The rookie… before the logo!

Offered here is a striking Type I Original Photograph of a 22-year-old Jerry West, captured during his 1960 rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers. The 8x10 image presents a sharp, high-contrast black and white portrait of West at the very start of his Hall of Fame career.

When this photograph was taken, West was simply a promising young guard out of West Virginia. Few could have predicted the impact he would go on to have—not just as one of the NBA’s all-time great players, but as an executive architect of multiple championship teams and, ultimately, the silhouette immortalized in the NBA’s iconic logo.

This image is almost certainly from the same photo session used for West’s legendary 1961 Fleer rookie card: West’s uniform, hair, facial features, and the backdrop setting are all nearly identical to those of the Fleer card’s source image. Additionally, the “Jerry West” stamp on the reverse of this photograph similarly matches that found on a confirmed Type I used for the Fleer card, which sold at auction for $35k in 2023.

This photograph has been authenticated by PSA as a Type I Original Photo – a first generation photograph, developed from the original negative, during the period (within approximately two years of when the picture was taken). Because they are developed from the original negative, Type I photographs offer exceptional clarity. They are also exceedingly rare, often with only a few known examples in existence, and sometimes, one of a kind.

A historically significant photograph tied to one of basketball’s most enduring figures - both on the court and in the legacy of the sport itself!