Is Jerry West the unluckiest player in NBA history.

[coastalmarker99]

Here are Jerry West's game seven averages

4- 5 W-L record

30.9 PPG (Regular season career average is 27.0 ppg)

7.7 RPG (Regular season career average is 5.8 rpg)

6.8 APG (Regular season career average is 6.7 APG)

47.9 FG% (Regular season career average is 47.4 FG%)

TS% 54.3 Regular season career average is 54.9 TS%)


Here are Jerry West's elimination games averages

13 11 W-L record

29.3 PPG (Regular season career average is 27.0 ppg)

6.4 RPG (Regular season career average is 5.8 rpg)

6.4 APG (Regular season career average is 6.7 APG)

55% TS (Regular season career average is 54.9 TS%)


Here are Jerry West's finals averages

30.5 PPG (Regular season career average is 27.0 ppg)

5.0 RPG (Regular season career average is 5.8 rpg)

5.6 APG (Regular season career average is 6.7 APG)

45.9 FG% (Regular season career average is 47.4 FG%)



And if you take a look at some of the game seven performances that West put up in the finals.


Game 7 62': 35/6/0 47%

Game 7 66': 36/10/3 44%

Game 7 69': 42/13/12 48%

Game 7 70': 28/6/5 47%


West was a total monster in those game sevens outside of 1970 and yet he still managed to lose every single one of those game sevens in heartbreaking fashion.


1962 was an OT loss

1966 was a two-point loss

1969 was a two-point loss

1970 was a 14 point loss


It should be noted that West lead his teams in the Finals in scoring 5x

65, 66, 68, 69, 70

And in assists 7X

63 66 68 69 70 72 73


And in steals 6x

62 63 65 68 69 70


He also has the record for the most 40 point games in finals history with ten.

And he also has the record for the most 30 point games in finals history with 31.



And yet despite all of that his finals record is 1 win and 8 losses.

[coastalmarker99]

A fun fact about West is that he finished second in MVP voting four times throughout his career.



And he is the only player in NBA history to get the FMVP on a losing team.

And he also was the most valuable player in college on a losing team.


I don't know of any player that has received that honour.

[SouBeachTalents]

You look at these series he was losing, he didn't have a single bad performance, virtually all of them were great. My question would be, discounting injuries or morbid shit like death, who would you even compare to West if we're talking about unluckiest players? Maybe guys who had consistently mediocre-shitty teams during their careers like McGrady, Wilkins & Gervin. Or his running mate Baylor who, unlike West, never won a ring, and to add insult to injury watched his team win 69 games, including 33 straight, and the title the same season he retired.

[Axe]

What west went through was still a lot better than what t-mac had to go through. I mean he still won a ring, has a finals mvp even if he lost and got to the finals multiple times, despite the celtics being their ultimate kryptonite. The only major dent that others could point out about him is his losing finals record i guess. Meanwhile, t-mac has none of those even if he was fairly popular and capable in the rs back then but then again he was plagued by his injuries also.

[coastalmarker99]

You look at these series he was losing, he didn't have a single bad performance, virtually all of them were great. My question would be, discounting injuries or morbid shit like death, who would you even compare to West if we're talking about unluckiest players? Maybe guys who had consistently mediocre-shitty teams during their careers like McGrady, Wilkins & Gervin. Or his running mate Baylor who, unlike West, never won a ring, and to add insult to injury watched his team win 69 games, including 33 straight, and the title the same season he retired.


I wonder if someone asked Baylor how he personally felt about the 1972 Lakers winning 69 games, including 33 straight, and the title in the same season he retired.


I have seen the 1972 Lakers locker room celebration after winning the title and Baylor stands awkwardly around for a while and he looks kind of upset not that I blame him for feeling that way of course.

[L.Kizzle]

Elgin Baylor is the unluckiest player. Despite everything you wrote he still finally won the big one, Elgin did not.

[coastalmarker99]

You look at these series he was losing, he didn't have a single bad performance, virtually all of them were great. My question would be, discounting injuries or morbid shit like death, who would you even compare to West if we're talking about unluckiest players? Maybe guys who had consistently mediocre-shitty teams during their careers like McGrady, Wilkins & Gervin. Or his running mate Baylor who, unlike West, never won a ring, and to add insult to injury watched his team win 69 games, including 33 straight, and the title the same season he retired.


What's worse to me is that

From

1959-63 (5 yrs):

Baylor

Averaged

32.0 PPG

16.7 REB

4.4 AST

195 WS/48

26.1 PER


But in 1963 & again in 1965, he hurt his knee.

1964-72 (9 yrs):

24.2 PPG

11.4 REB

4.2 AST

112 WS/48

20.2 PER


Basically, due to his knee injury, Baylor went from historic superstar level (1960-63) to just All-NBA level (1964-after).



Had he avoided that knee injury I do think that the duo of West and Baylor would have eventually beaten Boston in the finals as West was starting to hit his prime

[iamgine]

Well there have been some more unlucky so I wouldn't say Jerry West was the unluckiest. For example, Drazen Petrovic died in a traffic accident when he was a passenger in a car that was cut off by a semi-truck.

[Baller789]

You look at these series he was losing, he didn't have a single bad performance, virtually all of them were great. My question would be, discounting injuries or morbid shit like death, who would you even compare to West if we're talking about unluckiest players? Maybe guys who had consistently mediocre-shitty teams during their careers like McGrady, Wilkins & Gervin. Or his running mate Baylor who, unlike West, never won a ring, and to add insult to injury watched his team win 69 games, including 33 straight, and the title the same season he retired.

So you are saying he's a better Finals performer than Lebron?

[ShawkFactory]

Unlucky, yes.

Unlucky-EST? Not even close.

[hiphopanonymous]

Elgin Baylor is the unluckiest player. Despite everything you wrote he still finally won the big one, Elgin did not.

I agree with this. In fact, they went on the NBA record winning streak the game after he retired onto that record setting title. He also had a monster NBA Finals performance (61 points) and many other good or great ones but lost regardless.

[L.Kizzle]

Well there have been some more unlucky so I wouldn't say Jerry West was the unluckiest. For example, Drazen Petrovic died in a traffic accident when he was a passenger in a car that was cut off by a semi-truck.
That is an off the court tragedy.
What about an on court injury suffered by Maurice Stokes.
A promising career cut short by an unfortunate accident.

[hiphopanonymous]

That is an off the court tragedy.
What about an on court injury suffered by Maurice Stokes.
A promising career cut short by an unfortunate accident.

Ah yes, I think OP probably meant unluckiest as in got close to many titles with dominant / blameless performances despite still losing. But certainly there are probably quite a few players with tragedies on or off the court and Maurice Stokes would have to rank at or near the top.

[1987_Lakers]

I'm gonna have to go with kobe on this one




He started his career on a team with a prime Shaq & got carried to 3 titles, not unlucky at all.

[1987_Lakers]

the fact that he outperformed shaq in the 2001 playoffs and people say he was carried is what makes him unlucky. because hypocrites like yourself are consumed with hatred for a guy simply because other people place him ahead of your boyfriend. and you live through other men because you have no accomplishments of your own and you will die alone frequenting a dead message board so you can continue voting kobe out of the top 10 every year with a panel of 10 to 15 voters that all share your same tragic story

Lakers were 11-3 without Kobe in the '01 season, they probably would have won without him. Shaq averaged more points, rebounds, blocks, & shot a higher fg% in the playoffs that year, hell Kobe was outplayed by Iverson in the Finals. No way in hell he outperformed Shaq.

[1987_Lakers]

ummm no. because shaq always goes beta cuck mode and defers when facing the spurs. so we likely lose to them. especially without my near 35ppg average

No, Spurs got swept and lost their 2nd leading scorer in the playoffs before they played the Lakers. Lakers without Kobe still win.

[dankok8]

The Lakers in 2001 wouldn't have won the title without Kobe. Come on now... Just because they swept a bunch of teams with him doesn't mean they would do it if he didn't play. He averaged 31.6/7.0/6.2 on 57.7 %TS (+5.9 rTS) with 3.0 turnovers through the first three rounds in 2001.

[Patrick Chewing]

Patrick Ewing is the unluckiest. Your nemesis Michael Jordan retires and you finally have a chance to win a championship when you have arguably been the second best team behind the Bulls for years, only to face Hakeem and Co. derail that idea and have John Starks shoot for one of his worst performances ever.

[1987_Lakers]

The Lakers in 2001 wouldn't have won the title without Kobe. Come on now... Just because they swept a bunch of teams with him doesn't mean they would do it if he didn't play. He averaged 31.6/7.0/6.2 on 57.7 %TS (+5.9 rTS) with 3.0 turnovers through the first three rounds in 2001.

I wouldn't be surprised if we won without him that year, the competition we went up against was bad. And it was proven that year that we were a good team without Kobe.

[1987_Lakers]

Patrick Ewing is the unluckiest. Your nemesis Michael Jordan retires and you finally have a chance to win a championship when you have arguably been the second best team behind the Bulls for years, only to face Hakeem and Co. derail that idea and have John Starks shoot for one of his worst performances ever.

Ewing is a good choice, John Starks went full Kobe mode in that game 7.

[dankok8]

I wouldn't be surprised if we won without him that year, the competition we went up against was bad. And it was proven that year that we were a good team without Kobe.

You used the Lakers' 11-3 record without Kobe... They were also 5-3 without Shaq.

Bad competition?

2001 Blazers 50 wins +4.52 SRS
2001 Kings 55 wins +6.07 SRS
2001 Spurs 58 wins +7.92 SRS
2001 Sixers 56 wins +3.64 SRS

Anyways I find it weird that a Laker fan is disparaging Kobe at every turn.

[1987_Lakers]

You used the Lakers' 11-3 record without Kobe... They were also 5-3 without Shaq.

Bad competition?

2001 Blazers 50 wins +4.52 SRS
2001 Kings 55 wins +6.07 SRS
2001 Spurs 58 wins +7.92 SRS
2001 Sixers 56 wins +3.64 SRS

Anyways I find it weird that a Laker fan is disparaging Kobe at every turn.

11-3 is miles better than 5-3. The only really good team on that list is the Spurs, but they dealt with injuries in the playoffs. And I'm confident we still beat the Kings, that's how great a peak Shaq was.

[dankok8]

11-3 is miles better than 5-3. The only really good team on that list is the Spurs, but they dealt with injuries in the playoffs. And I'm confident we still beat the Kings, that's how great a peak Shaq was.

Both of those samples are very small. Besides the team point differential during that 11-3 stretch was +1.9. In the other 68 games With Kobe that season it was +3.9. SRS would be more informative than just raw point differential but the Lakers seem to be clearly better with Kobe in the lineup.

[ArbitraryWater]

Easily.


No one has a bigger disparity between own production and team results

Kobe is on the other end of the extreme

[1987_Lakers]

Lakers seem to be clearly better with Kobe in the lineup.

Obviously they were, they don't beat Portland in 2000 and the Kings in 2002 without him. But considering how much they dominated the playoffs in 2001, it would have been interesting to see how far the Lakers would have gone without Kobe in 2001. The Lakers from 2000-2002 without Kobe were always winning games.

[iamgine]

Even having a good enough team to reach the finals that many times can be considered very lucky. How many players play with teammates the caliber of Elgin Baylor and Wilt? Jerry West was actually one of the luckiest player in NBA history.

[Axe]

So you are saying he's a better Finals performer than Lebron?
Look at this nut who just can't get kong out of his mind. :oldlol:

[SouBeachTalents]

Patrick Ewing is the unluckiest. Your nemesis Michael Jordan retires and you finally have a chance to win a championship when you have arguably been the second best team behind the Bulls for years, only to face Hakeem and Co. derail that idea and have John Starks shoot for one of his worst performances ever.
I agree Ewing is one of the more unlucky players, being forced to contend with Jordan & the Bulls nearly every postseason in his prime. But I feel a lot less sympathy for him for '94 when, as a center, he averaged 19 points on 23 shots on an unfathomable 39%TS. I don't care who's defending you, that's indefensibly bad, esp in a series that was so bitterly contested.

[Thenameless]

Elgin Baylor is just a bit more unlucky than Jerry West. Retiring early in the season because your body hurts, in the season that your team finally wins it all must really suck. A lot of people have forgotten just how good he really was.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Guys like Chris Webber probably think their unlucky as well, calling timeout in college and then the 2002 west finals loss.

The way i see it, if you have this continuous "bad luck" in your career then it's not actually bad luck but just being a choker.

[Dagoods]

A great two-way player, and a superb shooter. He is underrated because he was not able to jump out the gym. I wouldn't take WADE over West, as the 3rd greatest SG ever, not even at gun point!

[hiphopanonymous]

Elgin Baylor is just a bit more unlucky than Jerry West. Retiring early in the season because your body hurts, in the season that your team finally wins it all must really suck. A lot of people have forgotten just how good he really was.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxZqi1opLG8

How good they both were