Jerry West’s passing at the age of 86 was met with well-deserved tributes from the sports media world, perhaps none more emotional than the one from Dan Patrick.
West is one of the most beloved figures in the history of American sports, a person who embodied the NBA, literally, with his silhouette being the basis for the league’s logo. But for Patrick, West meant more than just his contributions to the NBA as a player, coach, and executive. Patrick has long been open about West being a hero for him and his dad, as well as the appreciation he has for the relationship they were able to develop in recent years.
DP pays tribute to his idol Jerry West pic.twitter.com/grRFY6E2OY
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) June 12, 2024
“The news that just happened about 10 minutes ago, Jerry West has passed away at the age of 86. He was the logo and certainly a friend of the show,” Patrick said before he started to get emotional. After a 10-second pause to regain his composure, Patrick attempted to talk about West again, but couldn’t.
“He’d be mad at me if I was emotional,” Patrick continued with tears in his eyes. “He’d be like, what are you crying about?”
Patrick noted they attempted to have West on the show recently, but he wasn’t feeling well enough at the time.
“This is tough,” Patrick said before producer Paul Pabst came to his assistance by joining the conversation. “Yeah, Paulie, help me out.”
“None of us in this room wanted to walk over and tell you this. We were waiting for the break. I know how important this guy was to you,” Pabst said. “I’m sure he was your hero, your dad’s. We saw it a couple times, maybe about 10 years ago, he started coming on the show and he was sitting there with you and talking basketball. And I could tell that you were kind of giddy.”
“Well, I saw my dad,” Patrick said. “They were similar ages.”
But Patrick’s relationship with West wasn’t always a friendship. Patrick recalled sportswriter Rick Reilly being on the show years ago and accusing the Memphis Grizzlies, then led by West, of tanking.
“I get a phone call and it’s from Jerry West,” Patrick remembered. “And Jerry West rips me for five minutes. He is cursing me out, I am shaken… Finally he stopped, and I said, ‘Jerry, I didn’t say that. Rick Reilly did.’ He goes, ‘OK, I’m sorry.’ And then he hung up… I was devastated.”
Patrick said he later spoke to West and was given another chance after explaining the full backstory. It led to Patrick being able to develop a friendship with his hero on and off-air.
“We didn’t have a good start, but we had a good finish,” Patrick said of West. “We were very lucky. We were very lucky that he opened himself up to us and developed a relationship there.”
