Elgin Baylor is one of the late 1950s, early 1960s stars
that made the NBA a faster, more athletic game.
Only 6-5, Baylor was Charles Barkley before Barkley. Known
as “Mr. Inside,” Baylor averaged more than 30 points per game three times in
his first five seasons and more than 14 rebounds per game the first five years.
He topped 70 points in a game once and 60 points in a game two other seasons.
He was 10 times All-NBA, played in 11 All-Star games and got
MVP votes in nine seasons. When he retired, he was widely considered the GOAT
of small forwards. So No. 29 on my list feels kind of low. There’s a few
reasons Elgin has been slipping.
He was never quite the same after the 1962-1963 season, he
would have constant knee problems for the rest of his career. His per game
stats remained spectacular, ne averaged more than 24 points per game six times
after that season and more than 12 rebounds four times. His advanced stats tell
a different story. From 1959-1960 through 1962-1963, he topped 25.0 in PER every
season. He wouldn’t top 22 again after 1962-1963. He also never topped 9.0 win
shares after 1962-1963 after topping 11.0 win shares three times in his first
five seasons.
He famously made eight NBA Finals without winning one. The
year he retired would be the year the Lakers would go on to win the title with
Wilt Chamberlain. Despite all the NBA Finals trips, Baylor’s Lakers weren’t
that big of winners. Over the course of his career, Baylor won 55.3 percent of
his regular season games and 51.8 percent of his postseason games. Players such
as Dan Issel, Patrick Ewing and Ray Allen were bigger winners than Baylor.
Because of the NBA eligibility rules of the day, Baylor didn’t
get to the league until the age of 24. LeBron James played five full seasons
before the age of 24. Considering the fact that Baylor averaged 24.9 points and
15.0 rebounds his rookie year, he likely could have started and dominated at a
much earlier age. Those extra points would have allowed Baylor to build up
enough points to remain in the top 20 today.
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Elgin
Baylor bio info
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Career
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1958-1972
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Games
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846
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Points
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27.4
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Rebounds
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13.5
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Assists
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4.3
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FG Pct.
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43.1%
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All-Star games
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11
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NBA MVPs
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0
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NBA titles
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0
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Playoff seasons
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12
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Playoff games
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134
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Points
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27.0
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Rebounds
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12.9
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Assists
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4.0
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FG Pct.
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43.9%
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Hall of Fame
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1977
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Top 100
rankings
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Points
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Top 100 ranking
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1-year
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349.13
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41st
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5-year
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1,633.30
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29th
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10-year
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2,913.68
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24th
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Career
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3,391.37
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38th
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Elgin
Baylor at his peak
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|||
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1960-1961
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Baylor
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Top 5
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Points
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PER
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28.2
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25.67
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Win Shares
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14.8
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14.97
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Box +/-
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NA
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NA
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VORP
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NA
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NA
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Total Advanced Stats
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43.00
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40.63
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105.82
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Playoff PER
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28.0
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22.91
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Win Shares
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2.8
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1.97
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Box +/-
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NA
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NA
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VORP
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NA
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NA
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Total Advanced Stats
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30.8
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24.87
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123.83
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Reg. Season Win %
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46.58
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46.58
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Playoff Win %
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50.00
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50.00
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MVP Voting (75 points)
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116/380
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22.89
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
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0
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0
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Total Score
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349.13
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Baylor’s 10 greatest seasons
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1960-1961
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349.13
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1962-1963
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342.34
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1961-1962
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334.07
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1967-1968
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305.45
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1959-1960
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302.31
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1958-1959
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285.53
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1968-1969
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273.25
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1969-1970
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252.53
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1965-1966
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245.19
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1963-1964
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223.90
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Career
winning percentage
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W
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L
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Pct.
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Regular Season
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473
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383
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55.26%
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Playoffs
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71
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63
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51.82%
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