Jerry West, LeBron, Curry reflect on Ali

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — When Jerry West went to Rome with the U.S. basketball team for the 1960 Olympics, the basketball star got to know a promising young boxer on the rise named Cassius Clay.

He was not yet the world heavyweight champion, the social activist, the global icon he would later become as Muhammad Ali. But even in those early days, West could feel the magnetism of a young man destined for greatness.

“I had heard of him a little bit, this kind of teenage sensation,” West said Saturday, a day after Ali died. “Once you got there, my goodness, you could hear him coming from a mile away.

“A big smile, big personality, even then before he became a world champion. He was a magnificent person.”

The NBA plans to honor Ali with a moment of silence before Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. The tribute also …

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