Atta Kusi, a former defender for Asante Kotoko, regrets playing football.

On the evening of February 27, 2020, Jerry West was sitting in his automobile, parked outside his Bel-Air residence, close to midnight. He was thinking about retiring.

"I feel like I simply need to work on myself sometimes," West said to ESPN

"There are moments when I simply believe it might be better for me to stay out of it."

He continued as each day progressed, saying, "Sometimes, enough is enough."

It would be a topic of conversation every year, either during the season or during the off-season. However, according to those close to him, it consistently arrived for decades. He would go through a procedure. He would say that this year would be his last and that he truly meant it this time, but as a new season drew near, West would consider the difficulty of assembling a puzzle to win it all, of locating the pieces that fit together perfectly. He would return for another chance, and his competitive fire rekindled.

According to someone close to him, it became a running joke that Jerry West was discussing his retirement after over 60 years in the NBA. But according to many around him, West needed the game. They thought that Jerry West would return because he would always return, and that the game would help him regain some equilibrium.

However, to those close to him, West's 2020 agony was particularly noticeable. At the time, he was an 81-year-old consultant for the Los Angeles Clippers.

West went back to his car. "Take a look at all the disasters that occur every day. "Are you pushing your luck by putting so much pressure on yourself to try and make a difference?" is what you are wondering. Additionally, I enjoy pressure, but I am not sure if it is healthy for you in the long run. I truly don't especially at this stage of my life."

Nearly a month had passed since Kobe Bryant, the star of the Los Angeles Lakers, his daughter Gianna, and seven other people perished in a helicopter crash.

After a few minutes of watching 17-year-old Bryant's pre-draft workout with the Lakers in the spring of 1996, West, who was then the team's general manager, said, "To hell with this. I have had enough.

West was determined to get Bryant because he felt he was unique and that the Lakers needed to do whatever it took to get him. For many years, West and Bryant maintained a strong friendship, with West viewing Bryant as his son.

West applauded Bryant's attempts to create a storytelling empire through books, TV series, podcasts, and movies after his 20-season Lakers career ended in 2016. Bryant even won an Academy Award in 2018 for an animated short film in the category of "Dear Basketball."

West had not really understood or come to terms with the tragedy of Bryant's unexpected death one month prior, at the age of 41.

West stated that Bryant had direction and focus outside of basketball before turning inward.

West remarked, "I am not sure whether I would even be qualified to do anything else." "Maybe just build a ditch."

Seeing not just Bryant but also LeBron James, Magic Johnson, and a host of other contemporary players who were building media and production firms and engaging in several endeavors outside of the game, West claimed, exacerbated that emotion.

West remarked, "Those people have actually had a career outside of basketball." "Being connected with teams is the only thing I have done throughout my entire life."

The Naismith-Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will induct West as a contributor on Sunday, celebrating his management positions with the Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies as well as his consulting work with the Clippers and Golden State Warriors.

 

Inducted as a player in 1980 and then as a member of the U.S. Olympic gold medal squad in 1960, it will be West's third consecutive induction into the Hall of Fame. There will be a note of sadness in the ceremony because West passed away on June 12 at 86 earlier this year.

In several unreleased interviews with ESPN, West talked about coming to a turning point in both his personal and professional life.

He claimed that the events of the previous summer and fall had left him severely wounded, completely and totally cutting off any connection to the Lakers, the team he had helped create for 40 years.

Before this coldest of conflicts, West had helped the franchise to historic heights throughout his time there, first as a player, then as a coach, and last as an executive. He had hoped for reconciliation for years. Then 2019, following his family's involvement, one of the greatest Lakers in history expressed an unimaginable opinion that he would later repeat in private and public.

"I almost wish I had never played or worked for them," West said to ESPN.