No single figure casts a shadow across the N.B.A.’s nearly 80 years of existence quite like Jerry West.
West, who died in 2024 at 86, elevated the league during its wobbly would-it-survive-or-not early days when his Los Angeles Lakers lost championships somewhat annually to the Boston Celtics. Then he was the architect behind the storied Showtime Lakers of the 1980s, leading to a portrayal of him decades later as a ranting, raging executive in the HBO series “Winning Time.” (West asked for a retraction; HBO stood by its show.)
He returned the Lakers to glory by pairing Shaquille O’Neal with Kobe Bryant and later helped recruit Kevin Durant to the Warriors, cementing Golden State’s modern dynasty.
Even those who think they aren’t familiar with West likely are in at least one way: The N.B.A.’s logo, of a silhouetted player mid-dribble, is modeled after West, a fact that the league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, conceded two years ago.
And now West is the subject of a documentary that explores his chase of perfection and the tolls that hunt extracted. Kenya Barris, best known as the creator of the ABC sitcom “Black-ish,” is making his documentary directing debut with “Jerry West: The Logo,” which is now streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video.
Barris found that when he called people to talk about West, they answered. The documentary is enriched by interviews with N.B.A. royalty like O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Pat Riley and even Michael Jordan, sitting in a leather jacket for his interview in rare, unfiltered form. In addition, Barris spent time with West in the Appalachians in his native West Virginia and was “about a halfway through” interviews with his subject when West died.
In a recent interview, Barris discussed West’s contributions to basketball, finishing the project after West’s death and getting M.J. to sit and talk. These are edited excerpts.
How did this come about?
When I read his book [“West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life”], I was like, “I want to tell this story.” Because there really actually is something about him as a father, husband, sort of aggregator of talent and at the same time, someone who likes to speak their mind. All those things are things that I really could lean into. And if I’m being totally honest with you, there were parts of me when I found out that Jerry was the logo, I was blown away. But in telling stories, I always start with a hypothesis, then try and prove or disprove it. He deserved the logo.
Jerry West could be prickly. How did you get him to open up?
I was like, he’s not going to let me do it, this Black guy with chains and saggy jeans. And he was unbelievably comfortable. He also was a straight shooter and also super funny. He could be a brother, your father, your friend, all kind of wrapped into one and I really enjoyed that part.
How quick was the yes from Michael Jordan?
Even though I’m from L.A., I was a Bull. I loved the Lakers, but Showtime did not have the same impact to me because of how big of a player Michael Jordan was looming over my life. When he says yes — he’s so enigmatic and does not speak. But he didn’t just say yes, he came and he really actually was Mike and he actually talked and he said things I hadn’t heard him say before. He had a lot of love for Jerry.
There was a moment where he speaks to things about the Trinity. In his mind of basketball, he said it was Jerry, then him, then Kobe. And he doesn’t talk about himself like that often. But Jerry sort of said the same thing without Mike knowing it. I think those three players had that dog in them. Jordan really respected Jerry. They were both super competitive, so much so that as much as they both love golf, they would not play against each other, because they felt like it would ruin their friendship.
What was behind the idea to put West’s highlights against modern music?
He’s not 360 dunking, but if you hear him against Just Blaze and you’re seeing the stop and pop 12-to-15-foot shot — [that’s] the hardest shot in basketball. He had the highest scoring average, playoff average at the time of our interviews, with no three-point shot. And he wasn’t dunking the ball, it was this dude who was just going, who just could ball. And to combine that with present-day music was something I really wanted.
Do you feel like you’re helping introduce him to a new audience?
One hundred percent. I’m a huge fan of biographies. Walter Isaacson is one of my people and what he told me about Ben Franklin was [that] he portrayed him as the man of his day, and he was the dude. And I thought people need to understand Jerry spanned decades and his impact is still really felt today in the same way Richard Pryor was to comedy, the same way certain people are to their particular genre.
Did you feel added pressure once he died, knowing that this would be his last extensive interviews?
Hell yeah. From the family, not like pressure, but you’re no longer telling a story about their dad who’s around to make the decision. You have to tell a story for them. You’re saying this is the legacy that will be left for them. I wanted to make sure the audience is left with a lasting impression of who he was and what he meant. And hopefully future generations can look and get to pursue their craft with the same level of diligence.
Jonathan Abrams is a Times reporter who writes about the intersections of sports and culture and the changing cultural scenes in the South.
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