Jerry West statue unveiling: Bill Russell says West is more than a silhouette

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Celtics great Bill Russell just spoke and said of Jerry West, ‘To us (players), Jerry was not a silhouette. To us, he was a man with a soul.’

Then Russell, after heavily praising West, said how he always admired Lakers center George Mikan, who once told him that when he got out of high school he should play for the Lakers.

‘That’s one ambition I never got to fulfill,’ Russell said.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss then said something along the lines of ‘darn it,’ seeming to wish somehow Russell had been in Lakers’ purple and gold rather that the Celtics’ green and white.

Also, Lakers center Pau Gasol is here, along with Shaquille O’Neal, who West brought to L.A. Bill Walton is also present, as is James Worthy.

-- Baxter Holmes