The 1972 Title: West’s Redemption at Age 34
After entering the league in 1960, Jerry West collected nearly every individual honor but kept falling short of a title—Finals losses in 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969 and 1970, most of them to Boston or New York. By 1971-72, a 34-year-old West knew the window was closing.
That Lakers team was unprecedented. Coach Bill Sharman built a machine built on defense and transition; West, Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich and Jim McMillian formed the core. In the regular season the Lakers ran off an NBA-record 33-game win streak—long atop the all-time list, not surpassed until the 2013 Miami Heat reached 27—and finished 69-13.
In the Finals against New York, Los Angeles answered years of frustration with a 4-1 series win, and West finally raised his first and only championship. He averaged 19.8 points and 8.8 assists—no longer the explosive scorer of his prime, but still the steadying hand. That year's FMVP went to Chamberlain, but everyone who knew the story understood the title was West's twelve-year wait repaid.
After the clincher, West did not celebrate wildly. He later said he felt relief—"I no longer had to prove to anyone that I'd won." For a player shadowed by "no ring" through his entire prime, the golden confetti of 1972 was the most dignified repayment of all those losses.
Related Reading
Related
Five Championships: The Lakers Dynasty of the OK Three-Peat and Two-Peat
The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers: A Miracle After 1-3
Fifty Years Later: A Deep Dive Into the 2021 Championship
