What do you think about the Laker team now?

You follow the box scores of the games every day?

Just the Lakers.

You're kidding.

That is really a compliment.

I was pleased to see you smile at the top bar show because once the game starts, you have a game face.

You don't smile much out there.

I don't think you have to do things for money anymore.

Correct.

What's up, Laker fans? The great Jerry West died this morning at the age of 86. And in this pod,

we honor him. Going to be an emotional one for me. I'm going to talk for a little bit longer

than I normally would to start this pod, just to, because it's important to me that by the end of it, people have a better understanding of how

important he was to the Lakers.

So he's drafted in 1960.

This is the year that the Lakers moved to L.A.

And so I always think of this moment when he was drafted as the point where basketball kind of

turned from black and white to color in a lot of ways.

And him arriving in L.A. where Chick starts the job, too, it creates this like media buzz,

for one, Chick is describing this incredibly exciting brand of basketball.

Elgin Baylor is going into his third year, already one of the league's best players.

West is an all-star as a rookie.

And he's really good as this combination of speed and skill.

...