Is NBA Legend Jerry West Still in Good Health? Heres What We Know

May 2024 · 3 minute read

Many individuals are thinking about Jerry West's present health status making an allowance for that the NBA legend is 84 years old. Here’s what you wish to have to know.

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Netflix’s two-part Bill Russell: Legend documentary is upon us. Highlighting the legacy of one of the largest NBA avid gamers of all time — both on and off the court. The sports documentary explores and celebrates Bill Russell’s lifetime of activism and achievements. And if you happen to’re wondering whether or not or no longer it'll include any acquainted former Los Angeles Lakers faces, the solution is sure.

Jerry West, certainly one of Bill Russell’s fiercest competitors throughout the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers rivalry, makes an look. And at 84 years previous, we wouldn’t blame you for being inquisitive about his present health standing. Here’s what you need to know.

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Jerry West was once hospitalized for a health incident in 2017.

In January 2017, the NBA legend ended up in the hospital after struggling a health scare at a country membership in Southern California. Jerry, who was Seventy eight on the time, fell whilst he used to be on the established order, and paramedics straight away tended to the scene. An ambulance rushed the former basketball famous person to a nearby health center to evaluate his injuries.

After undergoing a sequence of checks and observations, it appeared Jerry was once going to be simply fantastic, and the clinic launched him after a temporary keep. Since then, no different physical health scares had been reported.

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Jerry West has battled with psychological health struggles for many years.

Now at age 84, Jerry's bodily health stays slightly spectacular. However, the Hall of Famer revealed that he’s struggled with psychological health his complete life. During a section of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO in 2011, Jerry admitted that despair plagued him since early life. Growing up with an abusive father, the former NBA player lived in constant worry. "I would go to bed feeling like I didn't even want to live," he recounted to Bryant Gumbel.

During his 14-season stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, his melancholy worsened. Jerry would dwell on the staff’s defeats and his perceived screw ups on every occasion the seasons ended. "He wouldn't speak for days at a time. It worried me," his wife Karen West said.

In the HBO interview, Jerry published that he attempted treatment to lend a hand with his psychological health struggles however never followed via. Eventually, he turned to Prozac to regard his melancholy, which eased his signs.

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar spoke out about Jerry West’s psychological health struggles in 2022.

In March 2022, HBO released Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty and the Hall of Famer demanded a retraction and apology over his portrayal in the sequence. Jerry’s lawyer wrote a letter mentioning that "Winning Time falsely and cruelly portrays Mr. West as an out-of-control, intoxicated rage-aholic… You reduced the legacy of an 83-year-old legend and role model to that of a vulgar and unprofessional bully — the polar opposite of the real man."

Former Lakers legend and six-time NBA MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar immediately came to Jerry’s defense.

"It's a shame the way they treat Jerry West, who has openly discussed his struggle with mental health, especially depression," Kareem wrote on Substack. "Instead of exploring his issues with compassion as a way to better understand the man, they turn him into a Wile E. Coyote cartoon to be laughed at."

Bill Russell: Legend is to be had for streaming on Netflix on Feb. 8, 2023.

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