Elgin Baylor dead at 86 – Lakers star and Hall of Famer passes away of natural causes surrounded by family
FORMER Los Angeles Lakers player Elgin Baylor has died of natural causes aged 86. The death of the Hall of Famer was announced by his former team who described him as “the superstar of his era.” A statement from his family said that Baylor “passed away peacefully surrounded by his wife, Elaine, and his daughter […]
FORMER Los Angeles Lakers player Elgin Baylor has died of natural causes aged 86.
The death of the Hall of Famer was announced by his former team who described him as “the superstar of his era.”
A statement from his family said that Baylor “passed away peacefully surrounded by his wife, Elaine, and his daughter Krystal.”
“Elgin was the love of my life,” Elaine said.
“And like everyone else, I was in awe of his immense courage, dignity and the time he gave to all fans.
“At this time I ask that I and our family be allowed to mourn his passing in privacy.”
Considered one of basketball’s greatest players, Baylor was an 11-time All-Star and 10-time All-NBA selection from his time playing for the Lakers between 1958 and 1971.
He is considered of the pioneers in transforming basketball from a ground-bound show to an aerial sport, according to ESPN.
Baylor was also the first NBA player to ever score more than 70 points with a 71-point game against the New York Knicks on December 11, 1960.
That record stood until another Lakers’ star, Kobe Bryant, scored 81 against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006.
In total, Baylor posted a double-double for his career, posting 27.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game.
He started off his career winning Rookie of the Year during the 1958-59 season, after being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in that year’s draft by the Lakers, who were at that time based in Minneapolis.
He moved to Los Angeles with the team in 1960 and made eight NBA finals but could never bring home a title.
The Hall of Famer holds the single-game Finals scoring record with 61 points against the Boston Celtics in 1962, but would unfortunately lose to the Celtics in the seven-game final series on three occasions.
Baylor retired in 1971 with a knee injury, just before the Lakers defeated the Knicks in five games in the Finals.
“Elgin was THE superstar of his era – his many accolades speak to that,” Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss said in the team’s statement on Monday.
“He was one of the few Lakers players whose career spanned from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. But more importantly he was a man of great integrity, even serving his country as a U.S. Army reservist, often playing for the Lakers only during his weekend pass.
“He is one of the all-time Lakers greats with his No. 22 jersey retired in the rafters and his statue standing guard in front of STAPLES Center,” Buss added.
“He will always be part of the Lakers legacy. On behalf of the entire Lakers family, I’d like to send my thoughts, prayers and condolences to Elaine and the Baylor family.”
Most read in News
Baylor was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of fame in 1977 and a statue now stands in his honor outside of the Lakers home at the Staples Center.
After his illustrious playing career, he also had a decades-long career as general manager of the LA Clippers but it was significantly less successful.
Having joined the team as a personnel executive in 1986, he parted ways with them in 2008 amid an unsuccessful lawsuit against owner Donald Sterling, claiming age and race discrimination.