I remember the first time I ran into Jerry West at a Clipper game this year. This was my first season covering the NBA, so seeing and talking to players was still a novelty, but nothing overwhelming. Seeing Jerry West, though, that was something else. I froze as I was walking towards the elevator and stared at him with my mouth agape, and he kindly chuckled and smiled at me before heading in the other direction.
No one else has stunned me to that extent. But no one else in the league even comes close to having the gravitas of Jerry West.