Jerry West Named 2003-04 NBA Executive of the Year

Jerry West and Coach Hubie Brown at the NBA Executive of the Year press conference.

Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images

Memphis, Tennessee, May 18, 2004 — Memphis Grizzlies President of Basketball Operations Jerry West was named the winner of the 2003-04 NBA Executive of the Year Award, Sporting News announced.

West received 16˝ of 35 votes cast by fellow NBA executives, finishing ahead of Kevin McHale, Minnesota vice president of basketball operations/general manager, with five votes and Kevin O'Connor, senior vice president/basketball operations for the Utah Jazz, with three votes. The NBA Executive of the Year award is selected by NBA executives for Sporting News.

“This is not an individual award; it is an organizational award,” West said, “that certainly would not have been accomplished without a great deal of input from Dick Versace, Gary Colson, Tom Penn and our coaching staff. Special thanks go to Mike Heisley for giving me his trust and confidence. My family’s support of the major change in our lives is the ultimate reason that I made the move to Memphis. I share this award with Hubie Brown, for agreeing to come out of retirement and join me here in Memphis. Hubie’s tremendous insight in the teaching and coaching of basketball made it possible for the Memphis Grizzlies to win 50 games this season. His performance earned him the NBA Coach of the Year award, and helped us to win this award as well.” Read the full press conference transcript and Question & Answer session comments.

Jerry West
Jerry West with Sporting News NBA Coach of the Year Award.
(Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images)
West, 65, the first executive in the Grizzlies’ nine-year history to receive Executive of the Year honors, came out of retirement two years ago to become president of basketball operations on April 30, 2002. In his first two seasons at the helm, West has orchestrated moves to acquire 10 new players for an infusion of improved talent, selected Hubie Brown as head coach; and the Grizzlies have posted the best records in team history. This season, Memphis posted a 50-32 record, the franchise’s first winning season and first playoff berth as the sixth seed in the West; and Brown was named as 2004-05 NBA Coach of the Year.

This is the second time in his career that West has been honored as the NBA Executive of the Year, first winning the award in 1995 as the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers. With the youngest team to qualify for the playoffs that season, the Lakers finished with a 48-34 record, eliminated Seattle in the first round of the playoffs and extended San Antonio to six games in the Western Conference semifinals.

“Once again Jerry West worked his magic like only Jerry West can,” said Sporting News editorial director John Rawlings. “The turnaround in Memphis was remarkable this year and the future for this young, exciting team is awfully bright. West has built quite a nucleus of talent that should be competitive for years to come.”

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