastating news that he was HIV-positive 01:19:14.292 --> 01:19:15.877 and he needs to, um... 01:19:18.671 --> 01:19:20.506 he needs to retire from basketball. 01:19:20.590 --> 01:19:22.508 [somber music continues] 01:19:22.592 --> 01:19:24.051 [inhales sharply] 01:19:24.135 --> 01:19:27.221 Um, Earvin asked a number of different questions, 01:19:27.305 --> 01:19:30.099 and-- and he said, "I-- I want you to tell two people. 01:19:30.183 --> 01:19:32.852 "I want you to tell Jerry West, 01:19:32.935 --> 01:19:35.480 and I want you to tell Jerry Buss." 01:19:35.563 --> 01:19:37.690 It was probably ten o'clock at night, 01:19:37.773 --> 01:19:41.903 and I had woken up, and as I'm-- I'm passing in the hall, 01:19:41.986 --> 01:19:44.447 I look downstairs, and I see my dad and Lon 01:19:44.530 --> 01:19:47.742 sitting on the couch, and I said, "Why is Lon here so late?" 01:19:49.160 --> 01:19:51.871 [Rosen] I remember sitting in the office Jerry and Karen had there, 01:19:51.954 --> 01:19:54.874 and I remember staring at the Olympic Gold medal 01:19:54.957 --> 01:19:59.045 and telling Jerry... what we just learned. 01:20:00.004 --> 01:20:02.715 And Jerry was devastated. 01:20:02.798 --> 01:20:04.592 Earvin meant so much to him. 01:20:04.675 --> 01:20:06.177 [Kenya] I don't know if you know this story, 01:20:06.260 --> 01:20:09.138 but when you announced, made the announcement, 01:20:09.222 --> 01:20:13.851 Lon Rosen the night before had come, um, to Jerry's house 01:20:13.935 --> 01:20:15.311 -Mm. -[Kenya] ...and you know, 01:20:15.394 --> 01:20:16.938 told Jerry what was gonna happen. 01:20:17.021 --> 01:20:20.191 Jerry's wife was so-- the kids were so, you know, 01:20:20.274 --> 01:20:21.692 enraptured with you and loved you. 01:20:21.776 --> 01:20:23.069 She went and took them out of school. 01:20:23.152 --> 01:20:24.195 Mm. 01:20:24.278 --> 01:20:26.197 And we have the clip of that? 01:20:27.323 --> 01:20:29.367 Um, it's really interesting. 01:20:29.450 --> 01:20:31.118 -[indistinct chatter] -Mm-hmm. 01:20:31.202 --> 01:20:35.873 [Karen] [on screen] Jerry had gone to a meeting with the doctor, 01:20:35.957 --> 01:20:39.627 and I'll never forget, he came home... 01:20:41.921 --> 01:20:46.175 and he-- he went right into his bathroom and just sobbed. 01:20:47.301 --> 01:20:51.180 And, I-I mean, I-- it was the first time really 01:20:51.264 --> 01:20:52.723 that I'd ever seen him cry. 01:20:52.807 --> 01:20:55.977 And he was just, um... It was very difficult. 01:20:57.061 --> 01:20:58.896 And I'll never forget, I-I heard it, 01:20:58.980 --> 01:21:03.109 and I raced out of the house, and-- and I was in tears and I said, 01:21:03.192 --> 01:21:05.236 "I've gotta get to school. I've gotta get the kids." 01:21:05.319 --> 01:21:07.697 I didn't want them to hear it at school, 01:21:07.780 --> 01:21:10.408 because by then, it was-- it was getting out. 01:21:14.120 --> 01:21:17.373 My mom comes bursting into the classroom 01:21:17.456 --> 01:21:20.084 hysterically crying, and my first thought was 01:21:20.167 --> 01:21:21.919 a family member died, my father died. 01:21:22.003 --> 01:21:23.921 Something tragic happened. 01:21:24.005 --> 01:21:25.631 We went to my parents' house, 01:21:25.715 --> 01:21:27.717 and we watched the announcement on TV. 01:21:27.800 --> 01:21:31.887 [newscaster] From the NBA to Wall Street, to Capitol Hill, 01:21:31.971 --> 01:21:34.307 to neighborhoods, to playgrounds, 01:21:34.390 --> 01:21:37.518 shock waves from Magic Johnson's stunning announcement 01:21:37.602 --> 01:21:40.688 that he has the virus that causes AIDS. 01:21:40.771 --> 01:21:42.273 I just want to make clear, first of all, 01:21:42.356 --> 01:21:45.026 that I do not have the AIDS disease, 01:21:45.109 --> 01:21:48.321 'cause I know a lot of you I guess want to know that, 01:21:48.404 --> 01:21:50.197 but the HIV virus. 01:21:50.281 --> 01:21:53.576 [Rosen] I remember the press conference that we had at The Forum. 01:21:53.659 --> 01:21:55.244 [Magic] She's fine, she's negative... 01:21:56.245 --> 01:21:58.539 Just seeing the look in Jerry's eyes. 01:21:58.623 --> 01:22:02.043 Well, obviously, this comes as a huge shock to us, um... 01:22:03.294 --> 01:22:05.296 I think when you're trying to, um... 01:22:06.297 --> 01:22:08.924 find out the condition of a player, 01:22:09.008 --> 01:22:11.594 obviously, you assume that player's gonna be back. 01:22:12.678 --> 01:22:15.139 And to be real candid with you, 01:22:15.222 --> 01:22:17.516 um, I haven't even thought about it. 01:22:17.600 --> 01:22:19.018 -[somber music playing] -[Vitti] It hit him hard. 01:22:19.101 --> 01:22:22.563 You know, sometimes you'd see him... in his office, 01:22:22.647 --> 01:22:26.484 it would just be dark in there with one little lamp on his desk. 01:22:27.777 --> 01:22:31.864 [Johnson] The moment we had was in his office, 01:22:31.947 --> 01:22:34.784 and he started crying right away. 01:22:34.867 --> 01:22:37.787 And then I started crying right away, you know? 01:22:38.746 --> 01:22:42.708 And, um, we've always had that type of relationship. 01:22:42.792 --> 01:22:45.544 He just hugged me and, uh... 01:22:46.837 --> 01:22:50.883 and really told me how he loved me, 01:22:50.966 --> 01:22:55.680 and-- and, uh, "They say everything should be okay." 01:22:55.763 --> 01:22:57.848 We really want what's best for him. 01:22:57.932 --> 01:23:00.935 Uh, there's a life after basketball for Earvin Johnson 01:23:01.018 --> 01:23:03.312 and we want him to go on with his life 01:23:03.396 --> 01:23:06.273 and lead a healthy, successful life, 01:23:06.357 --> 01:23:09.402 and, uh, which frankly it didn't look like he could do. 01:23:09.485 --> 01:23:13.781 The relationship that Earvin had with Jerry helped him get well. 01:23:13.864 --> 01:23:17.535 There wasn't a moment where Jerry wasn't on his side 01:23:17.618 --> 01:23:20.371 and wasn't afraid to talk to him, and wasn't afraid to hug him, 01:23:20.454 --> 01:23:22.289 and wasn't afraid to be around him. 01:23:22.373 --> 01:23:26.919 To be here 32 years later, you need a support system. 01:23:27.002 --> 01:23:30.548 And Jerry was a major, major support system. 01:23:31.674 --> 01:23:33.467 [Jerry] How you treat your people really matters. 01:23:33.551 --> 01:23:36.554 I took an interest. They just weren't players. 01:23:36.637 --> 01:23:38.806 -[Kenya] Yeah. -And it's important to me. 01:23:38.889 --> 01:23:40.808 And, you know, a lot of people hear you talk, 01:23:40.891 --> 01:23:43.144 and, "Oh, that's bullshit." Well, it's not. 01:23:43.227 --> 01:23:45.855 I know how I feel about people. 01:23:45.938 --> 01:23:48.232 I know how I care about people. 01:23:50.359 --> 01:23:52.361 [pen scratching] 01:23:57.950 --> 01:24:00.286 [Vitti] The Lakers were like the Roman Empire. 01:24:00.369 --> 01:24:02.705 You had those championship years 01:24:02.788 --> 01:24:04.582 and then we went into the Dark Ages. 01:24:04.665 --> 01:24:06.792 -[dramatic music playing] -[commentator] And the Lakers are really 01:24:06.876 --> 01:24:08.878 in a cold slump right now. 01:24:08.961 --> 01:24:10.504 [commentator 2] Lakers hit rock bottom, 01:24:10.588 --> 01:24:13.257 missing the playoffs for the first time in 18 years. 01:24:13.340 --> 01:24:16.302 [Jerry] Everyone had written us off. Everyone. 01:24:16.385 --> 01:24:19.096 And I knew if we worked hard enough... 01:24:20.097 --> 01:24:21.682 if we did the right things, 01:24:21.766 --> 01:24:23.309 that we were gonna be very competitive, 01:24:23.392 --> 01:24:25.770 and we can do this, and we will do it again. 01:24:25.853 --> 01:24:27.855 And then we came back and we had the Renaissance. 01:24:27.938 --> 01:24:30.316 -[upbeat music playing] -[crowd cheering] 01:24:34.195 --> 01:24:37.323 Would you say that that, as a executive, 01:24:37.406 --> 01:24:41.535 that Shaq-Kobe was your sort of... 01:24:42.870 --> 01:24:44.538 greatest moment? 01:24:44.622 --> 01:24:45.998 Well, for me, it was the most exciting. 01:24:46.081 --> 01:24:47.875 You know, we wanted to reach for the moon. 01:24:48.834 --> 01:24:51.837 [Kupchak] The first part of that summer was the first workout 01:24:51.921 --> 01:24:55.257 with Kobe by himself with Jerry in a gym. 01:24:55.341 --> 01:24:58.385 And Jerry was just like really, really excited. 01:24:58.469 --> 01:25:01.931 [Thorn] I remember getting a call from Jerry, and he said, 01:25:02.014 --> 01:25:04.391 "I just worked out this high school kid 01:25:04.475 --> 01:25:05.976 from Pennsylvania, Kobe Bryant. 01:25:06.060 --> 01:25:08.354 He's the best player I've ever worked out, 01:25:08.437 --> 01:25:09.897 and I have to get him." 01:25:09.980 --> 01:25:11.816 All we knew about Kobe Bryant at that time 01:25:11.899 --> 01:25:14.318 was he was playing high school ball. 01:25:14.401 --> 01:25:16.904 Jerry saw it. I didn't. 01:25:16.987 --> 01:25:21.450 I saw a 17-year-old kid trying to mimic Michael Jordan 01:25:21.534 --> 01:25:23.202 but wasn't Michael Jordan. 01:25:23.285 --> 01:25:27.289 Everybody is saying, well, it may take him a couple years, 01:25:27.373 --> 01:25:30.584 but Jerry West said, "Mm-mm, this guy named Kobe Bryant, 01:25:30.668 --> 01:25:33.379 he gonna be a superstar in this league." 01:25:33.462 --> 01:25:38.759 [Vitti] Jerry really believed in this 17-year-old kid so much, 01:25:38.843 --> 01:25:43.764 that he traded Vlade Divac to get him. 01:25:43.848 --> 01:25:49.687 Vlade was a legitimate, great, talented center. 01:25:49.770 --> 01:25:51.772 [Scott] If you're gonna make a trade like he was making 01:25:51.856 --> 01:25:54.525 with Kobe for Vlade Divac, you gotta be right. 01:25:55.609 --> 01:25:56.694 You got to be right. 01:25:56.777 --> 01:25:58.028 'Cause if you're wrong, you just set 01:25:58.112 --> 01:25:59.822 the whole franchise back, you know, 01:25:59.905 --> 01:26:01.407 three, four, five years 01:26:01.490 --> 01:26:05.661 [Vlade Divac] Back then, I was upset, you know, and I didn't like it, 01:26:05.744 --> 01:26:08.873 but I trust Jerry that he s-- he saw something 01:26:08.956 --> 01:26:10.624 that nobody see it before. 01:26:10.708 --> 01:26:13.210 And Kobe, uh, this is for you. 01:26:13.294 --> 01:26:14.837 -Thank you very much. -[camera shutter clicks] 01:26:14.920 --> 01:26:17.631 When I became a GM, I would trade myself for Kobe Bryant. 01:26:17.715 --> 01:26:20.217 -[laughs] -So, he did good decision. 01:26:21.927 --> 01:26:24.889 But now, we got a 17-year-old, and we don't have a center. 01:26:24.972 --> 01:26:27.558 [upbeat music playing] 01:26:28.475 --> 01:26:30.477 [commentator] Shaquille O'Neal has exploded onto the scene 01:26:30.561 --> 01:26:32.688 and taken a place alongside Jordan 01:26:32.771 --> 01:26:35.524 as perhaps the NBA's two most popular players. 01:26:35.608 --> 01:26:38.944 Shaquille O'Neal became a free agent unexpectedly. 01:26:40.321 --> 01:26:42.281 [crowd cheering] 01:26:42.364 --> 01:26:43.908 [Jerry] For Shaquille O'Neal, 01:26:43.991 --> 01:26:47.036 he just intimidated every player he played. 01:26:48.037 --> 01:26:49.747 [commentator] Oh, my goodness! 01:26:49.830 --> 01:26:52.041 He went flying through the air. 01:26:52.124 --> 01:26:54.126 He would dunk them out of the game. 01:26:54.209 --> 01:26:55.920 [commentator] You ever see a man that big fly? 01:26:56.003 --> 01:26:57.296 He'd destroy their soul. 01:26:57.379 --> 01:26:59.840 He would destroy a team's soul. 01:26:59.924 --> 01:27:01.717 -[gantry crashes] -[crowd cheering] 01:27:03.594 --> 01:27:06.138 We maxed out with what we could offer him, 01:27:06.221 --> 01:27:08.641 and then Orlando jumped in front of us 01:27:08.724 --> 01:27:10.100 with what they could offer him. 01:27:10.184 --> 01:27:14.855 So, we had to make the offer to top Orlando's offer. 01:27:14.939 --> 01:27:17.566 Every day, you know, they thought that they were gonna get him. 01:27:17.650 --> 01:27:19.568 The next day, something would happen 01:27:19.652 --> 01:27:21.153 and they didn't feel like they were gonna get him. 01:27:21.236 --> 01:27:23.948 It was an emotional roller coaster for him, for sure. 01:27:24.031 --> 01:27:25.950 The pursuit of Shaquille O'Neal 01:27:26.033 --> 01:27:27.284 was the most difficult thing. 01:27:27.368 --> 01:27:29.745 You know, there was a bunch of free agents out there, 01:27:29.828 --> 01:27:31.830 and everyone had a lot of money to spend. 01:27:31.914 --> 01:27:34.959 [upbeat rap music playing] 01:27:37.586 --> 01:27:40.547 [O'Neal] I'm in a strip club by the name of Magic City, 01:27:40.631 --> 01:27:42.508 partying, having a good time, 01:27:42.591 --> 01:27:44.426 and I had the big dope man phone, 01:27:44.510 --> 01:27:46.512 -and it just keeps going off. -[Kenya] [laughs] The brick! 01:27:46.595 --> 01:27:48.555 I had the brick phone, it keeps going off. 01:27:48.639 --> 01:27:51.350 -[phone chiming] -It was my agent, Leonard Armato. 01:27:51.433 --> 01:27:52.977 "Jerry West wants to meet you." 01:27:53.060 --> 01:27:54.687 I was like, "Okay, set it up for tomorrow." 01:27:54.770 --> 01:27:56.021 "No, now". 01:27:56.105 --> 01:27:57.982 It's 3:00 a.m., keep in mind. 01:27:58.065 --> 01:27:59.483 I was like, "What do you mean now?" 01:27:59.566 --> 01:28:01.485 "We got something you want." 01:28:01.568 --> 01:28:03.654 And he wouldn't tell me, and I was like, "But my man, I'm--" 01:28:03.737 --> 01:28:05.781 He's like, "No, you need to get over here." 01:28:05.864 --> 01:28:07.783 Up until that moment, you know, 01:28:07.866 --> 01:28:09.827 I don't think Jerry really believed we were gonna get him. 01:28:11.161 --> 01:28:12.496 -[O'Neal] In a hotel... -[elevator bell dings] 01:28:12.579 --> 01:28:13.789 ...go to the penthouse, 01:28:13.872 --> 01:28:17.251 ...and Mr. West has on this Versace robe and he's smiling, 01:28:17.334 --> 01:28:19.670 and he says, "Shaquille O'Neal, I know you don't know me, 01:28:19.753 --> 01:28:22.089 but I'm gonna get you what you want." 01:28:22.172 --> 01:28:24.717 When he slapped that piece of paper down, 01:28:24.800 --> 01:28:27.136 never seen so many zeroes in my life. 01:28:27.219 --> 01:28:28.679 And I was like... 01:28:28.762 --> 01:28:31.432 And he was smart, he said, "But you got to sign right now." 01:28:31.515 --> 01:28:33.892 So, when the great Mr. Jerry West came 01:28:33.976 --> 01:28:36.311 and said, "We got you," I signed. 01:28:36.395 --> 01:28:39.148 Shaquille, uh, I'm gonna present you with your new jersey 01:28:39.231 --> 01:28:41.525 -and also a hat. -[audience applauds] 01:28:41.608 --> 01:28:43.944 It was just a masterpiece, you know, 01:28:44.028 --> 01:28:47.823 that somebody can make a decision on a 17-year-old 01:28:47.906 --> 01:28:49.742 and then at the same time, you know, 01:28:49.825 --> 01:28:52.119 get a 24-year-old All Star in Shaquille O'Neal. 01:28:52.202 --> 01:28:54.913 It was just a master stroke of genius. 01:28:54.997 --> 01:28:57.207 That relationship that you fostered. 01:28:57.291 --> 01:29:00.878 -Two alphas. -[chuckles] Very, yeah. Alpha, at least. 01:29:00.961 --> 01:29:02.880 -[Kenya] [laughs] Exactly! -Alpha, at least. 01:29:04.423 --> 01:29:06.967 [Johnson] The hardest thing when you got two young guys 01:29:07.051 --> 01:29:10.220 who got egos is to make sure that they understand 01:29:10.304 --> 01:29:12.681 they need each other to be successful. 01:29:12.765 --> 01:29:15.517 [Kupchak] Players of that stature, a lot of their makeup is similar. 01:29:15.601 --> 01:29:19.897 Like, they're both impatient, both opinionated, 01:29:19.980 --> 01:29:21.857 obsessively competitive. 01:29:21.940 --> 01:29:24.985 [Cooper] You got a young kid who is ready to rear his head up 01:29:25.069 --> 01:29:26.653 and be the leader of the team. 01:29:26.737 --> 01:29:28.822 You had Shaq who felt no one could win 01:29:28.906 --> 01:29:31.575 because he's the biggest, baddest dude on the planet Earth. 01:29:31.658 --> 01:29:33.660 The kid and I were similar. 01:29:33.744 --> 01:29:36.455 I want it, I want it now. This is my shit. 01:29:37.247 --> 01:29:40.375 That's where the friction, you know, started to come in play. 01:29:40.459 --> 01:29:42.711 [Johnson] Shaq wanted that ball down low. 01:29:42.795 --> 01:29:45.297 Kobe said, "Uh-uh, I'm taking this jump shot." 01:29:45.380 --> 01:29:47.508 I think that Jerry was really good at getting them both 01:29:47.591 --> 01:29:49.885 sort of the equilibrium to line up. 01:29:49.968 --> 01:29:51.845 Yeah, and being the peacemaker between them. 01:29:51.929 --> 01:29:54.348 -Yes. -Because they both like winning. 01:29:54.431 --> 01:29:57.768 [Cooper] One of the things that Jerry West has always been great at 01:29:57.851 --> 01:30:01.438 is his ability to squash inter-team turmoil. 01:30:02.147 --> 01:30:04.191 [O'Neal] He would let us try to figure it out. 01:30:04.274 --> 01:30:06.652 Then it got to a boiling point. 01:30:06.735 --> 01:30:09.530 It'd be out here, come back in. 01:30:09.613 --> 01:30:11.448 Uh-oh, got to go to the principal's office. 01:30:11.532 --> 01:30:13.408 [Johnson] If two guys had a problem, 01:30:13.492 --> 01:30:15.619 you gonna be meeting with Jerry West, both of you, 01:30:15.702 --> 01:30:18.163 and he gonna squash it right away. 01:30:18.247 --> 01:30:20.207 "Alright, say what you want to say, both of you. 01:30:20.290 --> 01:30:22.960 "Okay, now when we leave here, I don't want to hear nothing." 01:30:23.043 --> 01:30:24.878 And he said it in some different words. 01:30:24.962 --> 01:30:27.548 [all laughing] 01:30:28.465 --> 01:30:29.800 Jerry West. 01:30:29.883 --> 01:30:32.511 I thought at one time, Jerry West was from the hood. 01:30:32.594 --> 01:30:34.388 [all laughing] 01:30:34.471 --> 01:30:36.849 [Johnson] Finally, he worked it out with 'em. 01:30:37.933 --> 01:30:40.853 [O'Neal] He helped me with patience with the kid. 01:30:40.936 --> 01:30:42.354 So, our compromise was, 01:30:42.437 --> 01:30:45.983 give me the ball, let me dominate. 01:30:46.066 --> 01:30:48.527 Fourth quarter is yours. And it worked. 01:30:48.610 --> 01:30:51.029 [commentator] Shaq double-teamed, back to Kobe, 01:30:51.113 --> 01:30:52.156 fires a three. 01:30:52.239 --> 01:30:54.491 Looking for Shaq. He takes it in deep. 01:30:54.575 --> 01:30:56.368 -Kobe finds Shaq. -[whistle blows] 01:30:56.451 --> 01:30:58.745 [Jerry] When those two guys played together, 01:30:58.829 --> 01:31:02.416 it was a combination that was kinda scary. 01:31:02.499 --> 01:31:05.169 [commentator] Kobe. Hands it inside to O'Neal. 01:31:05.252 --> 01:31:08.505 Kobe Bryant flips it to Shaq who has... [indistinct] 01:31:08.589 --> 01:31:10.799 [Riley] That trade that he made for Kobe, 01:31:10.883 --> 01:31:13.468 and then getting Shaq that same year 01:31:13.552 --> 01:31:16.388 is what built that championship team. 01:31:16.471 --> 01:31:19.141 [commentator] Reggie defending. Kobe finds Shaq. 01:31:19.224 --> 01:31:20.684 Kobe Bryant. 01:31:20.767 --> 01:31:22.477 Off the rim, and the Lakers... 01:31:23.395 --> 01:31:26.273 are the 2000 NBA champions. 01:31:26.356 --> 01:31:28.650 [commentator 2] And the Los Angeles Lakers will make it 01:31:28.734 --> 01:31:32.279 a second straight NBA crown. 01:31:32.362 --> 01:31:36.408 The best all-time playoff winning percentage 01:31:36.491 --> 01:31:39.036 in the history of the league. 01:31:39.119 --> 01:31:41.955 [commentator 3] The Los Angeles Lakers have made it 01:31:42.039 --> 01:31:45.792 three straight NBA championships. 01:31:47.878 --> 01:31:51.089 They wrap it up in the four-game sweep. 01:31:51.173 --> 01:31:54.051 Kobe Bryant coming up big in the fourth. 01:31:54.134 --> 01:31:56.678 Shaq, 34 points, two rebounds. 01:31:56.762 --> 01:31:58.180 [indistinct chatter] 01:31:58.263 --> 01:32:01.683 [Rosen] But Jerry was getting itchy. He wanted something more. 01:32:01.767 --> 01:32:03.852 He called me and said, "I'm done, I'm retiring." 01:32:03.936 --> 01:32:07.272 And I was like, "Yeah, right." "No, I'm re-- I'm-- today." 01:32:08.315 --> 01:32:11.026 I would never want to do anything to hurt this franchise. 01:32:11.109 --> 01:32:12.986 This franchise has been 01:32:13.070 --> 01:32:14.821 the most special thing in the world for me. 01:32:14.905 --> 01:32:17.699 It's just hard to imagine what my life would be without it. 01:32:17.783 --> 01:32:20.911 I-- I need to get away from this game for a while. I do. 01:32:20.994 --> 01:32:22.579 There's no question. 01:32:22.663 --> 01:32:24.289 And that was it. 01:32:28.001 --> 01:32:31.255 [rumbling] 01:32:33.507 --> 01:32:35.676 [Jerry] Pull over in this way. Oh, well. 01:32:35.759 --> 01:32:37.094 If we can get off here, I'll pee. 01:32:38.136 --> 01:32:40.681 -[director] Here? -Go find a tree. [chuckles] 01:32:40.764 --> 01:32:42.266 I don't give a shit. 01:32:43.850 --> 01:32:45.435 [director] We're gonna wait in the car. 01:32:45.519 --> 01:32:47.229 -Yeah, we'll... -[Jerry] Yeah. 01:32:47.312 --> 01:32:48.981 [director] You don't want to film him doing this? 01:32:49.064 --> 01:32:50.482 [Jerry] Hell no. Who gives a shit? 01:32:50.565 --> 01:32:53.735 Jerry West is blunt honest. [laughs] 01:32:53.819 --> 01:32:57.572 That's the one thing that I love about him, 01:32:57.656 --> 01:33:00.492 'cause he gonna tell you just how he feels. 01:33:00.575 --> 01:33:02.661 No sugarcoating it at all. 01:33:02.744 --> 01:33:05.330 He wears it on his sleeves, man. He's intense. 01:33:06.290 --> 01:33:09.126 But if you know basketball, if you know Jerry, 01:33:09.209 --> 01:33:12.379 really what it boils down to, he just wants to fucking win. 01:33:12.462 --> 01:33:16.550 It's no different than when he was a player or playing golf. 01:33:16.633 --> 01:33:19.261 -[upbeat music playing] -[reporter] Bel Air Country Club. 01:33:19.344 --> 01:33:21.305 When West is not at The Forum or at home, 01:33:21.388 --> 01:33:22.723 you can find him here. 01:33:22.806 --> 01:33:24.016 This used to be escape. 01:33:24.099 --> 01:33:27.311 Now it's-- it's gotten to be a lot easier for me mentally. 01:33:27.394 --> 01:33:29.396 I-I don't get as upset with it as I used to. 01:33:30.355 --> 01:33:33.483 Don't let his humbleness fool you. Okay? 01:33:33.567 --> 01:33:34.818 Yes, he is humble. 01:33:34.901 --> 01:33:38.739 But put him on the golf course, and it changes. 01:33:38.822 --> 01:33:42.701 [Jordan] Golf, you know, we-- we learned not to compete against each other. 01:33:42.784 --> 01:33:44.953 -[Kenya] Why? Why you say that? -Just because I-- I think 01:33:45.037 --> 01:33:47.372 we didn't want to ruin the relationship that we had. 01:33:47.456 --> 01:33:48.874 -[laughs] -[Jordan] Let's-- you know, 01:33:48.957 --> 01:33:50.709 -let's just be teammates. -[Kenya] Yeah. 01:33:50.792 --> 01:33:53.045 Oh, my God, it's absolutely ridiculous. 01:33:53.128 --> 01:33:54.421 Like... [chuckles] 01:33:54.504 --> 01:33:56.298 He is so good. I mean, you can tell. 01:33:56.381 --> 01:33:58.800 I mean, he has such great feel around the greens. 01:33:58.884 --> 01:34:01.720 He is competitive as hell, and he always wins money. 01:34:01.803 --> 01:34:03.889 He never loses money on the golf course. 01:34:03.972 --> 01:34:05.349 [Kupchak] I was just starting, right? 01:34:05.432 --> 01:34:07.017 He introduced me to the game, and he hit a ball 01:34:07.100 --> 01:34:08.226 down the fairway, right? 01:34:08.310 --> 01:34:10.479 And we're looking for the ball for, like, 20 minutes. 01:34:10.562 --> 01:34:14.274 So finally, he had to drop a ball, and he was pissed. 01:34:14.358 --> 01:34:16.651 -[Kenya laughing] -[Kupchak] And he's playing by himself. 01:34:16.735 --> 01:34:18.862 But he got so upset with himself 01:34:18.945 --> 01:34:20.655 that he couldn't find the ball. 01:34:20.739 --> 01:34:22.866 When he hates losing, uh, he-- he shows it. 01:34:22.949 --> 01:34:26.703 -[whistle blows frantically] -[crowd roars] 01:34:26.787 --> 01:34:30.665 [Worthy] Not too many athletes can get to that assassination level, 01:34:30.749 --> 01:34:33.752 but a GM to be that way. 01:34:33.835 --> 01:34:35.128 And it was around the clock. 01:34:37.005 --> 01:34:40.092 [Rosen] I think it was probably 2001. 01:34:40.967 --> 01:34:43.637 I said, "Jerry, why don't you go back to work?" 01:34:43.720 --> 01:34:45.222 "Well, who's gonna want me?" 01:34:46.556 --> 01:34:48.642 I go, "Everybody's gonna want you." 01:34:48.725 --> 01:34:50.227 And all of a sudden, boom. [snaps] 01:34:50.310 --> 01:34:52.521 It was like Elvis was back. 01:34:52.604 --> 01:34:54.689 -[crowd applauds] -[upbeat music playing] 01:34:55.982 --> 01:34:57.984 [cheering] 01:34:58.944 --> 01:35:00.612 [Jerry] Small market teams in the NBA 01:35:00.695 --> 01:35:03.073 have created a special niche for themselves. 01:35:03.156 --> 01:35:05.200 And I see no reason why we can't create 01:35:05.283 --> 01:35:07.119 that same kind of niche here in Memphis. 01:35:07.202 --> 01:35:09.788 His success in Memphis was immediate. 01:35:09.871 --> 01:35:13.291 His decision-making was quick, well thought out. 01:35:13.375 --> 01:35:16.044 He knew what he wanted to do, and he knew what he wanted to build. 01:35:16.128 --> 01:35:17.963 This is gonna be a fun time for our players 01:35:18.046 --> 01:35:20.173 because they will get better. 01:35:20.257 --> 01:35:21.425 They will get better. 01:35:21.508 --> 01:35:23.593 [Ryan] Before my dad worked there, 01:35:23.677 --> 01:35:25.971 the first year, they won 23 games. 01:35:26.054 --> 01:35:28.056 The following season, they won 50 games. 01:35:28.140 --> 01:35:29.516 [commentator] The foul lines. The sw-- 01:35:29.599 --> 01:35:30.767 [newscaster] The Memphis Grizzlies. 01:35:30.851 --> 01:35:32.394 These are not only the good old days, 01:35:32.477 --> 01:35:35.105 they look to be the start of something entirely new. 01:35:35.188 --> 01:35:36.398 Believe it or not, 01:35:36.481 --> 01:35:39.109 the road to the finals goes through Memphis. 01:35:39.192 --> 01:35:41.736 [Kupchak] He got into the playoffs all three years. 01:35:41.820 --> 01:35:43.613 [Ryan] They're a perennial playoff team 01:35:43.697 --> 01:35:45.740 and they're a legit threat in the West. 01:35:45.824 --> 01:35:46.992 [Rosen] He made them important. 01:35:47.075 --> 01:35:48.827 He helped get an arena built there. 01:35:48.910 --> 01:35:51.496 He put the Memphis Grizzlies on the map. 01:35:51.580 --> 01:35:53.915 [Ryan] Winning the Executive of the Year award. 01:35:53.999 --> 01:35:56.334 I believe it was Rod Thorn that joked 01:35:56.418 --> 01:35:59.421 that it's almost ridiculous that they would give him the award. 01:35:59.504 --> 01:36:01.089 They should name it after him. 01:36:01.173 --> 01:36:05.260 But he never accepts a victory as just a victory. 01:36:05.343 --> 01:36:07.345 He wants to top that victory. 01:36:07.429 --> 01:36:10.390 [reporter] Seven NBA titles as a player and as executive 01:36:10.474 --> 01:36:12.642 and 14 time All Star, I mean, the list goes on. 01:36:12.726 --> 01:36:14.936 Why come to the Warriors? Why take on this challenge? 01:36:15.020 --> 01:36:17.147 Well, another great quote. 01:36:17.230 --> 01:36:19.983 Confucius said, "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life." 01:36:20.066 --> 01:36:22.027 I've never worked a day in my life. 01:36:22.110 --> 01:36:24.654 I love to win. I hate to lose. 01:36:24.738 --> 01:36:25.989 -That's why I'm here -[reporter] Alright, thank you very much. 01:36:26.072 --> 01:36:28.575 They were considered one of the worst franchises in the league. 01:36:28.658 --> 01:36:30.994 [Kerr] There was a 15, 16-year period 01:36:31.077 --> 01:36:32.871 where the Warriors didn't make the playoffs. 01:36:32.954 --> 01:36:35.957 So, who better to bring in than The Logo? 01:36:36.041 --> 01:36:39.711 It was a-- a group of people that had bought the team. 01:36:39.794 --> 01:36:43.423 And one gentleman, Joe Lacob, was very enthusiastic. 01:36:43.507 --> 01:36:44.841 Oh, my goodness. 01:36:44.925 --> 01:36:46.760 He wanted the best team in the league immediately. 01:36:46.843 --> 01:36:50.096 We knew that, uh, we were gonna be pretty aggressive 01:36:50.180 --> 01:36:54.017 and do some perhaps exciting but also controversial things. 01:36:54.100 --> 01:36:56.895 And so, we thought Jerry West would not only be a great advisor, 01:36:56.978 --> 01:36:59.981 but he would also give us what he called 01:37:00.065 --> 01:37:01.608 "The Cover of Darkness." 01:37:01.691 --> 01:37:04.194 [Bob Myers] He brought a level of credibility, 01:37:04.277 --> 01:37:06.071 a level of seriousness. 01:37:06.154 --> 01:37:08.240 He taught me never to operate out of fear, 01:37:08.323 --> 01:37:09.783 which I think is an important lesson. 01:37:09.866 --> 01:37:11.076 They listened to him. 01:37:11.159 --> 01:37:14.329 I could see his fingerprints all over every draft pick. 01:37:14.412 --> 01:37:17.290 On trades. I remember when the Iguodala trade was made, 01:37:17.374 --> 01:37:18.792 I said, "That's Jerry." [chuckles] 01:37:18.875 --> 01:37:22.587 He's very, uh, meticulous on how he wants to see the game 01:37:22.671 --> 01:37:23.922 or how it should be played. 01:37:24.005 --> 01:37:26.841 Very constructive in his criticism. 01:37:26.925 --> 01:37:28.593 He's constantly providing his insight, 01:37:28.677 --> 01:37:30.345 and he's just looking for his next win. 01:37:30.428 --> 01:37:32.514 You know, they had some really good pieces. 01:37:32.597 --> 01:37:36.601 Steph Curry, who is one of the most unique players I've ever seen. 01:37:36.685 --> 01:37:38.687 [commentator] Here's Curry. He turns, 01:37:38.770 --> 01:37:40.105 -and he hits! -[commentator 2] We have a time out. 01:37:40.188 --> 01:37:41.648 [commentator] ...decide not to use it. Curry. 01:37:41.731 --> 01:37:44.401 Right on top. Bang! Bang! 01:37:44.484 --> 01:37:47.028 [Jerry] You know, people look at him, this little baby face. 01:37:47.112 --> 01:37:48.905 Well, that baby face is an assassin. 01:37:48.989 --> 01:37:50.407 [Kenya] [laughs] Killer. 01:37:50.490 --> 01:37:52.784 [Jerry] And Draymond Green, he's a tremendous player, 01:37:52.867 --> 01:37:55.745 because he does the little dirty work thing. 01:37:55.829 --> 01:37:57.789 Klay Thompson, who I absolutely loved, 01:37:57.872 --> 01:37:59.541 I just thought he was great. 01:37:59.624 --> 01:38:01.293 Team just fit together. 01:38:01.376 --> 01:38:03.169 [commentator] Klay Thompson, another triple! 01:38:03.253 --> 01:38:05.714 [Jerry] We killed teams on the board. 01:38:05.797 --> 01:38:07.132 [crowd cheering] 01:38:07.215 --> 01:38:09.467 But they were thinking about making a trade. 01:38:09.551 --> 01:38:11.553 A potential blockbuster trade 01:38:11.636 --> 01:38:13.805 is about to go down in the Western Conference. 01:38:13.888 --> 01:38:16.141 The Warriors and the Timberwolves are working on a deal 01:38:16.224 --> 01:38:18.268 that would send Kevin Love to Golden State 01:38:18.351 --> 01:38:20.729 in exchange for Klay Thompson in their 20... 01:38:20.812 --> 01:38:23.565 [Lacob] You know, we had a lot of discussions internally. 01:38:23.648 --> 01:38:25.317 You know, Jerry was a big Klay Thompson fan 01:38:25.400 --> 01:38:26.443 from the beginning and maintained that. 01:38:26.526 --> 01:38:28.194 Remember, in the Warriors organization, 01:38:28.278 --> 01:38:31.031 there's four voices who have a say at the top, 01:38:31.114 --> 01:38:33.575 and not all of them agree that Klay Thompson 01:38:33.658 --> 01:38:35.577 should be involved in this trade package for... 01:38:35.660 --> 01:38:38.288 My dad said, like, that you can't do this trade, 01:38:38.371 --> 01:38:39.998 but if you do this, I-- I'm gonna quit. 01:38:40.081 --> 01:38:42.834 His conviction on what he sees 01:38:42.917 --> 01:38:44.836 and the direction of where things are going 01:38:44.919 --> 01:38:46.379 is so strong in those moments. 01:38:46.463 --> 01:38:47.964 Jerry's a huge reason why I'm here. 01:38:48.048 --> 01:38:50.967 When I heard that Jerry put his stamp of approval on me, 01:38:51.051 --> 01:38:52.886 that gave me the ultimate confidence 01:38:52.969 --> 01:38:54.512 when I was a young player. 01:38:54.596 --> 01:38:56.556 [Jerry] They have a great situation there, 01:38:56.640 --> 01:38:59.392 and it's because of really good drafting 01:38:59.476 --> 01:39:01.394 and not making trades... 01:39:02.354 --> 01:39:04.189 that could have been a disaster for 'em. 01:39:04.272 --> 01:39:07.067 [commentator] If you're wondering what the NBA record is 01:39:07.150 --> 01:39:10.070 for most points in a quarter, you just watched it. 01:39:11.321 --> 01:39:15.408 And Klay Thompson, 37 in a quarter! 01:39:15.492 --> 01:39:17.452 [commentator 2] This is a moment of history here. 01:39:17.535 --> 01:39:19.704 [Rosen] Jerry was adamant they shouldn't get rid of that player, 01:39:19.788 --> 01:39:21.122 and they didn't. 01:39:21.206 --> 01:39:24.042 [commentator] What a perfect pass from Steph Curry. 01:39:24.125 --> 01:39:25.710 We get style and substance. 01:39:25.794 --> 01:39:27.504 Having that regular season for the agent. 01:39:27.587 --> 01:39:29.631 James on Curry, spinning, 01:39:29.714 --> 01:39:31.424 puts it up, puts it in! 01:39:31.508 --> 01:39:33.968 [Curry] Jerry's idea of what great basketball is 01:39:34.052 --> 01:39:35.303 and what a great team is, 01:39:35.387 --> 01:39:36.805 it allowed us to have confidence 01:39:36.888 --> 01:39:38.181 that what we were building was gonna work. 01:39:38.264 --> 01:39:39.974 [commentator] And the Golden State Warriors 01:39:40.058 --> 01:39:45.563 are the 2015 NBA champions, their first title in 40 years. 01:39:45.647 --> 01:39:47.565 [announcer] Executive board member, 01:39:47.649 --> 01:39:50.110 Hall of Famer Jerry West! 01:39:50.193 --> 01:39:51.361 [crowd cheering] 01:39:51.444 --> 01:39:53.405 [buzzer blares] 01:39:53.488 --> 01:39:55.365 -[crowd cheering] -[commentator] The greatest regular season 01:39:55.448 --> 01:39:57.409 in NBA history now belongs 01:39:57.492 --> 01:40:00.370 to the 2016 Golden State Warriors, 01:40:00.453 --> 01:40:02.956 73 and 9. 01:40:03.039 --> 01:40:06.876 [Kevin Durant] 2016, I was in between making a decision 01:40:06.960 --> 01:40:09.754 on leaving OKC to go to Golden State. 01:40:09.838 --> 01:40:12.507 Jerry was on the phone with me for, like, an hour, 01:40:12.590 --> 01:40:15.385 and Jerry understood that Steph, Klay, Draymond, 01:40:15.468 --> 01:40:17.554 our games worked together perfectly. 01:40:17.637 --> 01:40:20.181 So, he was just telling me how much I can add to it 01:40:20.265 --> 01:40:23.727 and how much I can turn what they did up to another level. 01:40:23.810 --> 01:40:26.521 [commentator] Celebration tonight here in Oakland. 01:40:26.604 --> 01:40:27.897 There it is. 01:40:27.981 --> 01:40:31.276 One of the great playoff runs of all time is complete. 01:40:31.359 --> 01:40:34.529 The Warriors are NBA champions again. 01:40:34.612 --> 01:40:37.323 There's a new dynasty in the NBA, 01:40:37.407 --> 01:40:40.160 the Golden State Warriors, champions once again, 01:40:40.243 --> 01:40:42.746 back-to-back titles, three in four years. 01:40:42.829 --> 01:40:45.165 [Jerry] One of the best times I ever had in my life 01:40:45.248 --> 01:40:47.000 was with the Golden State Warriors. 01:40:47.083 --> 01:40:48.126 It was really fun. 01:40:48.209 --> 01:40:51.963 [Kerr] Jerry had a huge impact on helping build the foundation 01:40:52.046 --> 01:40:55.550 for what would become four championships 01:40:55.633 --> 01:40:57.177 for this organization. 01:40:57.260 --> 01:40:59.679 [upbeat music playing] 01:41:04.225 --> 01:41:07.020 [Rosen] It was a successful thing for him, and then he decided, 01:41:07.103 --> 01:41:08.354 "Okay, I'm done." 01:41:08.438 --> 01:41:10.690 And he came back to Los Angeles. 01:41:10.774 --> 01:41:13.151 [upbeat music playing] 01:41:13.234 --> 01:41:15.820 The new consultant for the LA Clippers, Jerry West, 01:41:15.904 --> 01:41:17.363 joins us right now, the Hall of Famer. 01:41:17.447 --> 01:41:19.866 Why was this team the right choice for you 01:41:19.949 --> 01:41:21.659 at this time in your career? 01:41:21.743 --> 01:41:23.703 You know, here in my backyard, I started here. 01:41:23.787 --> 01:41:27.207 Gives me a chance to-- to end my career here. 01:41:27.290 --> 01:41:29.834 [Karen] It was an exciting time. It was a new change. 01:41:29.918 --> 01:41:32.462 We're home, we don't-- he doesn't have to go anywhere. 01:41:32.545 --> 01:41:35.006 And, you know, the Clippers had a new owner, 01:41:35.089 --> 01:41:36.299 and it was a good thing. 01:41:36.382 --> 01:41:38.176 [announcer] He doesn't really need an introduction. 01:41:38.259 --> 01:41:41.179 We're really excited to-- to have Jerry here with us. 01:41:41.262 --> 01:41:43.681 Thank both of you for those kind words, but, uh... 01:41:43.765 --> 01:41:45.391 [Steve Ballmer] When Jerry took this consulting gig, 01:41:45.475 --> 01:41:47.685 I'd been talking with my partner in the business, 01:41:47.769 --> 01:41:50.897 and he kept saying, "Jeez, we should have somebody like Jerry West. 01:41:50.980 --> 01:41:54.067 Jerry's done such a great job for the-- the Warriors." 01:41:54.150 --> 01:41:56.653 And I said, "Well, how about Jerry West?" 01:41:56.736 --> 01:41:59.155 One of the hardest things to do in the NBA 01:41:59.239 --> 01:42:03.827 is to get one superstar, let alone two superstars. 01:42:03.910 --> 01:42:06.996 But there are a couple vital members that had a huge part. 01:42:07.080 --> 01:42:09.916 Jerry West, the greatest architect there is in the game. 01:42:09.999 --> 01:42:11.793 [all cheering, applauding] 01:42:11.876 --> 01:42:14.170 [Green] Jerry goes somewhere else and they immediately get 01:42:14.254 --> 01:42:16.506 Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. 01:42:16.589 --> 01:42:19.175 [upbeat music playing] 01:42:20.426 --> 01:42:23.054 Pretty cool! Pretty damn cool! 01:42:24.055 --> 01:42:25.223 Whoo! 01:42:25.306 --> 01:42:26.599 [interviewer] By the way, h-how the Laker fans 01:42:26.683 --> 01:42:27.892 reacting to you now? 01:42:27.976 --> 01:42:29.936 You know what? I really don't know. 01:42:30.019 --> 01:42:31.604 -[interviewers laugh] -He don't care. 01:42:31.688 --> 01:42:35.900 Jerry being at the Clippers, for me, was hard. 01:42:35.984 --> 01:42:39.904 But I'm a Jerry West man. I'm a-- I'm a fan, I'm a-- 01:42:39.988 --> 01:42:45.118 I love him, so I can hate everybody but Jerry. [laughs] 01:42:45.201 --> 01:42:46.870 [Rosen] At the end of the day, he's a Laker. 01:42:46.953 --> 01:42:48.371 When he went to Golden State, 01:42:48.454 --> 01:42:50.248 he was still Jerry West of the Lakers. 01:42:50.331 --> 01:42:53.167 He's at the Clippers. He's still Jerry West of the Lakers. 01:42:53.251 --> 01:42:55.336 I mean, he's Mr. Laker. 01:42:55.420 --> 01:42:57.714 And we will have a friend... 01:42:59.215 --> 01:43:01.718 that'll put his life on the line for you. 01:43:01.801 --> 01:43:03.136 That's who Jerry West is. 01:43:03.219 --> 01:43:06.097 If he your friend, he's your friend all the way, 01:43:06.180 --> 01:43:08.266 and do anything for you. 01:43:08.349 --> 01:43:09.559 [weather presenter] Good morning, everybody. 01:43:09.642 --> 01:43:11.561 We are looking at a pretty gloomy morning 01:43:11.644 --> 01:43:12.896 across the southland. 01:43:12.979 --> 01:43:15.189 Patchy dense fog, low visibility. Because... 01:43:15.273 --> 01:43:19.360 [Karen] I was driving home from the desert early that morning, 01:43:19.444 --> 01:43:23.323 and I kept coming upon these fo-- pockets of fog and I thought, 01:43:23.406 --> 01:43:25.283 "This is so unusual." 01:43:25.366 --> 01:43:27.660 And by the time I got home, it was pretty foggy. 01:43:27.744 --> 01:43:29.829 And Jerry and I were watching something on television, 01:43:29.913 --> 01:43:31.372 I don't even remember, 01:43:31.456 --> 01:43:34.459 and he got a phone call from his son, Mark. 01:43:34.542 --> 01:43:37.211 And he said... "What!" 01:43:37.295 --> 01:43:40.173 I heard-- you know, I heard him say, "What? Where? 01:43:40.256 --> 01:43:41.633 He's dead?" 01:43:42.550 --> 01:43:45.219 I was asleep, and my phone was ringing. 01:43:45.970 --> 01:43:48.598 I picked up the phone, it was my dad calling. 01:43:48.681 --> 01:43:50.266 And he said, "Did you hear what happened?" 01:43:50.350 --> 01:43:51.768 And I said, "No, what are you talking about?" 01:43:51.851 --> 01:43:54.646 -[somber music playing] -I was in Europe scouting... 01:43:55.855 --> 01:43:57.732 and, uh, I was at dinner. 01:43:57.815 --> 01:44:00.443 Michael sent a text like, 01:44:00.526 --> 01:44:02.320 "Did you hear anything about Kobe?" 01:44:04.405 --> 01:44:07.951 And, um... I said no. 01:44:08.034 --> 01:44:10.703 Well, obviously, I said, "Well, I'm gonna call Jerry and find out." 01:44:10.787 --> 01:44:12.288 And that's what Jerry told me. 01:44:13.247 --> 01:44:15.416 [siren wailing] 01:44:18.378 --> 01:44:20.380 [newscaster] We're coming on the air with breaking news. 01:44:20.463 --> 01:44:23.591 Very sad news that 41-year-old Kobe Bryant 01:44:23.675 --> 01:44:26.094 has been killed in a helicopter crash. 01:44:26.177 --> 01:44:29.889 And we've just learned his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, 01:44:29.973 --> 01:44:33.434 was also on that helicopter, and she also died. 01:44:33.518 --> 01:44:36.437 Any moment now, we are expecting to hear from the Los Angeles... 01:44:36.521 --> 01:44:38.231 [somber music continues] 01:44:38.314 --> 01:44:40.066 [Jerry] This is a godawful day. 01:44:41.776 --> 01:44:43.736 [sighs] I'm just devastated... 01:44:44.737 --> 01:44:46.948 by... this news. 01:44:48.866 --> 01:44:51.452 We were mad. Both of us were mad. 01:44:51.536 --> 01:44:53.830 We were absolutely angry, you know, 01:44:53.913 --> 01:44:55.206 because of how it happened. 01:44:55.289 --> 01:44:56.457 Not fair. 01:44:57.375 --> 01:45:00.962 I think that was his attitude. Just "Why him?" 01:45:01.045 --> 01:45:03.798 [Jonnie] Like, their relationship and what-- what they had, 01:45:03.881 --> 01:45:05.591 for him, it's like losing a child. 01:45:06.509 --> 01:45:08.720 [Karen] Jerry took Kobe under his wing. 01:45:08.803 --> 01:45:11.305 We met him as a teenager, he was Ryan's age. 01:45:11.389 --> 01:45:14.600 He and Ryan hung out, and at the time, Kobe didn't drive. 01:45:14.684 --> 01:45:16.686 Ryan would drive him around. 01:45:16.769 --> 01:45:19.313 You know, Kobe's nine months older than me. 01:45:19.397 --> 01:45:22.608 I went on several road trips with the Lakers 01:45:22.692 --> 01:45:24.235 when Kobe was young. 01:45:24.318 --> 01:45:27.030 We would hang out in his room, play video games. 01:45:27.113 --> 01:45:29.032 [Karen] Kobe would come over for dinner 01:45:29.115 --> 01:45:31.576 every once in a while, and he liked my spaghetti. 01:45:31.659 --> 01:45:33.536 So, really, he was part of the family. 01:45:34.537 --> 01:45:36.831 Jerry and Kobe kept in contact. 01:45:36.914 --> 01:45:39.125 Kobe would call him for advice. 01:45:39.208 --> 01:45:41.127 They were-- they were very close. 01:45:42.211 --> 01:45:44.338 [Jerry] Uh, saddest day of my life. 01:45:44.422 --> 01:45:47.050 [somber music playing] 01:45:47.133 --> 01:45:48.885 I lost a brother in Korea, 01:45:48.968 --> 01:45:52.638 and the only thing that compares to this, to me. 01:45:55.349 --> 01:45:58.436 [Kupchak] When Jerry and I spoke, he couldn't talk much. 01:46:00.563 --> 01:46:01.856 He went dark. 01:46:01.939 --> 01:46:05.610 You know, one of the few times that I did want to talk about something, 01:46:05.693 --> 01:46:07.445 you know, he couldn't do it. 01:46:08.654 --> 01:46:10.823 And he was-- I-I can't even tell you 01:46:10.907 --> 01:46:12.617 how distraught we both were. 01:46:12.700 --> 01:46:15.995 We became, you know, each other's comfort zones, 01:46:16.079 --> 01:46:17.914 you know, to get through it all. 01:46:17.997 --> 01:46:20.750 Honestly, I felt like his father for ten years. 01:46:20.833 --> 01:46:22.335 [sobs] 01:46:22.418 --> 01:46:24.003 [exhales] 01:46:24.087 --> 01:46:26.089 [somber music continues] 01:46:28.883 --> 01:46:31.344 I don't know if I can get over this. I really don't. 01:46:37.308 --> 01:46:40.019 [Kenya] So, your dad was no longer with the Lakers 01:46:40.103 --> 01:46:43.815 when this unimaginable tragedy happened. 01:46:43.898 --> 01:46:46.067 How do you think it affected him? 01:46:46.150 --> 01:46:49.112 Well, I think when you have something as tragic as that, 01:46:49.195 --> 01:46:50.780 something as shocking as that, 01:46:50.863 --> 01:46:53.241 you know, you always wish you had more time. 01:46:53.324 --> 01:46:57.036 W-With my dad, I'm sure it probably hit him hard that he wasn't there. 01:46:57.120 --> 01:46:58.955 [soft music playing] 01:47:00.498 --> 01:47:04.210 [Riley] The people who were there from 1970 to 1990, 01:47:04.293 --> 01:47:06.504 we all rode this thing together. 01:47:06.587 --> 01:47:10.216 From 1990 to 2010, 01:47:10.299 --> 01:47:13.886 there was another generation of people there. 01:47:13.970 --> 01:47:17.598 There's a change. You don't have the same heartfelt emotions 01:47:17.682 --> 01:47:20.518 for the people who really created something, 01:47:20.601 --> 01:47:25.314 and-- and Jerry created everything from the '80s to 2000. 01:47:27.150 --> 01:47:30.027 [Karen] Jerry Buss was a father figure to him. 01:47:30.111 --> 01:47:33.197 And it was very disappointing to him, because in the end, 01:47:33.281 --> 01:47:34.949 I don't think he was appreciated. 01:47:35.950 --> 01:47:40.246 I know I'll get some criticism for this, but I say this. 01:47:40.329 --> 01:47:43.791 I think it was-- history will show 01:47:43.875 --> 01:47:47.044 that it was the biggest mistake the Lakers ever made 01:47:47.128 --> 01:47:51.257 was to-- to allow, uh, Jerry to get away. 01:47:53.634 --> 01:47:56.679 [Riley] He loved that team. He was there for 40 years. 01:47:56.762 --> 01:48:00.266 And so, when Jerry left the Lakers, 01:48:00.349 --> 01:48:04.979 it was probably the deepest wound, probably ever, 01:48:05.062 --> 01:48:07.023 that he had to endure. 01:48:13.779 --> 01:48:15.198 [crewmember] That good? 01:48:15.281 --> 01:48:17.491 -[Kenya] Okay. Hey. [laughs] -Hi. [laughs] 01:48:17.575 --> 01:48:20.077 Thank you so much for doing this. Honestly, that means a lot. 01:48:20.161 --> 01:48:23.206 Um, there's so many banners behind you I'm looking at. 01:48:23.289 --> 01:48:27.168 Um, since Jerry left, you know, it was complicated. 01:48:27.251 --> 01:48:30.379 The relationship between the Lakers and-- and Jerry was complicated. 01:48:30.463 --> 01:48:32.840 No one can really, truthfully-- and I've asked-- 01:48:32.924 --> 01:48:35.051 nobody really can actually explain it. 01:48:35.134 --> 01:48:37.094 -He spoke at your dad's funeral. -Mm-hmm. 01:48:37.178 --> 01:48:39.096 He said that graveyards are full of people 01:48:39.180 --> 01:48:40.806 who wish they had more time. 01:48:40.890 --> 01:48:43.017 You know, and I felt like if he was here, what do you think, 01:48:43.100 --> 01:48:44.894 you know, you would say to him? 01:48:44.977 --> 01:48:47.521 I-- I mean, I would say, like, 01:48:47.605 --> 01:48:49.899 thank you for making my job easier, 01:48:49.982 --> 01:48:51.859 because what you established, 01:48:51.943 --> 01:48:54.987 the-- the bar that you set with the Lakers 01:48:55.071 --> 01:48:58.074 continues to feed into the player's desire 01:48:58.157 --> 01:48:59.825 to come here and play. 01:48:59.909 --> 01:49:03.663 You know, I remember dedicating the statue, 01:49:03.746 --> 01:49:08.751 and, you know, and him being part of tying the new arena 01:49:08.834 --> 01:49:13.297 to the history of the Lakers was so important. 01:49:13.381 --> 01:49:16.133 [Jerry Buss] How many people have a statue made to honor them? 01:49:16.217 --> 01:49:17.593 One in a million? 01:49:18.803 --> 01:49:21.180 Well, Jerry's certainly one of those. 01:49:21.264 --> 01:49:24.475 [Jeanie] Jerry Buss and Jerry West coming together 01:49:24.558 --> 01:49:27.728 created a brand that continues. 01:49:27.812 --> 01:49:29.647 Two other young ladies I've watched mature 01:49:29.730 --> 01:49:32.024 and become very competent executives in their own right, 01:49:32.108 --> 01:49:34.193 -who gave me great support... -[crowd applauds] 01:49:35.778 --> 01:49:38.906 Laker girl Jeanie Buss, I so greatly admired. 01:49:39.907 --> 01:49:43.119 I wish my dad owned the team when Jerry was still playing. 01:49:43.202 --> 01:49:45.121 'cause there was probably a lot more winning 01:49:45.204 --> 01:49:47.915 that would've happened instead of the frustration 01:49:47.999 --> 01:49:50.918 that drove Jerry, you know, 01:49:51.002 --> 01:49:53.963 losing to the Celtics so many times. 01:49:54.046 --> 01:49:56.590 And the match of those two men 01:49:56.674 --> 01:49:59.051 really made something special. 01:49:59.135 --> 01:50:04.015 So, I am just humbled that we continue 01:50:04.098 --> 01:50:05.975 to build on that legacy. 01:50:06.851 --> 01:50:08.853 You know, when we're talking, 01:50:08.936 --> 01:50:11.981 I-- I see 44, you know, 01:50:12.064 --> 01:50:14.900 in my mind and his jersey. 01:50:14.984 --> 01:50:18.446 And I mean, I-- I just-- I would want to thank him 01:50:18.529 --> 01:50:21.240 for everything that he did 01:50:21.324 --> 01:50:24.285 and that I continue 01:50:24.368 --> 01:50:27.621 to honor his legacy 01:50:27.705 --> 01:50:31.083 and what he meant to this team. 01:50:31.167 --> 01:50:36.422 Because the players that are part of the Lakers now 01:50:36.505 --> 01:50:39.425 are not playing for Jeanie Buss. 01:50:39.508 --> 01:50:43.095 They're playing to be part of the legacy 01:50:43.179 --> 01:50:47.141 Jerry West and Jerry Buss created for me 01:50:47.224 --> 01:50:49.602 and my ability to do my job, 01:50:49.685 --> 01:50:53.898 because they created the-- the history 01:50:53.981 --> 01:50:57.360 that now is-- is the attraction 01:50:57.443 --> 01:51:01.739 for the top free agent to come and sign 01:51:01.822 --> 01:51:04.658 and be part of what you created. 01:51:04.742 --> 01:51:08.913 You're in the fabric of what makes the Lakers the Lakers. 01:51:08.996 --> 01:51:10.498 You're The Logo. 01:51:10.581 --> 01:51:13.167 [gentle music playing] 01:51:26.472 --> 01:51:28.349 [Ryan] I was probably six or seven 01:51:28.432 --> 01:51:31.310 when it really started to make sense for me who he was. 01:51:31.394 --> 01:51:33.104 There was this mysterious thing, 01:51:33.187 --> 01:51:34.939 maybe it is, maybe it isn't him. 01:51:35.022 --> 01:51:38.025 But it was something that the NBA would never come out 01:51:38.109 --> 01:51:40.069 and officially announce that he was. 01:51:40.152 --> 01:51:42.405 I know for years it's been a touchy topic 01:51:42.488 --> 01:51:44.240 that, you know, Jerry West was the logo. 01:51:44.323 --> 01:51:46.492 The NBA has never publicly acknowledged that 01:51:46.575 --> 01:51:49.078 because of business reasons and legal reasons, I'm sure. 01:51:49.161 --> 01:51:52.081 But Jerry, even when I brought it up to him, he-- he said, 01:51:52.164 --> 01:51:54.208 "You know, Dan, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter." 01:51:54.291 --> 01:51:55.626 [speaker] He wouldn't have asked for anything. 01:51:55.709 --> 01:51:57.545 -No. -But it'd be nice if the NBA today 01:51:57.628 --> 01:52:01.340 announced that this is and will be the logo. 01:52:04.093 --> 01:52:05.469 [Kenya] Just to get into this, 01:52:05.553 --> 01:52:08.848 what was your favorite Jerry nickname? 01:52:08.931 --> 01:52:10.057 He had a few. 01:52:12.017 --> 01:52:13.769 I think The Logo. 01:52:13.853 --> 01:52:16.272 -We already know, The Logo. -Logo. 01:52:16.355 --> 01:52:18.649 An absolute icon and The Logo. 01:52:18.732 --> 01:52:19.733 Obviously, he's The Logo. 01:52:19.817 --> 01:52:21.277 -He's The Logo. -Oh, absolutely. 01:52:21.360 --> 01:52:22.695 [upbeat music playing] 01:52:22.778 --> 01:52:25.614 [Silver] I think he and I both got a kick over the stories of, 01:52:25.698 --> 01:52:28.075 was he the logo, was he not the logo? 01:52:28.159 --> 01:52:30.578 I think David Stern, the consummate lawyer, 01:52:30.661 --> 01:52:34.039 never wanted to acknowledge that Jerry was the logo. 01:52:34.123 --> 01:52:36.333 I-I happen to have talked to Alan Siegel, 01:52:36.417 --> 01:52:38.127 who's the creator of the logo, and, um... 01:52:38.210 --> 01:52:40.796 -He says it. [laughs] -He-- he says it. 01:52:40.880 --> 01:52:43.007 [Alan Siegel] NBA wanted to have a symbol 01:52:43.090 --> 01:52:44.925 for the identity for the league. 01:52:45.009 --> 01:52:47.595 We probably did about 30 different takes, you know, 01:52:47.678 --> 01:52:51.182 from, uh, multiple players with their hands above the rim 01:52:51.265 --> 01:52:53.684 to stylized shooting. 01:52:53.767 --> 01:52:56.937 While I was doing it, I went to Sport Magazine 01:52:57.021 --> 01:53:00.858 and I found this picture of Jerry West, and I had grown up 01:53:00.941 --> 01:53:04.403 you know, as a great fan of the NBA and Jerry West. 01:53:04.487 --> 01:53:08.407 And I thought this picture that I found of him dribbling up the court 01:53:08.491 --> 01:53:10.034 was very elegant, 01:53:10.117 --> 01:53:13.245 very classic, showed a dynamic motion. 01:53:13.329 --> 01:53:17.166 Uh, and I used that as the basis for designing the symbol. 01:53:17.249 --> 01:53:21.587 They immediately gravitated toward this design direction, 01:53:21.670 --> 01:53:24.131 and it was approved and put into use. 01:53:24.215 --> 01:53:25.758 The media picked up on it, 01:53:25.841 --> 01:53:28.260 and then it became a cause célèbre 01:53:28.344 --> 01:53:31.931 because Jerry was uncomfortable with being the symbol. 01:53:32.014 --> 01:53:33.974 [Jerry] You know, first of all, I wish that... 01:53:35.267 --> 01:53:37.645 had never gotten out about the logo. 01:53:37.728 --> 01:53:39.313 -[all laughing] -I do, really. 01:53:39.396 --> 01:53:41.065 -Uh, no, I-I really do. -Hey, it's the best nickname ever, 01:53:41.148 --> 01:53:43.108 -by the way. -And I've said it more than once 01:53:43.192 --> 01:53:46.570 and, you know, it's flattering if that's me and I know it is me. 01:53:46.654 --> 01:53:49.031 -Yes. -But it is flattering, and, uh, 01:53:49.114 --> 01:53:51.325 but I don't like to do anything to call attention to myself. 01:53:51.408 --> 01:53:53.118 That's just not who I am. Period. 01:53:53.202 --> 01:53:55.079 [Kenya] He would say he doesn't care. 01:53:55.162 --> 01:53:57.373 But then at the same time, he'd hand me a hat that says Logo. 01:53:57.456 --> 01:53:59.833 I'm like, sure, you care. I would say. [laughs] 01:53:59.917 --> 01:54:02.878 Knowing Jerry the way I know him, 01:54:02.962 --> 01:54:07.341 I think that there's a part of him that he's very proud 01:54:07.424 --> 01:54:09.802 that the logo was based after him. 01:54:09.885 --> 01:54:12.096 But he's not the kind of guy that would go around 01:54:12.179 --> 01:54:14.557 telling everybody, "That's me." 01:54:14.640 --> 01:54:17.476 I mean, there's a lot of people that could have been the logo, right? 01:54:17.560 --> 01:54:19.019 Wilt could have been the logo. 01:54:19.103 --> 01:54:21.564 -[Kenya] You could have been the logo. -[Abdul-Jabbar] I could've been, or Oscar. 01:54:21.647 --> 01:54:24.858 But making Jerry, the great master of the game, 01:54:24.942 --> 01:54:27.611 that wasn't a bad choice, okay? That was a good choice. 01:54:27.695 --> 01:54:30.114 [Ryan] Given his longevity in the NBA... 01:54:30.948 --> 01:54:34.076 given what he's meant to the NBA, 01:54:34.159 --> 01:54:37.246 being a part of it for 60-something years, 01:54:37.329 --> 01:54:40.124 for Adam to confirm it now to the world 01:54:40.207 --> 01:54:42.334 uh, means everything to us. 01:54:42.418 --> 01:54:45.087 [Riley] That is one that they should never change. 01:54:45.170 --> 01:54:47.548 Until he takes his last breath, 01:54:47.631 --> 01:54:50.843 nobody else deserves to be The Logo. 01:54:52.219 --> 01:54:55.139 [bright music playing] 01:55:10.029 --> 01:55:12.948 [crowd applauds] 01:55:16.076 --> 01:55:18.746 [host] Presenting Jerry West to the Hall of Fame 01:55:18.829 --> 01:55:21.957 for the third time is Jerry's son, Jonnie West. 01:55:22.041 --> 01:55:24.043 [audience applauds] 01:55:25.252 --> 01:55:27.338 [Jonnie] The truth is, my dad would have struggled 01:55:27.421 --> 01:55:29.006 to accept all this recognition. 01:55:29.673 --> 01:55:31.925 He had a habit of tuning out all the praise 01:55:32.009 --> 01:55:33.969 and hearing only criticism. 01:55:34.053 --> 01:55:37.056 But I'm here today to talk about how good he was at his job, 01:55:37.139 --> 01:55:38.807 whether he likes it or not... 01:55:40.142 --> 01:55:41.810 because Jerry Alan West, 01:55:41.894 --> 01:55:45.648 once an overlooked kid from little Chelyan, West Virginia, 01:55:45.731 --> 01:55:48.734 is a hall of famer for a historic third time. 01:55:48.817 --> 01:55:52.196 [audience applauding] 01:55:54.239 --> 01:55:56.575 Dad, I want to thank you 01:55:56.659 --> 01:55:58.994 for everything you have done for the game of basketball... 01:55:59.953 --> 01:56:01.580 and for everyone within the game. 01:56:05.250 --> 01:56:08.170 [bright music continues] 01:56:11.590 --> 01:56:15.052 [speaker] As an everlasting tribute to Jerry West, 01:56:15.135 --> 01:56:19.139 no WVU athlete in any sport will ever again 01:56:19.223 --> 01:56:21.517 wear the number 44. 01:56:23.602 --> 01:56:26.146 [Ryan] I don't think my dad realized 01:56:26.230 --> 01:56:30.109 how many people cared about him as deeply as they do. 01:56:31.276 --> 01:56:34.196 So, I'm gonna read you a quote from Bill Russell. 01:56:34.279 --> 01:56:35.781 This one stood out for me. 01:56:38.033 --> 01:56:40.077 I just want to thank everybody for coming. 01:56:40.160 --> 01:56:43.914 Jerry West was a very, very dear friend of mine. 01:56:43.997 --> 01:56:45.791 I've known since 1970. 01:56:46.667 --> 01:56:50.170 The door opened at Loyola, in walked Jerry West. 01:56:50.254 --> 01:56:52.256 He had a ball underneath his arm. 01:56:52.339 --> 01:56:54.717 He said, "Pat, welcome to the Lakers. 01:56:55.759 --> 01:56:57.344 You're really gonna help us." 01:56:58.178 --> 01:56:59.638 And that was it. 01:56:59.722 --> 01:57:02.516 You have no idea what that did for me. 01:57:02.599 --> 01:57:05.018 [Kenya] He said, "The greatest honor a man can have 01:57:05.102 --> 01:57:07.062 "is the respect and friendship of his peers. 01:57:08.564 --> 01:57:10.649 "You have that more than any man I know. 01:57:13.444 --> 01:57:14.987 "If I could have one wish granted, 01:57:15.070 --> 01:57:17.531 it would be that you would always be happy." 01:57:19.658 --> 01:57:22.494 [uplifting music playing] 01:57:22.578 --> 01:57:25.456 [Vitti] Jerry's legacy is having 01:57:25.539 --> 01:57:29.168 the morals, values, and ethics, 01:57:29.251 --> 01:57:32.045 the ethos that was created by the Greeks, 01:57:32.129 --> 01:57:34.131 and he lived that way. 01:57:34.214 --> 01:57:38.093 [Curry] The greatest talents and the greatest legends of the game, 01:57:38.177 --> 01:57:40.262 they don't need to necessarily pat themselves on the back. 01:57:40.345 --> 01:57:43.182 They know they're respected because their name means something. 01:57:43.265 --> 01:57:45.017 And I feel like he didn't need to say anything 01:57:45.100 --> 01:57:47.227 other than "I'm Jerry West." 01:57:47.311 --> 01:57:50.898 He was a complicated person. 01:57:50.981 --> 01:57:52.983 [sobs softly] He was a fighter. 01:57:53.859 --> 01:57:58.155 He had incredible empathy, compassion, kindness... 01:57:59.072 --> 01:58:01.158 and wanting to do the right thing for all. 01:58:02.201 --> 01:58:03.535 [Tellem] I think about him every day. 01:58:03.619 --> 01:58:07.206 His words, his thoughts echo within me. 01:58:07.289 --> 01:58:09.833 And I think what makes him to me such a... 01:58:13.504 --> 01:58:17.508 so impactful, is that we all know... 01:58:18.383 --> 01:58:21.220 in the end that we're gonna die. There's a finality to life. 01:58:22.095 --> 01:58:23.931 And he certainly did, and he talked about it. 01:58:25.015 --> 01:58:28.727 But it's being able to express your vulnerabilities, 01:58:28.811 --> 01:58:31.438 transcend your vulnerabilities, 01:58:31.522 --> 01:58:33.106 is what gives your life meaning. 01:58:34.274 --> 01:58:38.695 And that's how he would help me, or any player, 01:58:38.779 --> 01:58:41.615 or anyone else that he came to know, 01:58:41.698 --> 01:58:45.452 was that he could open up, talk to them, help them. 01:58:45.536 --> 01:58:47.788 That's why his life was so meaningful, 01:58:47.871 --> 01:58:49.998 it's the impact he had on everyone else. 01:58:50.082 --> 01:58:53.710 "There is nothing to be sad about anymore, young man. 01:58:53.794 --> 01:58:55.796 You have did it, and you did it your way." 01:58:55.879 --> 01:58:57.923 And that's the one thing I'll always appreciate 01:58:58.006 --> 01:59:00.759 and love you forever, Mr. Clutch. 01:59:00.843 --> 01:59:02.803 Jerry West, I love you like a brother, man. 01:59:02.886 --> 01:59:05.931 And I wish I could've played with you. 01:59:06.765 --> 01:59:08.725 Playing against you, I'm pretty sure I would've whipped your ass. 01:59:08.809 --> 01:59:11.228 -[Kenya laughs] -[Jordan] Uh, but playing with you, 01:59:11.311 --> 01:59:12.938 I know we would've dominated. 01:59:13.021 --> 01:59:17.776 [Johnson] Jerry was a special player, special executive, 01:59:17.860 --> 01:59:22.906 special everything, father, husband, friend, confidant, 01:59:22.990 --> 01:59:25.284 supporter, mentor. 01:59:25.367 --> 01:59:28.161 Jerry, you are like my father. 01:59:29.830 --> 01:59:31.540 A man who I respect. 01:59:32.332 --> 01:59:34.710 A man that who has made me who I am. 01:59:35.627 --> 01:59:38.005 So, thank you, sir. 01:59:39.882 --> 01:59:41.508 [Kenya] That's awesome. 01:59:41.592 --> 01:59:43.093 That's how you end a motherfucking interview. 01:59:43.176 --> 01:59:44.845 [crew laughs] 01:59:44.928 --> 01:59:46.847 Take this goddamn mic off. 01:59:46.930 --> 01:59:50.350 [gentle music playing] 02:00:05.365 --> 02:00:06.909 [Kenya] The kids are innocent. 02:00:06.992 --> 02:00:08.493 Hey, Makenna. 02:00:09.494 --> 02:00:10.787 Where's my Makenna? 02:00:11.955 --> 02:00:13.332 Where's my girlfriend? 02:00:13.415 --> 02:00:15.584 [Jerry] Hey. 02:00:15.667 --> 02:00:16.919 [Kenya chuckles] 02:00:17.002 --> 02:00:19.046 -[Jerry] Say hi. -Look at that big smile. 02:00:19.129 --> 02:00:21.256 -[laughing] -Come on. 02:00:22.049 --> 02:00:23.884 [Kenya laughs] 02:00:23.967 --> 02:00:25.093 Oh, I love that. 02:00:26.178 --> 02:00:28.180 [laughs] Aw! 02:00:28.263 --> 02:00:29.973 How's my girlfriend? 02:00:30.057 --> 02:00:31.808 How was school? 02:00:31.892 --> 02:00:33.393 They're taking a picture of you. 02:00:34.645 --> 02:00:37.731 [Jonnie] With him and Makenna, he says "I love you" to her. 02:00:37.814 --> 02:00:39.024 He kisses her. 02:00:39.107 --> 02:00:42.194 Somebody told me recently, "When you're a parent, 02:00:42.277 --> 02:00:45.697 "like, you have no idea what it is to be a parent. 02:00:46.698 --> 02:00:50.202 When you're a grandparent, you know how to be a parent," 02:00:50.285 --> 02:00:54.331 and how you put everything into your grandchildren, 02:00:54.414 --> 02:00:57.250 I think shows more who you are as a parent. 02:00:58.251 --> 02:01:00.963 [Kenya] You know what-- you know what granddad's doing right now? 02:01:02.673 --> 02:01:04.341 He's talking about some questions. Can we... 02:01:04.424 --> 02:01:06.718 Can-- can you say hi? You want to say hi? 02:01:06.802 --> 02:01:09.805 [gentle music continues] want to say hi?