Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Tuesday, there are 49 days remaining.There have been many wonderful players throughout history who never won an NBA title -- the modern era is full of them -- but there never has been one greater than Elgin Baylor.
He simply played at the wrong time, butting heads with the dynastic Boston Celtics and their incredible run of 10 titles in 11 years.
Nothing illustrates his futility and frustration more than the 49 consecutive playoff games covering five seasons in which Baylor scored at least 20 points or more. The Celtics won all five of those titles, beating the Lakers twice in the Finals.
His streak of 20-point playoff games trails only Michael Jordan (60) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (57), who combined for 12 championships.
Included in Baylor's streak were 11 consecutive playoff games with at least 30 points in 1962 -- still an NBA record.
He averaged 34.8, 38.3 and 34 points in three consecutive seasons, respectively, early in his career, yet he also never won a scoring title, unable to surpass the offensive exploits of legendary Wilt Chamberlain.
Baylor, at 6-5, 225 pounds, was a precursor to the dominating athleticism that Julius Erving and Michael Jordan eventually made famous. He didn't jump quite as high, but he was stronger, finding so many different ways to score. He never received their acclaim, primarily because he played before the days of widespread television exposure.
"I hear people talk about great forwards today, but I haven't seen many that can compare with him (Baylor),'' former teammate and Lakers executive Jerry West once said.
Baylor played two seasons with the Lakers in Minneapolis (1958-60) before the move to Los Angeles. He played in 11 All-Star Games. In 134 career playoff games, he averaged 27 points and 12.9 rebounds, earning his spot among the league's greatest players in history.The list of players without titles includes Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Pete Maravich, George Gervin, Patrick Ewing, Steve Nash and Jason Kidd, but none have measured up to the exploits of Baylor, the No. 1 pick in the 1958 Draft.
He still holds the NBA record for most points (61) in an NBA Finals game, which was part of his 49-game streak. His spectacular effort in Game 5 of the 1962 Finals propelled the Lakers a victory and a 3-2 lead in the series against the Celtics.
You can probably guess how that series ended.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-08-2009 @ 10:25AM
richcantwell109 said...
My favorite player of all time. He had some moves in the 60"s that you didn't see again until Dr. J. He also led the Lakers in rebounding for several seasons at 6'5". Smooth as silk, but very strong.
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9-08-2009 @ 11:37AM
5thStFreddie said...
Bravo, a marvelous story about the single most underrated player in NBA history. When they talk of the great small forwards, rarely do they mention Elgin Baylor. He was as good a rebounder as Charles Barkley and the best low-post scorer, at his height, as any man who ever played the game. Completely unstoppable: he could go over your or around you, or pull up for short jumpers, and he never, ever stopped attacking the basket, offensively or defensively. Jerry West got most of the attention, because West was, and still is, the purest shooter who ever lived: had West played during the era of the 3-point shot, there's not telling how many points he would have scored. But both Baylor and West played during a period when the most dominant player of all time played: Bill Russell. Russell re-invented the game: no one blocked shots before Russell, and his ability to disrupt defenses, and start the offensive, was devastating to opponents. Bravo again: watch some old film of Baylor and you just marvel that anyone can do what he did.
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9-08-2009 @ 1:50PM
burt said...
outstanding
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9-09-2009 @ 3:52AM
germancpa said...
There are a couple of ironies about Elgin's Baylor retirement. Right after he retired the Lakers went on a 33 game winning streak. At the end of that very same season saw the Lakers win their first NBA championship in Los Angeles. It is a shame that Elgin ended up being a 20 year GM for that idiot of an owner, Donald Sterling. Elgin sure deserved better than that.
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9-09-2009 @ 11:56PM
Giles said...
I think the Male Man, Karl Malone, did pretty well for himself (also known as the post man, and the mail man). Tenth in scoring average, 25.0, behind Baylor, 4th, at27.4, but 2nd in total points, at36,928, well ahead of Baylor at 23,149, 2nd in minutes played to Kareem, with 54,852 for Karl, 6th in rebounds, well ashead of Baylor, with16,212 for Karl, 9th in steals, 2,085, Baylor retired before steals were officially recorded. But Baylor was 7th in championships scoring average, at 26.4, and had 1,161 points in 44 championship games, and was 3rd in championship rebounds, behind Russ and Wilt, with 593. So whether Elgin could beat out Johnson, first in championship assists or Barry, 1st in championship scoraing average, with 36.3 over 10 games, or Bob Pettit, 5th in chmpionship scoring average, 28.4, in 25 games, 26.4 regualr season, 6th, and 20,880 (first man over 20 thousand), or not, he beat Julius Erving in championship scoring average, 8th, 25.5, in 22 games, and that is pretty good, if one compares them all maybe as if they were all forwards, or Bird, who isn`t among the campionship stat leaders.
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