On Monday, the NBA and Los Angeles Lakers lost a legend. Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor passed away due to natural causes. He was 86 years old.
Baylor spent his entire 14-year career season with the Lakers. He was drafted by the Lakers as the first pick in the 1958 NBA Draft. Baylor became an instant star, making the All-Star Game on his way to winning Rookie of the Year in his first season.
The Lakers legend accumulated 11-All Star appearances and produced 23,149 points, 11,463 rebounds and 3,650 assists throughout his career. Baylor was inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977 and had his No. 22 Lakers jersey retired in 1983.
Fellow Laker teammate Jerry West was heartbroken to hear the news of Baylor’s passing. West Baylor’s teammate for 11 seasons. Off the court, West and Baylor established a very close and special friendship.
“I don’t think he ever got his credit,” West said of Baylor. “I don’t think anyone ever got their credit back then, the game was a completely different game… He was one of the game’s modern players. I think I was, too. We were athletic, could run and jump and do things other people couldn’t do, yet people look at his accomplishments, and because there weren’t championships associated with it, there wasn’t that kind of recognition,” West added.
Baylor appeared in eight NBA Finals but was unable to win a championship during his playing career. The Lakers honored him by installing a statue of him outside of Staples Center. “He was beyond thrilled when they put the statue up of him,” West remarked. “I knew how proud I was for him and how it made me feel. He should’ve been the first statue up there before anyone else. It just took so long. Finally, people can relive him forever with that statue down there and look at his accomplishments as a player.”
Beyond the court, West learned a lot from his friend and teammate. West described how Baylor taught him to understand losing games better. However, one of the most important lessons that was bestowed upon West was racism. “I learned a lot from him on how to interact with people and learned a lot from him about racial issues at that point in time,” West stated. “The only thing I really cared about was just being a basketball player and trying to win.”
West said that Baylor never complained about anything. “I never saw him attempt to capture the limelight, he just played and let his play do his talking,” he said.
“I was blessed to share so much with him. I absolutely love that man,” West said. “In my lifetime, I’ve never met a teammate like him. I’ve never met a nicer person than Elgin Baylor.”
