Jerry West says he was ‘blessed’ to work for Jerry Buss

The Golden State Warriors released a statement from former Lakers All-Star and general manager Jerry West regarding Jerry Buss, who died on Monday.

“This is an extremely sad day for me,” said West. “As I have said many times, I have been blessed to work for Jerry Buss, the most successful owner in basketball history. His incredible commitment and desire to build a championship-caliber team that could sustain success over a long period of time has been unmatched.

“With all of his achievements, Jerry was without a doubt one of the most humble men I’ve ever been around. His vision was second to none; he wanted an NBA franchise brand that represented the very best and went to every extreme to accomplish his goals,” continued West. “His achievements as an owner are legendary and will never be duplicated: 10 NBA titles and 16 trips to the NBA Finals. Jerry was an innovator in the sports world and many sports franchises have tried to follow his recipe for success and his vision of making NBA basketball as much about sports as entertainment.”

PHOTOS: Jerry Buss through the years

West is now an executive board member and partial owner with the Warriors after an illustrious career on the court and in the front office with the Lakers.

“Our relationship has always been very unique; Jerry was always supportive of the many tough decisions that were made during our time together,” said West. “I will particularly remember fondly our walks together during training camps, which were some of the highlights of my time working with him and the Lakers. I was blessed to have the opportunity to work for him and I will miss him dearly. My thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Buss family and the Lakers organization. We lost a great man today and a legend in our business.”

Buss died from kidney failure brought on by an undisclosed form of cancer.

ALSO:

Colleagues speak out on the passing of Jerry Buss

Jerry Buss’ death signals end of an era for Lakers

Lakers expected to remain a Buss family-owned team

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.