Former Lakers star Elgin Baylor has passed away at age 86, the team announced today (link). Baylor died of natural causes, surrounded by family, per the Lakers.
A 6’5″ forward, Baylor played his college ball at Seattle University, leading the team to an appearance in the championship game in 1958 and earning Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors. He was the first overall pick in the NBA draft later that year, joining the Minneapolis Lakers.
Baylor spent his entire NBA career with the Lakers, first in Minneapolis and then in Los Angeles. He earned 11 All-Star nods and 10 All-NBA First Team berths over the course of an impressive playing career, winning the Rookie of the Year and All-Star Game MVP awards in 1959. He averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds in 846 career regular season games.
Baylor, who had his No. 22 jersey retired by the Lakers, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1977.
“Elgin was THE superstar of his era – his many accolades speak to that,” Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said today in a statement. “He was one of the few Lakers players whose career spanned from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. But more importantly he was a man of great integrity, even serving his country as a U.S. Army reservist, often playing for the Lakers only during his weekend pass. He is one of the all-time Lakers greats with his No. 22 jersey retired in the rafters and his statue standing guard in front of Staples Center. He will always be part of the Lakers legacy.”
Following his playing career, Baylor spent time in the 1970s as a coach for the New Orleans Jazz, then served as the Clippers’ vice president of basketball operations for over two decades, winning the NBA’s Executive of the Year award in 2006. He ultimately resigned from the role at age 74 in 2008.
Our condolences go out to Baylor’s family and friends.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
RIP Elgin
Rip to the laker great
My heart is broken
Rip
Mr Elgin Baylor!
Really? Broken Heart?
You are a New Yorker why are you trolling someone who may be from L.A?
Prayers up.
My lord………….look at those career numbers!!!
They actually played D in those days and they actually were allowed to be physical.
In my opinion I think Elgin is every bit as good as LeBron at worst , and probably better than Lebron. Todays NBA is a joke as far as D and physicality.
RIP Elgin !
Not to mention the lack of a 3 point shot. All those points are free throws and 2 point shots. And he could definitely shoot well enough that a 3 point shot would have probably added 3-4 PPG to his career average.
Exactly. Not like today where the refs are super sensitive and lack backbone
R.I.P. Elgin Baylor. My condolences to his family.
Elgin was a very nice man who was as down-to-Earth as anyone. It was very exciting for me to meet him for the first time years ago, and a real pleasure to talk basketball with him on a few treasured occasions. Once at a tennis event for NBA scouts, it was my privilege to run and get him ice for his knees. He could not have been more gracious. He was an easy guy to look up to, and not just because he was an NBA Founding Father.
A true legend of the game. I always remember when he did a cameo on Buck Rogers playing a 25th century Olympian, he looked every bit the part (in a bit part). At 6’5″ he looked enormous next to the diminutive 3’11” actor who played the robot Twiki.
Met Elgin once, only thing missing was the fedora and the red feather. Guy had a classy, street-style about him. Truly a pioneer at the guard position in the NBA.
He was a forward.
Both he and Barkley were undersized forwards at 6’5″.
You’re right, he’s listed as a SF, I always associate him as a rebounding, ball handling, passing 2. He was only 6’5″ and thats generous. He didn’t earn his checks banging bodies on the block, even in the old days!
Baylor averaged over 14 rebounds per game in each of his first 5 NBA seasons. He was an all-court player. You can’t classify him as a guard, forward or any position. That’s why LeBron is a descendant of his. They defy positions.
I’d have to agree with that assessment
Honestly in the 50s and 60s, a 6’5″ forward wasn’t really undersized. Maybe a little below average, but there weren’t 7’0″ guys playing small forward or 6’9″ guys playing point guard back then.
Yes……defense seems to foreign to many of the current teams…..watch the Warriors for some semblance of decent team defense….there are a few other teams that have good defenses……but a good pressing defense can help overcome other shortcomings.
Can’t see the narrative of no-defense in the NBA, I for once think that defenses now are at their best, right?
I mean even KG says that the players that dominated the 90’s & 00’s wouldn’t be able to play now!
The thing is that now the court is sooo open that defenders can’t keep up, not that they don’t defend, is just impossible to defend as tight as in the past ’cause the game is sooo much faster & wider, with logo shots, than it was before!
I just hate when folks talk ’bout no-defense makes it sound as we livin’ through a down time in the NBA, when as a matter of fact we are living through the golden age of the league, with the most talent that we have ever seen, facts!
RIP Elgin, such great memories of this true Laker hero!
RIP….
Legend. Arguable top 8-14 player of all time, and regarded as one of the nicest people you can meet. A lot of people dont realize how great he was, but those that were around in his era speak of him as the biggest star, and the face of the Lakers until he retired. You can still see some of his highlights and feel part of his greatness. Its unfortunate he retired right as they were finally about to win, later that year
RIP Elgin Baylor
The original GOAT …… Elgin was the first forward who could move like a guard. He was strong and fluid. He was a great scorer with street ball moves. Came into NBA at 24. Check out his first seven yrs in the NBA.
He played — 41.9 mins a gm
He scored — 30.6 pts a gm
He passed — 4.33 ast a gm
He rebounded — 15. 6 rebs a gm
And he played D. His day they played physical D. So those stats are incredible. 14 yrs he avg 27.36 a gm.
Only MJ (30.12), and Wilt (30.07) avg more.
RIP Elgin Baylor ….. one of best ever. God Bless
Nice picture… Bas.Ref. also has a good younger one (click the name)
Does it have to be one or the other for obit pics? (old controversy).
Baylor represented hard but differently than today, being from a couple generations ago so not “woke” style. He played mad and did not accept cannot do. But anyway, death happened. Read a book, or not, to hear stuff not said.
Possibly the NBA’s most under-rated player ever. A true legend. RIP, Mr. Baylor.
Elgin Baylor and former Bulls, Pacers, and Rockets center Granville Waiters… both passed on the same day.
Rest in Power to them both.
He was not undersized for a SF (although that was not a concept in his day, it was just F). Guys were listed at their actual height at that time. Aside from the hair, he was maybe 1 inch shorter than J. Erving. Other than that, he was physically the same guy. Same powerful physic, hands and wingspan. I bring up Erving in particular because of how he (then the best player in the game outside of Jabbar) revered Baylor. Adamant that he patterned his game after Baylor, even when it interrupted a narrative of his own uniqueness. The Hawk said many of the same things. These were not humble men.