Ranking the top Jerry West cards for collectors

The basketball world was saddened by the passing of NBA legend Jerry West on June 12.

Born in Chelyan, W. Va., West grew up in a poor and abusive household, even reportedly sleeping with a shotgun to protect himself from his abusive father.

The eventual star athlete was undersized and not very athletic as a child, needing regular vitamin injections to stay healthy.

He grew up hunting, fishing and shooting—baskets, that is. West built his shot on a hoop that a neighbor nailed to a shed, chucking it up through all weather conditions and elements. West just kept shooting.

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By the time he attended East Bank High School in East Bank, W. Va., he was a member of the basketball team. After a growth spurt that put him north of six feet tall, he became the team's starting small forward and began to establish himself as one of the best high school players in West Virginia.

After receiving college offers from nearly 100 universities, the sharpshooter chose to stay home and attend West Virginia University. By the time West was playing varsity basketball at WVU, he was a revelation. During his junior year, he averaged over 26 points per game, along with 12 rebounds. He led the team in scoring and rebounding in every single West Virginia game. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, and more awards followed, including an All-America selection. He was a member of the U.S. Pan American Games team that captured the gold medal.

West had an even better senior season, averaging over 29 points. Over his entire collegiate a career, he averaged nearly 25 points and over 13 rebounds. West and fellow hoops star Oscar Robertson were co-captains of the U.S. Men's Basketball team that won the gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics.

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West was the second overall pick by the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1960 NBA Draft. Shortly thereafter, the team moved to Los Angeles and the rest is, as they say, history.

His NBA career was nothing short of magical as he was a 14-time All-Star and named to the All-NBA First Team 10 times.

West even won the NBA Finals MVP in a losing effort in 1969. In 1972, He finally captured his lone NBA championship as a player.

West's impact is still felt today as his silhouette is the inspiration for the NBA logo and his "Mr. Clutch" nickname is as fitting as any in the sport's history.

As successful as West was as a player, he was arguably even more successful as an NBA executive, capturing eight NBA championships and being named the NBA Executive of the Year twice.

West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1980, as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal team in 2010, and will soon be added in the executive and consultant wing.

West has also been a popular hobby figure, with some of the his trading cards among the most popular among basketball card collectors.

Here’s a look at the five best and most interesting West cards from his playing career.

Also See: Historic 1975-76 Topps Basketball set filled with NBA legends 

It had been years between officially licensed NBA sets, so this impactful and important 1961-62 Fleer set is loaded with legendary rookie cards, including Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and this classic West card.

With this being his officially recognized rookie card, the list really begins and ends here. This beautiful, bright card shows a young West in a posed defensive stance with the classic Los Angeles Lakers logo at the top and a fresh-faced, crew-cut West in his cursive Los Angeles Lakers jersey. This card is iconic in every way and the cornerstone of any Jerry West collection.

The classic Topps Tall Boy cards are fitting for a basketball set. This was Topps' first release since its 1957 issue over a decade earlier. Sans any official license or agreement with the league, many players, including West, were wearing T-shirts, backwards jerseys or warm-ups. This fact became part of the allure of these great cards.

West is shown in a what appears to be a white T-shirt, intently staring off in the distance. These larger cards are prone to condition issues and high-grade copies are incredibly valuable. West's first official Topps card has to be on the short list of his greatest issues.

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Although the aforementioned 1961 Fleer card is widely considered West's rookie card, this issue produced by Kahn's predates his RC by a year and is considered by some to be his true first issue and his real rookie.

Based out of Cincinnati, Kahn's is a meat processing company that has been in business since the late 1800s. From the late-1950s through the mid-60s, Kahn's packed these basketball cards as promotional items and distributed them within their meat products. This was a regional release with only Cincinnati Royals players featured with one major exception—“Mr. Clutch” himself. West is the key card in the multiyear run of these sets from 1960-63.

With these collectibles being packaged with meat, many of these cards are stained, so finding one in top condition is a premium. West's card in top condition commands tens of thousands of dollars. To show the absolute scarcity, there are only 29 graded cards of West, with the lone PSA 8 being the highest grade recorded.

Prior to the release of 1969-70 Topps Tall Boys, the iconic card company released a test set that has become one of the most interesting basketball sets in the hobby. The 22-card, black-and-white set features 15 Hall of Famers. The reverse side of the cards feature a small piece of a puzzle that, when assembled, features Wilt Chamberlain.

West is shown in his Lakers uniform, with ball in hand, in this classic black-and-white image. The card has a white border with thick black text featuring the player's name at the bottom with the team and the players height listed.

One of the most mysterious and enigmatic sets ever produced, this is one of the hardest West cards to come by in any condition. There are only six total test copies graded, with three being recorded as PSA 8s.

It's only fitting to round out this list with the final card issued from his playing career. West finished his legendary career after the 1973-74 NBA season due to nagging injuries. He played in only 31 games that season and could not come to terms with the Lakers on a new contract and decided to hang up his high-tops forever.

The card features bright colors with West pictured with his leg taped up, documenting his injury-prone final campaign. The red lettered Lakers text down the righthand side can't be missed and is only fitting as “Mr. Clutch” was a lifelong Laker through and through.

The sports world will miss the Lakers great but collectors can honor his career and life through his vast and far-reaching cardboard.