Donald Trump awarded another sports player, former Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Jerry West, the presidential Medal of Freedom at a small Thursday ceremony in the Oval Office.West is the sixth current or former professional athlete who Trump has honored with the prestigious award, and he joins basketball greats Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in winning the highest national honor for a civilian. Trump said the 81-year-old West, who went on to coach the Lakers is a 'great man, great player and is going to be around for a long time' in short remarks at the scripted event. The president said he is a 'legend and make plays that will be remembered for forever' by sports enthusiasts like himself.West told the president, 'I swear my name is going to look like a misprint on this list. Mr. President, thank you for including me on this incredible group of people.' West played for the Los Angeles Lakers for 14 seasons, until 1974, before he became the team's coach and later its general manager. Late in his career, he took over operations for the Memphis Grizzlies. He has also served as a board member for the Warriors and consulted for the Los Angeles Clippers. Reveling in his career as a player, the president said Thursday that one of West's best games came in the 1962 finals against the Celtics. Jerry West #44 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots a free throw during a 1971 NBA game against the New York Knicks at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California'Jerry rallied the Lakers and tried it and tried very hard I will tell you he tried so hard and it was a great rally, and he was up 115 to 115 with only three seconds left,' he said. 'The Celtics had the ball and Sam Jones. He was a good one...Sam Jones. They're all good on that team. He passed to the legendary Bob Cousy, who was here a few weeks ago.'Trump also awarded Cousy a Medal of Freedom in August in the Oval Office.He suggested that he was honoring West, too, immediately after because of his ties to West Virginia, a state the president won in the 2016 election.'I shouldn't say this but I won it by 43 points,' he said in the Oval Office in front of the state's governor Jim Justice and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.The president indicated that he'd be talking to the West Virginia politicians after the Medal of Freedom event about Manchin's bipartisan background check bill, which Trump has waffled on supporting.'I think we're going to meet on a certain subject later on, and that's good,' he stated. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West prior to presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to West in the Oval Office of the White House West played for the Los Angeles Lakers for 14 seasons, until 1974, before he became the team's coach and later its general manager. Late in his career, he took over operations for the Memphis Grizzlies Trump honored the sports hero and West Virginia native for his contribution to the game as an athlete and as an execut
