Elgin Baylor

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Elgin Baylor
Elgin Baylor.jpeg
Personal information
Born (1934-09-16) September 16, 1934 (age 84)
Washington, D.C.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolSpingarn (Washington, D.C.)
College
NBA draft1958 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the Minneapolis Lakers
Playing career1958–1971
PositionSmall forward
Number22
Career history
As player:
1958–1971Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers
As coach:
1974, 1976–1979New Orleans Jazz
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As executive:

Career statistics
Points23,149 (27.4 ppg)
Rebounds11,463 (13.5 rpg)
Assists3,650 (4.3 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006

Elgin Gay Baylor (born September 16, 1934) is an American former basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers, appearing in eight NBA Finals. Baylor was a gifted shooter, strong rebounder, and an accomplished passer. Renowned for his acrobatic maneuvers on the court, Baylor regularly dazzled Lakers fans with his trademark hanging jump shots. The No. 1 draft pick in 1958, NBA Rookie of the Year in 1959, 11-time NBA All-Star, and a 10-time member of the All-NBA first team, he is regarded as one of the game's all-time greatest players.[1] In 1977, Baylor was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[2]

Baylor spent 22 years as general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers. He won the NBA Executive of the Year Award in 2006, before being relieved of his duties shortly before the 2008–09 season began.[3]

His popularity led to appearances on major network television series such as Rowan and Martin's Laugh In in 1968, The Jackson Five's first TV special in 1971 and a Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode, "Olympiad", as one of the athletes.

Early life in Washington, D.C.[edit]

Elgin "Rabbit" Baylor had two basketball-playing brothers, Sal and Kermit. After stints at Southwest Boys Club and Brown Jr. High, Baylor was a 3 time All City player in High School. Elgin played his first 2 years at Phelps Vocational High School in the 1951 and 1952 basketball seasons where he set his first area scoring record of 44 points vs Cardozo. During his 2 All City years at Phelps, he averaged 18.5 and 27.6 points per season. He did not perform well academically and dropped out of school (1952–53) to work in a furniture store and to play basketball in the local recreational leagues. Baylor reappeared for the 1954 season playing for the newly opened Spingarn High School and the 6'5", 190 lb senior was named 1st team All-Met and won the SSA's Livingstone Trophy as the Area's Best Basketball player for 1954. He finished with a 36.1 average for his 8 Interhigh Division II league games. On February 3, 1954, in a game against his old Phelps team, he scored 31 in the first half. Playing with 4 fouls the entire second half, Baylor scored 32 more points to establish a new DC area record with 63 points. This broke the point record of 52 that Western's Jim Wexler had set the year before when he broke Rabbit's record of 44.

College career[edit]

An inadequate scholastic record kept him out of college until a friend arranged a scholarship at the College of Idaho, where he was expected to play basketball and football. After one season, the school dismissed the head basketball coach and restricted the scholarships. A Seattle car dealer interested Baylor in Seattle University, and Baylor sat out a year to play for Westside Ford, an AAU team in Seattle, while establishing eligibility at Seattle.[4] The Minneapolis Lakers drafted him in the 14th round of the 1956 NBA Draft but Baylor opted to stay in school instead.

Baylor led the Seattle University Chieftains (now known as the Redhawks) to the NCAA championship game in 1958, falling to the Kentucky Wildcats, Seattle's only trip to the Final Four. Following his junior season, Baylor was drafted again by the Minneapolis Lakers with the #1 pick in the 1958 NBA Draft, and this time he opted to leave school to join them for the 1958–59 NBA season.

In his three collegiate seasons, one at College of Idaho and two at Seattle, Baylor averaged 31.3 points per game. He led the NCAA in rebounds during the 1956–57 season.[5]

Fifty-one years after Baylor left Seattle University, Seattle U named its basketball court in honor of him on November 19, 2009. The Redhawks now play on the Elgin Baylor Court in Seattle's KeyArena. The Redhawks also host the annual Elgin Baylor Classic. College of Idaho has announced that Baylor will be one of the inaugural inductees into the school's Hall of Fame in June 2017.

NBA career[edit]

Baylor standing next to teammates Jerry Chambers (center) and Jerry West (right), circa 1966

The Minneapolis Lakers used the No. 1 overall pick in the 1958 NBA draft to select Baylor, then convinced him to skip his senior year at SU and instead join the pro ranks. The team, several years removed from its glory days of George Mikan, was in trouble on the court and at the gate. The year prior to Baylor's arrival the Lakers finished 19–53 with a squad that was slow, bulky and aging. Baylor, whom the Lakers signed to play for $20,000 per year (a great amount of money at the time), was the franchise's last shot at survival.

With his superb athletic talents and all-round game, Baylor was seen as the kind of player who could save a franchise, and he did. According to Minneapolis Lakers owner Bob Short in a 1971 interview with the Los Angeles Times: "If he had turned me down then, I would have been out of business. The club would have gone bankrupt."

Rookie of the Year[edit]

As a rookie in 1958–59, Baylor finished fourth in the league in scoring (24.9 points per game), third in rebounding (15.0 rebounds per game), and eighth in assists (4.1 assists per game). He registered 55 points in a single game, then the third-highest mark in league history behind Joe Fulks' 63 and Mikan's 61. Baylor won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and led the Lakers from last place the previous year to the NBA finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in the first four-game sweep in finals history. Thus began the greatest rivalry in the history of the NBA. During his career, Baylor helped lead the Lakers to the NBA Finals seven more times.

Middle years[edit]

From the 1960–61 to the 1962–63 seasons, Baylor averaged 34.8, 38.3 and 34.0 points per game, respectively. On November 15 of the 1960–61 season, Baylor set a new NBA scoring record when he scored 71 points in a victory against the New York Knicks while grabbing 25 rebounds.[6] In doing so, Baylor had broken his own NBA record of 64 points that he had set in the previous season. Baylor, a United States Army Reservist, was called to active duty during the 1961–62 season, and being stationed in Washington state, he could play for the Lakers only when on a weekend pass. Despite playing only 48 games during the 1961–62 season, he still managed to score over 1,800 points. Later that season, in a game five NBA Finals victory against the Boston Celtics, Baylor grabbed 22 rebounds and set the still-standing NBA record for points in an NBA Finals game with 61.

Baylor began to be hampered by knee problems during the 1963–64 season. The problems culminated in a severe knee injury suffered during the 1965 Western Division playoffs. Baylor, while still a very powerful force, was never quite the same, never again averaging above 30 points per game.

Retirement[edit]

Baylor finally retired nine games into the 1971–72 season because of his nagging knee problems. The timing of his retirement could not have been worse as this caused him to coincidentally miss two great achievements. First, the Lakers' next game after his retirement was the first of an NBA record of 33 consecutive wins.[7] Second, the Lakers went on to win the NBA championship that season. The Lakers did give Baylor a championship ring, even though he had not been an active player.[8]

Career achievements and legacy[edit]

The cover of the Los Angeles Lakers program for "Elgin Baylor Night" on March 21, 1969

Baylor was the last of the great undersized forwards in a league where many guards are now his size or bigger. He finished his playing days with 23,149 points, 3,650 assists and 11,463 rebounds over 846 games. His signature running bank shot, which he was able to release quickly and effectively over taller players, led him to numerous NBA scoring records, several of which still stand.

The 71 points Baylor scored on November 15, 1960 was a record at the time. The 61 points he scored in game 5 of the NBA Finals in 1962 is still an NBA Finals record. An underrated rebounder, Baylor averaged 13.5 rebounds per game during his career, including a remarkable 19.8 rebounds per game during the 1960–61 season – a season average exceeded by only five other players in NBA history, all of whom were 6'8" or taller.

A 10-time All-NBA First Team selection and 11-time NBA All-Star, Baylor was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977. He was named to the NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1980 and the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996. in 2009, SLAM Magazine ranked him number 11 among its Top 50 NBA players of all time. He is often listed as the greatest NBA player never to win a championship.[9][10][11]

The first biography of Elgin Baylor was written by SLAM Online contributor Bijan C. Bayne, and published by Rowman and Littlefield.

On April 6, 2018, Baylor appeared at Staples Center as a VIP guest during the Lakers vs. Timberwolves game. A statue was unveiled in his honor prior to the event.

NBA coach and executive[edit]

In 1974, Baylor was hired to be an assistant coach and later the head coach for the New Orleans Jazz, but had a lackluster 86–135 record and retired following the 1978–79 season. In 1986, Baylor was hired by the Los Angeles Clippers as the team's vice president of basketball operations. He stayed in that capacity for 22 years before resigning in October 2008 at the age of 74. During his tenure, the Clippers managed only two winning seasons and amassed a win-loss record of 607 and 1153. They also won only one playoff series during this time.

Baylor was selected as the NBA Executive of the Year in 2006. That year the Clippers won their first playoff series since 1976, when the franchise was located in Buffalo, New York, and named the Buffalo Braves.

In February 2009, Baylor filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against the Clippers, team owner Donald Sterling, team president Andy Roeser, and the NBA. He alleged that he was underpaid during his tenure with the team and then fired because of his age and race.[12] Baylor later dropped the racial discrimination claims in the suit.[13] Baylor's remaining claims were rejected by a Los Angeles state court jury on March 30, 2011, by a unanimous 12–0 vote.[14]

Head coaching record[edit]

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Post season PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
New Orleans 1974–75 1 0 1 .000 (interim) – – – – –
New Orleans 1976–77 56 21 35 .375 5th in central – – – – Missed Playoffs
New Orleans 1977–78 82 39 43 .476 5th in central – – – – Missed Playoffs
New Orleans 1978–79 82 26 56 .317 6th in central – – – – Missed Playoffs
Career 221 86 135 .389 – – – –

NBA career statistics[edit]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
* Led the league

Regular season[edit]

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1958–59 Minneapolis 70 40.8 .408 .777 15.0 4.1 24.9
1959–60 Minneapolis 70 41.0 .424 .732 16.4 3.5 29.6
1960–61 L.A. Lakers 73 42.9 .430 .783 19.8 5.1 34.8
1961–62 L.A. Lakers 48 44.4 .428 .754 18.6 4.6 38.3
1962–63 L.A. Lakers 80 42.1 .453 .837 14.3 4.8 34.0
1963–64 L.A. Lakers 78 40.6 .425 .804 12.0 4.4 25.4
1964–65 L.A. Lakers 74 41.3 .401 .792 12.8 3.8 27.1
1965–66 L.A. Lakers 65 30.4 .401 .739 9.6 3.4 16.6
1966–67 L.A. Lakers 70 38.7 .429 .813 12.8 3.1 26.6
1967–68 L.A. Lakers 77 39.3 .443 .786 12.2 4.6 26.0
1968–69 L.A. Lakers 76 40.3 .447 .743 10.6 5.4 24.8
1969–70 L.A. Lakers 54 41.0 .486 .773 10.4 5.4 24.0
1970–71 L.A. Lakers 2 28.5 .421 .667 5.5 1.0 10.0
1971–72 L.A. Lakers 9 26.6 .433 .815 6.3 2.0 11.8
Career 846 40.0 .431 .780 13.5 4.3 27.4
All-Star 11 29.2 .427 .796 9.0 3.5 19.8

Playoffs[edit]

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1959 Minneapolis 13 42.8 .403 .770 12.0 3.3 25.5
1960 Minneapolis 9 45.3 .474 .840 14.1 3.4 33.4*
1961 L.A. Lakers 12 45.0 .470 .824 15.3 4.6 38.1*
1962 L.A. Lakers 13 43.9 .438 .774 17.7 3.6 38.6*
1963 L.A. Lakers 13 43.2 .442 .825 13.6 4.5 32.6*
1964 L.A. Lakers 5 44.2 .378 .775 11.6 5.6 24.2
1965 L.A. Lakers 1 5.0 .000 – 0.0 1.0 0.0
1966 L.A. Lakers 14 41.9 .442 .810 14.1 3.7 26.8
1967 L.A. Lakers 3 40.3 .368 .750 13.0 3.0 23.7
1968 L.A. Lakers 15 42.2 .468 .679 14.5 4.0 28.5
1969 L.A. Lakers 18 35.6 .385 .630 9.2 4.1 15.4
1970 L.A. Lakers 18 37.1 .466 .741 9.6 4.6 18.7
Career 134 41.1 .439 .769 12.9 4.0 27.0

NBA highlights[edit]

  • NBA Rookie of the Year (1959)
  • All-NBA First Team 10 times (1959–65, 1967–69)
  • Eleven-time NBA All-Star (1959–65, 1967–70)
  • NBA All-Star Game Co-MVP (1959)
  • Holds NBA Finals single-game record for most points (61) on April 14, 1962 against the Boston Celtics
  • Scored 71 points (8th highest in history) against the New York Knicks (November 15, 1960)
  • No. 4 all-time with 87 regular season 40-point games[15]
  • Scored 23,149 points in only 846 games (27.4 points per game, fourth best all-time) and averaged 30 points or more three times (1961–63)
  • Retired as NBA's third all-time leading scorer
  • Retired as fifth leading scorer in All-Star Game history (19.8 points per game)
  • Ranked sixth in NBA Finals all-time scoring (26.4 in 44 games)
  • Ranked seventh in NBA playoffs all-time scoring (27.0 in 134 games)
  • NBA 35th Anniversary Team (1980)
  • NBA 50th Anniversary Teams (1996)
  • NBA Executive of the Year (2006)

Career highs[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Stat High Opponent Date
Points 71 at New York Knicks November 15, 1960
Points 64 vs. Boston Celtics November 8, 1959
Points 63 (3 OT) at Philadelphia Warriors December 8, 1961
Points, quarter 24
Field goal percentage
Field goals made 28 at New York Knicks November 15, 1960
Field goals attempted 55 (3 OT) at Philadelphia Warriors December 8, 1961
Free throws made, none missed 16–16 vs. Syracuse Nationals November 5, 1960
Free throws made, one miss 20–21 at St. Louis Hawks December 21, 1962
Free throws made 20 at St. Louis Hawks December 21, 1962
Free throws attempted 24 (3 OT) at Philadelphia Warriors December 8, 1961
Rebounds 31 vs. Philadelphia Warriors November 6, 1958
Rebounds 31 (3 OT) at Philadelphia Warriors December 8, 1961
Rebounds 30 vs. Cincinnati Royals January 14, 1961
Assists 16 vs. Phoenix Suns February 9, 1969
Minutes played

Playoffs[edit]

Stat High Opponent Date
Points 61 at Boston Celtics April 14, 1962
Points 49 vs. Detroit Pistons March 15, 1961
Field goal percentage
Field goals made 22 at Boston Celtics April 14, 1962
Field goals attempted 46 at Boston Celtics April 14, 1962
Field goals attempted 45 at St. Louis Hawks March 27, 1961
Free throws made, none missed 15–15 at St. Louis Hawks March 26, 1960
Free throws made 18 at St. Louis Hawks March 17, 1960
Free throws attempted 23 at St. Louis Hawks March 17, 1960
Rebounds 23 vs. Boston Celtics April 10, 1962
Rebounds 23 vs. Boston Celtics April 17, 1963
Rebounds 23 vs. Chicago Bulls March 24, 1968
Assists 12 vs. Atlanta Hawks April 20, 1969
Minutes played 53 (OT)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Elgin Baylor: Complete Bio". nba.com. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  2. ^ "Hall of Famers". Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  3. ^ "Clippers players shocked Baylor is out". Ocregister.com. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  4. ^ NBA Register: 1986–87 Edition. The Sporting News Publishing Company. 1986. p. 287. ISBN 9780892042272.
  5. ^ NBA Register: 1986–87 Edition. The Sporting News Publishing Company. 1986. p. 289. ISBN 9780892042272.
  6. ^ "Elgin Baylor". nba.com. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  7. ^ "Top 10 Teams In NBA History: 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers". nba.com. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  8. ^ Dave McKenna (May 30, 2013). "An Unfamiliar Ring". Grantland. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  9. ^ "The 10 Greatest NBA Players With No Championship Jewelry". Dimemag.com. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  10. ^ Barry Petchesky. "The Greatest NBA Player To Never Win A Title Is Auctioning Off His Championship Ring. (What?)". Deadspin.com. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  11. ^ "Wisch: Top 5 Players To Never Win An NBA Title « CBS Chicago". Chicago.cbslocal.com. 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  12. ^ Elgin Baylor Sues Los Angeles Clippers for Employment Discrimination ESPN.com, February 11, 2009.
  13. ^ Lance Pugmire (2011-03-04). "Elgin Baylor drops racial discrimination claim in suit against L.A. Clippers". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  14. ^ Lance Pugmire, "Elgin Baylor's lawsuit rejected by Los Angeles County jury", Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2011.
  15. ^ The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Villard Books. 1994. p. 382. ISBN 0-679-43293-0.

External links[edit]

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