When fans think of the NBA of the 1960s, the names that most come to mind are Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson.
For some reason, Elgin Baylor never got as much publicity as them, but he was about as great as any of them.
In 1962, when he was in his fourth season, he averaged an incredible 38.3 points a game, as well as 18.6 rebounds per game.
If it weren’t for Chamberlain putting up 50.4 points per game that year, perhaps Baylor would’ve gotten more recognition.
But one thing he did do that Chamberlain didn’t in 1962 was guide his team to the NBA Finals.
There, the Lakers faced the Boston Celtics, and basketball’s greatest rivalry was born.
The two teams split the first four games, as West hit a layup at the buzzer in Game 3 for a classic L.A. win.
But in Game 5 at the old Boston Garden, it was Baylor time. He scored 61 points on 22-of-46 shooting and 17-of-19 from the free throw line, plus 22 rebounds to power the Lakers to a 126-121 victory.
To this day, those 61 points remain the most any player has ever scored in any championship series.
Those who were lucky enough to watch Baylor play would say that he was Julius Erving before Julius Erving, or Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan.
Legendary Lakers play-by-play announcer Chick Hearn, who called games until his death in 2002 and had seen all the other all-time greats to that point, once made a bold statement about just how incredible Baylor really was.
Via Seattle Times:
“Chick Hearn said he was better than anybody he had ever seen,” former Laker and Hall of Famer James Worthy said at Baylor’s statue unveiling at Staples Center in 2018.
Baylor passed away last year at the age of 86. It’s a shame that his playing career came well before the advent of videotape, as many of today’s fans don’t know how skilled or talented he really was.
