The Tape
Was Jerry West better than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?
Jerry West, 1960-1974, against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 2018-present. The numbers levelled to one league, then the call.
Method, stated plainly: scoring is adjusted to a league averaging 114 points per team per game. Rebounds and assists are printed as they were recorded, with the league scoring rate beside them, because a rebound in 1962 came out of a different number of missed shots and we will not pretend one multiplier fixes that. Career lines for active players run through 2024-25.
What the numbers say
Adjusted to a league averaging 114 points a game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the bigger scorer: 32.9 a game in 2024-25 against 30.9 for Jerry West in 1965-66. That is a real gap of 2 points, not an era illusion — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's league averaged 113.4 and Jerry West's averaged 115.5.
Jerry West wins the glass by 2.1 rebounds a game (7.1 to 5), which in his era meant standing in traffic rather than waiting for a long one.
Jerry West: Lost 8 Finals and won 1, and is the only Finals MVP ever chosen from a losing team. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: An MVP and a title in the same season, built on the most efficient mid-range diet since the rules changed.
The numbers are free. The verdict is in the Vault.
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