Jerry West would be fine with Kobe Bryant replacing him as ‘the logo,’ but it could be unlikely to happen

Recorded Jerry West says it would be okay to have someone replace him as the NBA ‘s “Logo”, but it may not be likely to happen.

This conversation is now relevant after Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving suggested on Instagram that Kobe Bryant will replace West as the official NBA franchise.

Back in 2017, West told ESPN’s “The Jump” that he “wanted” to be replaced.

“First of all, I wish that had never been discovered, that badge,” he said. “No. I have said it more than once. It ‘s clear that it’ s me, and I know that it ‘s me, and it’ s smooth. For me, I played at the time when they first started marketing the league, there were five people they were considering. I didn’t find out about it until the late commissioner, Walter Kennedy, and then the New York Times openly told me about it.

NYT
there was a great article about it. Again, it’s smooth, but if I were an NBA, I would be ashamed. I don’t like to do anything to draw attention to myself, and when people are there [call him The Logo], that’s not just who I am, time. If they wanted to change, I wish they did. In many ways I would. “

Then asked who should replace him, West ignored NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

“I would be biased, I’m not saying at all,” he said. “They could put the commissioner on him. Adam Silver would look great. ”

Keep in mind that the NBA never officially recognized that West was, in fact, “The Badge.”

“There is no record of it here,” said spokesman Tim Frank earlier this year.

So the conundrum. As some have pointed out, the NBA has apparently not used Western permission for an additional 50 years and if they chose to go in a new direction, say with Kobe, Bryant ‘s estate could claim kingdoms.

Following the tragic deaths of the Black Mamba and her daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash in January 2020, three million fans have signed up. online petition on Change.org to make Kobe the new NBA brand.

Now Irving is reviving the call. After Kobe ‘s death, Irving reconsidered his relationship with Bryant and what the older myth meant to him.

“I asked for help from him, maybe a while back, maybe about four or five years ago,” he said through SNY. I asked for some help and I don’t think I was ready to be a mentor at that stage.

“… In some old texts, they say, ‘When the student is finished, the teacher will appear. ‘And I had that kind of mentoring, a relationship with him where I could ask him anything – no matter how anxious or scared I was – and he was just easy to talk to. those kinds of questions about what’s going on in his day-in, day-out for running something bigger than yourself and you’re trying to leave a legacy or a mark on game. They are going to come up with a lot of sacrifices. They are going to come with a lot of hate. He is going to come with a lot of love. It’s going to come with a lot of balance that you have to create in your life.

“And it left a lot of teaching – a lot of bread crumbs, I’ll say ’em – and I followed all of them, I followed every one and maybe that gives a lot of focus to the person that I am today. It’s just listening, asking questions, seeing what he was doing to create it. ”

While there may be a will to replace Kobe in the West, it remains to be seen if there is a way.