Jerry West was born in Cabin Creek in Kanawha County on May 28, 1938, and the game would spend decades catching up to him. On this day in history, his name still carries the kind of weight that needs no introduction in basketball circles.

West took West Virginia University to the NCAA Tournament national title game in 1959 against Cal, a run that helped turn him into a national figure before his pro career ever began. He went on to become an illustrious guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, an 14-time All-Star and a Basketball Hall of Fame member, with an impact so lasting that his image remains the NBA logo to this day.

That is what makes May 28 more than a birthday in the calendar of the sport. West was one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game, and the facts of his career still explain why his reach stretched well beyond one team, one college or one era.

There is also a quiet tension in the way he is remembered: the player became a symbol, and the symbol outlasted the years. Long after the final buzzer on his playing days, the silhouette of Jerry West kept moving through the league as the face of basketball itself.

For West Virginia, for the Lakers and for the sport, the story is settled. West did not just play in the NBA; he helped define how it would look, and the logo that still carries his image says as much as any box score ever could.