YouTube Gold: The Greatness Of Jerry West

Yesterday we talked about how JJ Redick said that Bob Cousy played against plumbers and firemen, which was a great line if not entirely true.

What we forgot to say was that in Cousy’s rookie season, in 1950, the NBA was four years old. George Mikan was still playing.

Things changed quickly.

In 1956, Bill Russell entered the league and changed it forever. In 1959, Wilt Chamberlain came along and introduced a level of dominance that is still hard to believe.

And in 1960, Jerry West showed up, just 10 years after Cousy.

Could West play today?

Well, that’s always a complicated question. If you dropped 1965 West in the NBA today, he’d have his challenges. But if you took 15 year old West and gave him the benefits of modern training?

Of course he could.

Watch this video and you’ll see a supreme athlete and an extraordinarily fierce and intelligent basketball player.

It’s hard to imagine that guy not finding his place in the game.