Golden State Warriors announce touching tribute to architect of Steph Curry dynasty

The Golden State Warriors will feature a decal with the initials "JW" in front of the scorer’s table for this NBA season to pay tribute to former team executive Jerry West.

West passed away at the age of 86 on June 12. He served as an executive board member with the team from 2011 to 2017 and directly oversaw two Warriors championships. Golden State will also wear a patch featuring the number 16 - West's number during his 14-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers - on their jerseys throughout the season.

The team will hold a moment of silence for West in their home preseason finale on Friday night against the Lakers. Before joining the Warriors, West was a 14-time All-Star with the Lakers. He served various executive roles with the team from 1979-2000 before joining the Memphis Grizzlies . West most recently served as a consultant for the Los Angeles Clippers from 2017-2024.

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He is the only player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP on the losing team. In 2024, he accomplished another first - West became the only person to be elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame for three separate honors (as a player, a member of Team USA, and an executive).

He won six NBA titles as an executive with the Lakers and two with the Warriors. While West wasn’t responsible for drafting Steph Curry in 2009, he did oversee the decisions to select Klay Thompson in 2011 and Draymond Green in 2012.

The Warriors seemed poised to trade Thompson to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Thompson in 2014. West famously banged the drum on keeping the sharpshooter in Golden State. He would also leave the Warriors with one final parting gift: West played a key part in the team’s move to bring in Kevin Durant in 2016.

Warriors owner Joe Lacob was effusive in his praise of West when he passed away in June. “Jerry had a profound and immense impact on our franchise and was instrumental in our recent decade of success,” Lacob said in a statement issued by the Warriors.

“Personally, as a child, despite growing up a Celtics fan in Massachusetts, Jerry was my idol and I loved him. To me, he was basketball. He was not just about the actual game, but he personified competitiveness. He was the most competitive individual I have ever met, settling for nothing short of greatness. He had to win. It consumed him."

West genuinely loved team-building. When asked why he left the Lakers to join the Grizzlies, the Hall of Famers was brutally honest. "After being a part of the Lakers success for so many years, I have always wondered how it would be to build a winning franchise that has not experienced much success," he admitted. "I want to help make a difference."