Last night, when I heard the
news that Elgin Baylor had passed away, I just thought that another piece of my
childhood was gone.
He was one of the greatest basketball players of my youth, a dynamo that did it all on the court with the Los Angeles Lakers, a literal bull in a china shop on the basketball court who could not be stopped.
People talk about Michael Jordan being the greatest of all time on the basketball court, but they forget about guys like Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Baylor, who set the tone for the modern game.
They even forget more modern players like Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
These guys could play, they were leaps and bounds beyond their peers on the court, and Baylor, in particular, might have been the greatest one of them all, period.
He played 14 seasons for the Lakers—both in Minneapolis and when they moved to Los Angeles—and when he won the Rookie of the Year honors in his first season in 1958, he continued to terrorize other teams into the early 1970s,
During his career, he averaged more than 27 points a game in an era where there was no three-point shot in the NBA and defense was paramount.
He also played his position of small forward well, averaging more than 13 rebounds a game.
And Baylor, known as “Mr. Inside, Mr. Outside” because he played the entire floor, also averaged more than four assists a game.
He truly set the standard for what a small forward was supposed to do on the court, and he was not huge, just 6 feet, 5 inches, small by any standards for basketball players and doing what he did on the basketball court.
Although he is probably the greatest NBA player never to win a championship—he played in an era where the Bill Russell-led Boston Celtics won just about every year—he was thought to be a championship player even without the ring.
Baylor retired after a number of seasons where he was hobbled by injuries, and then he became one of the most respected NBA executives, mainly with the Lakers’ competitors, the Los Angeles Clippers.
He died of natural causes at age 86, and with his passing, the NBA and pro sports in the United States lost one of its greatest athletes ever.
The first game I ever saw in person was one that my father took me to at the old Madison Square Garden, the predecessor to the one that the New York Knicks play in today.
Back in 1965, when I was eight years old, they still had NBA doubleheaders, where two away teams would play the first game and the home team and another away team would play the second game.
I don’t exactly remember who played the Knicks or what the first game was, but it was some combination of the Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers and another team, perhaps the Cincinnati Royals. I guess I could look it up, but it really doesn’t matter.
I saw these huge men playing a game that I played in the local basketball courts in my South Jamaica, New York, neighborhood, and being so little, I was completely mesmerized by their size—especially since in those days, you could sneak down almost to courtside from the rafters and get a great view of the players.
And I know that during one of those games, I actually saw Elgin Baylor play, and I knew that this was a game that I was going to go head over heels for.
I do remember that whoever the Knicks played, they lost to, but I simply don’t remember who they played.
I believe they probably played the 76ers, and the preliminary game was the Lakers and some other team.
But whatever the pairings were, I was hooked.
And since the Lakers were there, and their game was first, I saw Baylor play, and that was enough to convince me that, like baseball, this was a game I was going to love to not only play but to watch.
Today, the NBA is full of razzle dazzle, the players are incredibly talented athletes, and because of the three-point line, some say the game has actually devolved even though the players are better.
I don’t know about that, but I do know that the game I grew up with is quite different than the game I watch today.
But Baylor was one of those players who bridged the gap from the 1960s game to the game of today, and yes, if he played today, he would excel just as he did way back when.
He was perhaps the most gifted player in all facets of the game that I have ever seen, and if Michael Jordan was the best player ever, then he was the heir apparent to Baylor, probably the most complete basketball player I have ever seen, bar none.
We have seen many baseball Hall of Famers die during the past year—including one of the greatest ever, Hank Aaron—and NBA Hall of Famer Baylor is in that class, perhaps the best player of his era and maybe even the best of all time.
He will be missed.
He was one of the greatest basketball players of my youth, a dynamo that did it all on the court with the Los Angeles Lakers, a literal bull in a china shop on the basketball court who could not be stopped.
People talk about Michael Jordan being the greatest of all time on the basketball court, but they forget about guys like Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Baylor, who set the tone for the modern game.
They even forget more modern players like Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
These guys could play, they were leaps and bounds beyond their peers on the court, and Baylor, in particular, might have been the greatest one of them all, period.
He played 14 seasons for the Lakers—both in Minneapolis and when they moved to Los Angeles—and when he won the Rookie of the Year honors in his first season in 1958, he continued to terrorize other teams into the early 1970s,
During his career, he averaged more than 27 points a game in an era where there was no three-point shot in the NBA and defense was paramount.
He also played his position of small forward well, averaging more than 13 rebounds a game.
And Baylor, known as “Mr. Inside, Mr. Outside” because he played the entire floor, also averaged more than four assists a game.
He truly set the standard for what a small forward was supposed to do on the court, and he was not huge, just 6 feet, 5 inches, small by any standards for basketball players and doing what he did on the basketball court.
Although he is probably the greatest NBA player never to win a championship—he played in an era where the Bill Russell-led Boston Celtics won just about every year—he was thought to be a championship player even without the ring.
Baylor retired after a number of seasons where he was hobbled by injuries, and then he became one of the most respected NBA executives, mainly with the Lakers’ competitors, the Los Angeles Clippers.
He died of natural causes at age 86, and with his passing, the NBA and pro sports in the United States lost one of its greatest athletes ever.
The first game I ever saw in person was one that my father took me to at the old Madison Square Garden, the predecessor to the one that the New York Knicks play in today.
Back in 1965, when I was eight years old, they still had NBA doubleheaders, where two away teams would play the first game and the home team and another away team would play the second game.
I don’t exactly remember who played the Knicks or what the first game was, but it was some combination of the Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers and another team, perhaps the Cincinnati Royals. I guess I could look it up, but it really doesn’t matter.
I saw these huge men playing a game that I played in the local basketball courts in my South Jamaica, New York, neighborhood, and being so little, I was completely mesmerized by their size—especially since in those days, you could sneak down almost to courtside from the rafters and get a great view of the players.
And I know that during one of those games, I actually saw Elgin Baylor play, and I knew that this was a game that I was going to go head over heels for.
I do remember that whoever the Knicks played, they lost to, but I simply don’t remember who they played.
I believe they probably played the 76ers, and the preliminary game was the Lakers and some other team.
But whatever the pairings were, I was hooked.
And since the Lakers were there, and their game was first, I saw Baylor play, and that was enough to convince me that, like baseball, this was a game I was going to love to not only play but to watch.
Today, the NBA is full of razzle dazzle, the players are incredibly talented athletes, and because of the three-point line, some say the game has actually devolved even though the players are better.
I don’t know about that, but I do know that the game I grew up with is quite different than the game I watch today.
But Baylor was one of those players who bridged the gap from the 1960s game to the game of today, and yes, if he played today, he would excel just as he did way back when.
He was perhaps the most gifted player in all facets of the game that I have ever seen, and if Michael Jordan was the best player ever, then he was the heir apparent to Baylor, probably the most complete basketball player I have ever seen, bar none.
We have seen many baseball Hall of Famers die during the past year—including one of the greatest ever, Hank Aaron—and NBA Hall of Famer Baylor is in that class, perhaps the best player of his era and maybe even the best of all time.
He will be missed.
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