Elgin Gay Baylor ( ; September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was an American professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) for the
Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers. Baylor was a gifted
shooter
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...
, a strong
rebounder, and an accomplished
passer
''Passer'' is a genus of sparrows, also known as the true sparrows. The genus contains 28 species and includes the house sparrow and the Eurasian tree sparrow, two of the most common birds in the world. They are small birds with thick bills for ...
, who was best known for his trademark hanging
jump shot. 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, Baylor is regarded as one of the game's all-time greatest players.
In 1977, Baylor was inducted into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
. In 1996, Baylor was named as one of the
50 Greatest Players in NBA History
The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...
. In October 2021, Baylor was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the
NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.
Baylor spent 22 years as general manager of the
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...
. He won the
NBA Executive of the Year Award in 2006. Two years later he was relieved of his executive duties by the Clippers shortly before the 2008–09 season began.
His popularity led to appearances on the television series ''
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Da ...
'' in 1968;
the Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
's first TV special in 1971; a ''
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' episode "Olympiad"; and an episode of ''
The White Shadow'' titled "If Your Number's Up, Get Down".
Early life
Elgin "Rabbit" Baylor was born in Washington, D.C. on September 16, 1934,
the son of Uzziel (Lewis) and John Wesley Baylor. He began playing basketball when he was 14.
[ Although he grew up near a D.C. city recreation center, African Americans were banned from using the facilities, and Baylor had limited access to basketball courts growing up.] He had two basketball-playing brothers, Sal and Kermit. After stints at Southwest Boys Club and Brown Jr. High, Baylor was a three-time All-City player in high school.
Baylor played his first two years of high school basketball at Phelps Vocational High School in the 1951 and 1952 seasons. At the time, public schools in Washington, D.C., were segregated, so he only played against other black high school teams. There he set his first area scoring record of 44 points versus Cardozo H.S. During his two 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 play basketball in the local recreational leagues.
Baylor reappeared for the 1954 season as a senior playing for the recently opened all-black Spingarn High School
Joel Elias Spingarn High School was a public high school located in the District of Columbia, USA. The school is named after Joel Elias Spingarn (1875–1939) an American educator and literary critic who established the Spingarn Medal in 1913, aw ...
. The , senior was named first-team Washington All-Metropolitan, and was the first African-American player named to that team.[ He also won the SSA's Livingstone Trophy as the area's best basketball player for 1954. He finished with a 36.1 average for his eight 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 four 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 Baylor's previous record of 44. However, because Wexler was white and Baylor was black, Baylor's record did not receive the same press coverage from the media, including the ''Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', as Wexler's.
College career
Despite his success as a high school basketball player, no major college recruited Baylor because at the time, college scouts did not recruit at black high schools. While some colleges were willing to accept Baylor, he did not qualify academically. A friend of Baylor's who attended the College of Idaho
The College of Idaho (C of I) is a private liberal arts college in Caldwell, Idaho. Founded in 1891, it is the state's oldest private liberal arts college and has an enrollment of over 1,000 students. The college's alumni include eight Rh ...
helped arrange a football scholarship for Baylor for the 1954-55 academic year. Baylor never played football for the school, however; instead, he was accepted to the college's basketball team without having to try out. He outperformed the other players on the team that season, averaging over 31 points and 20 rebounds per game.
After the season, the College of Idaho dismissed its head basketball coach and restricted the scholarships. A Seattle car dealer interested Baylor in Seattle University
Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate prog ...
, and Baylor sat out a year to play for Westside Ford, an Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...
team in Seattle while establishing eligibility at Seattle. The Minneapolis Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...
drafted him in the 14th round of the 1956 NBA draft, but Baylor opted to stay in school instead.
During the 1956–57 season, Baylor averaged 29.7 points per game and 20.3 rebounds per game for Seattle. The next season, Baylor averaged 32.5 points per game and led the Seattle University
Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate prog ...
Chieftains (now known as the Redhawks) to the NCAA championship
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...
game, Seattle's only trip to the Final Four, falling to the Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...
. Following his junior season, Baylor was drafted again by the Minneapolis Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...
with the No. 1 pick in the 1958 NBA draft
The 1958 NBA draft was the 12th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 22, 1958, before the 1958–59 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball play ...
, and this time he opted to leave school to join them for the 1958–59 NBA season.
Over three collegiate seasons, one at College of Idaho
The College of Idaho (C of I) is a private liberal arts college in Caldwell, Idaho. Founded in 1891, it is the state's oldest private liberal arts college and has an enrollment of over 1,000 students. The college's alumni include eight Rh ...
and two at Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Baylor averaged 31.3 points per game and 19.5 rebounds per game. He led the NCAA in rebounds during the 1956–57 season.
Professional career
Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers (1958–1971)
Rookie of the Year (1958–1959)
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 had been unsuccessful since the retirement of its star center George Mikan
George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of ...
in 1954. The year prior to Baylor's arrival, the team finished 19–53the worst record in the leaguewith a squad that was slow, bulky and aging. It had no permanent home arena to play in, was losing popularity, and in financial trouble. Owner Bob Short
Robert Earl Short (July 20, 1917 – November 20, 1982) was an American businessman, sport teams owner, and politician.
Background
Short graduated from the College of Saint Thomas (now the University of St. Thomas) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, b ...
, who was ready to sell the team, believed Baylor's star athletic talents and all-around game could save the franchise. Short told the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' in a 1971 interview: "If he had turned me down then, I would have been out of business. The club would have gone bankrupt." Baylor signed with the Lakers for $20,000 per year (), a large sum in the NBA at the time.[ According to basketball historian James Fisher, by virtue of his exceptional skills and his central role in the team's business plan, Baylor became the NBA's first ]franchise player
In professional sports, a franchise player is an athlete who is both the best player on their team and one that the team can build their " franchise" around for the foreseeable future.
Overview
In the United States, outstanding players were ref ...
.
Baylor immediately exceeded expectations and ultimately saved the Lakers franchise. 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 scored 55 points in a single game, then the third-highest mark in league history behind Joe Fulks
Joseph Franklin "Jumping Joe" Fulks (October 26, 1921 – March 21, 1976) was an American professional basketball player, sometimes called "the first of the high-scoring forwards". He was posthumously enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball ...
' 63 and Mikan's 61.
On January 16, 1959, Baylor refused to play in a road game in Charleston, West Virginia, after the hotel the team booked denied lodging to the team's three black players. When a teammate tried to convince Baylor to play in the game, Baylor said, "I'm a human being, I'm not an animal put in a cage and let out for the show."
Baylor won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award
The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...
and led the Lakers to the NBA finals
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...
, where they lost to the Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
in the first four-game sweep in finals history, kicking off the greatest rivalry in NBA history.
Peak years (1959–1965)
In 1960, the Lakers moved from Minnesota to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, drafted Jerry West
Jerome Alan West (born May 28, 1938) is an American basketball executive and former player. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His nicknames included "Mr. Clutch", for his ability ...
to play point guard, and hired Fred Schaus
Frederick Appleton Schaus (June 30, 1925 – February 10, 2010) was an American basketball player, head coach and athletic director for the West Virginia Mountaineers, West Virginia University Mountaineers, player for the National Basketball Ass ...
who was also the coach during West’s college career. The duo of Baylor and West, joined in 1968 by center Wilt Chamberlain
Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a Center (basketball), center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 yea ...
, led the Lakers to success in the Western Division throughout the 1960s.
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 an NBA scoring record when he scored 71 points in a victory against the New York Knicks, while also grabbing 25 rebounds. In doing so, Baylor became the first NBA player to score more than 70 points in a game, breaking his own NBA record of 64 points that he had set the previous November. Baylor held the record until 1962, when Chamberlain scored 100 points.
Baylor, a United States Army Reservist, was called to active duty
Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service.
India
The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be one ...
during the 1961–62 season, and being stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, he could play for the Lakers only when on a weekend pass
Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to:
Places
* Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland
* Pass, Poland, a village in Poland
* Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits
* Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...
. He was unable to practice with the team before or during the season, and had to fly coach across the country on weekends to join the team at whichever arena they were appearing. Despite playing only 48 games that season, he still managed to score over 1,800 points, averaging 38.3 points (the highest average in NBA history by any player other than Chamberlain), 18.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. Later that season, in a Game Five NBA Finals victory against the Boston Celtics, Baylor set the still-standing NBA record for points in an NBA Finals game with 61. Basketball historian James Fisher described Baylor's performance that season as: "Not bad for a part-time job." Baylor later said he "kind of enjoyed that season."
Knee injury and later seasons (1965–1971)
Baylor suffered a severe knee injury during the opening game of the 1965 Western Division playoffs, which required surgery and left him unable to play in the remainder of the playoffs. Although he scored more than 24 points in each of the next four seasons despite his injury, the limitations of knee surgery at the time and the lack of meaningful rehab left him with nagging knee problems, ultimately resulting in surgery on both knees, which impaired his playing ability for the rest of his career.
Baylor played just two games in 1970–71 before rupturing his Achilles tendon,[ and finally retired nine games into the subsequent 1971–72 season because of his nagging injuries. Baylor told the press that he could no longer play at the highest level of the sport and wanted to free up room on the Lakers' roster for other players.
In 14 seasons as the Lakers' forward, Baylor helped lead the team to the NBA Finals eight times, but the team lost each time. As a result of his retirement at the beginning of the season, Baylor missed two historic achievements: the Lakers' first game afterwards began an NBA record 33 win streak, after which they won the 1972 championship. The organization awarded Baylor a ]championship ring
A championship ring or premiership ring is a ring presented to members of winning teams in North American professional sports leagues, and college tournaments.
Championship rings are mostly confined to North American sports. Since only one ...
despite the early retirement.
Coaching career
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 was fired following the 1978–79 season, shortly before the team moved to Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
.
Executive career
In 1986, Baylor was hired by the Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...
as the team's vice president of basketball operations. He was selected as the NBA Executive of the Year
The National Basketball Association's Executive of the Year Award is an annual award given since the 1972–73 NBA season, to the league's best general manager, president of basketball/business operations, or another high-ranking executive. Befor ...
in 2006. During his tenure, the Clippers managed only two winning seasons and amassed a win–loss record of 607–1153. They made the playoffs only four times, and won only one playoff series. He stayed in that capacity for 22 years until October 2008.
Later life and death
In 2009 Baylor filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against the Clippers, team owner Donald Sterling
Donald T. Sterling (born Donald Samuel Tokowitz; April 26, 1934) is an American attorney and businessman who was the owner of the San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers professional basketball franchise of the National Basketball Association (NBA) fro ...
, 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. Baylor later dropped the racial discrimination claims in the suit. In 2011, a jury decided in the Clippers' favor on Baylor's remaining claims, finding Baylor's termination was based on the team's poor performance. However, Baylor felt vindicated when Sterling was banned for life from the NBA in 2014 after recordings of him making racist comments were publicized by the press.
Baylor died in a Los Angeles hospital of natural causes on March 22, 2021, aged 86. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills
Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California 90068, in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Histor ...
. He was survived by his wife Elaine and their daughter Krystle; two children from a previous marriage, Alan and Alison; and a sister, Gladys.
Player profile
Baylor was an all-around player, excelling at defense, offense, rebounding, and passing. At 6'5", 225lbs, he was short for a forward even for the time period in which he played, but he had the strength to "muscle through" defenders, and the finesse and creativity to maneuver around them, including to rebound missed shots and score second chance points. Baylor was known for his superior leaping abilities that allowed him to score by staying in the air longer than defenders; Bill Russell
William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Va ...
called him "the godfather of hang time." He invented "moves" to deceive defenders, involving changing hands or changing direction, even mid-air. Baylor's offensive repertoire included a running bank shot and a left-handed hook shot, though he was right-handed. He had an on-court facial twitch that he used as a head fake. Baylor credited his success to a talent for jumping and the creativity to spontaneously react to the defense.
Legacy
Since the beginning of his NBA career, Baylor has been considered one of the best basketball players in the world, and his reputation as one of the greatest in history has endured. Before Baylor joined the NBA in 1958, the league's play was methodical but mechanical, dominated by set jump shots and running hook shots. Baylor introduced a creative and acrobatic playing style that would later be emulated by other NBA superstars such as Julius Erving
Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...
and Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
. Bill Simmons wrote, "Along with Russell, Elgin turned a horizontal game into a vertical one." Baylor's skill was esteemed by his contemporaries: Oscar Robertson
Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson playe ...
wrote Baylor "was the first and original high flier"; Bill Sharman said Baylor was "the greatest cornerman who ever played pro basketball"; Tom Heinsohn
Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcast ...
said, "Baylor as forward beats out Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
, Julius Erving and everybody else".
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
''Bank Shot'' is a 1974 heist film directed by Gower Champion and written by Wendell Mayes. It was loosely based upon Donald E. Westlake's 1972 novel of the same name, which was the second book of his " Dortmunder" series. The film stars Geor ...
, 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; it was also a team record that would not be surpassed until Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
in January 2006. The 61 points he scored in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in 1962 is still an NBA Finals record. Over his career, he averaged 27.4 points and 4.3 assists per game. 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 or taller.
A 10-time All-NBA First Team selection and 11-time NBA All-Star
The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of al ...
, Baylor was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
in 1977. He was named to the NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1980, the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996 and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. in 2009, ''SLAM Magazine
''Slam'' is an American basketball magazine in circulation since 1994.
History
''Slam'' was launched in 1994 as a basketball magazine that combined the sport with hip hop culture at a time when the genre was becoming increasingly popular. It w ...
'' 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, although this is not technically true. Baylor was a member of the 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers team that won the NBA championship, and although he was not on the roster when they won the championship that year, he is still technically an NBA champion due to playing for the team at the beginning of the season. As such, Baylor was awarded a championship ring by the Lakers front office due to his leadership and contributions at the start of the season.
Fifty-one years after Baylor left Seattle University, they 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
Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was ori ...
. The Redhawks also host the annual Elgin Baylor Classic. In June 2017, The College of Idaho
The College of Idaho (C of I) is a private liberal arts college in Caldwell, Idaho. Founded in 1891, it is the state's oldest private liberal arts college and has an enrollment of over 1,000 students. The college's alumni include eight Rh ...
had Baylor as one of the inaugural inductees into the school's Hall of Fame.
The first biography of Baylor was written by ''Slam'' Online contributor Bijan C. Bayne in 2015, and published by Rowman and Littlefield.
On April 6, 2018, a statue of Baylor, designed by Gary Tillery and Omri Amrany, was unveiled at the Staples Center prior to a Lakers game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
NBA career statistics
Source:
Source:
Head coaching record
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See also
*List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
This article contains two charts: The first chart is a list of the top 50 all-time scorers in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The list includes only points scored in regular season games. The second chart is a progressi ...
*
*
* List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
*
*
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*
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References
External links
*
NBA.com bio
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baylor, Elgin
1934 births
2021 deaths
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Basketball coaches from Washington, D.C.
Basketball players from Washington, D.C.
College basketball announcers in the United States
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