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Lakers Hall Of Famer Jerry West Set To Receive Presidential Medal Of Freedom

ANAHEIM (CBSLA) - There will be another milestone for NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West.

The basketball legend is set to receive the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Watch The Full Raw Interview With Jim Hill

West played for the Los Angeles Lakers for his entire 14-year career and later coached the team for three years.

"I'm really at kind of at a loss for words because there's so many people that have won that award that I greatly admire for their courage and for speaking out. Their courage for standing up for a cause. Causes that were much more important than anything I've done in my life," said West.

President Trump tweeted out, "The Great Jerry West will be receiving our Nation's highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his outstanding career, both on and off the court."

"The most important people to me have been the people I've worked with, the players I've played with, the people who impacted my life, and Jim, honestly you've impacted my life. I almost feel like that some of the things have happened to me in our life that there's a higher power, this one is really significant," West said to CBSLA's Jim Hill.

It has not been yet announced when the Medal of Freedom will be presented to him.

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