Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks honor Jerry West with pregame tribute before NBA Finals Game 3

NBA legend Jerry West was honored with a tribute video and moment of silence ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks. West passed away Wednesday morning. He was 86.

If anybody can be considered the face of the league, West would be that man because his iconic silhouette is immortalized in the NBA logo. In many ways, a tribute during the Finals is almost poetic. The American Airlines Center crowd cheered and celebrated his life appropriately with one fan yelling, "We love you, Jerry."

West played for the Los Angeles Lakers for 14 seasons, and each of them he was named an All-Star. With West on the roster, the Lakers made it to the Finals nine times and won the trophy in 1972. West was the first player to be named the Finals MVP in 1969.

After his playing career, West was also a highly-successful executive with eight championship teams. West had already been inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame as a player, but this October he will also be inducted as a contributor, becoming the first person ever to receive both honors.

West is unfortunately not the only basketball legend who has passed away recently. Bill Walton, who left his mark both as a player and broadcaster, died of cancer on May 27. Walton was honored by the Mavericks and Celtics during Game 1 of the Finals with tie dye shirts and pins.

"It's been a rough week. Between [West] and Bill Walton, it's been a rough week for our NBA family," said 11-time All-Star Charles Barkley ahead of Game 3 "I said the same thing about Bill Walton. The world is not as good as it was yesterday. The world was a better place with Mr. West being in it. This is a tough one."

Elsewhere, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to pay tribute to West. In a post shared online, Abdul-Jabbar wrote that West "embodied the qualities we admire in our best athletes."