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Player profile · LAL / MNL
Elgin Baylor
Elgin Baylor stats, teams and career impact
#12 all-timeCareer averages · 27.4 PPG · 13.5 RPG · 4.3 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Small forward
- Final NBA team
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) · 225 lb (102 kg)
- Born
- September 16, 1934
- Died
- March 22, 2021 (86 yrs old)
- College
- College of Idaho, Seattle University
- NBA seasons
- 14 seasons · 1958–59 to 1971–72
Career summaryElgin Baylor was a small forward who played 14 NBA seasons, from 1958–59 through 1971–72.
- Career PPG
- 27.4
- Career RPG
- 13.5
- Career APG
- 4.3
- #1 in 1960–61
- #12 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why Elgin Baylor ranks #12 all time
Elgin Baylor ranks #12 all time. He finished #1 in 2 seasons and in the top five 6 times, giving him an elite peak. His full-career value ranks #30, so this placement is driven more by dominance than longevity.
6 top-five · 10 top-ten finishes
846 games · Career Value Rank #30
NBA honors11× All-Star · 10× All-NBA · ROYContext only; honors are not model inputs.
Head to head
Compare Elgin Baylor with…
Suggested matchups from basketball rivalries, comparable roles, and similar careers. Compare career impact, peak seasons, and the numbers behind the result.
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- Elgin Baylor vs. Cliff Hagan Classic star forwards
- Elgin Baylor vs. Allen Iverson Similar career path
- Elgin Baylor vs. Eddie Jones Similar career path
- Elgin Baylor vs. Chris Webber Similar career path
- Elgin Baylor vs. Toni Kukoč Similar career path
- Elgin Baylor vs. Oscar Robertson Similar career path
- Elgin Baylor vs. Bob Lanier Similar career path
Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Minneapolis Lakers and Los Angeles Lakers
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 43.1%FG%
- Three-point
- —3P%
- Free throw
- 78.0%FT%
846 career games · 33,863 minutes
Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.
Traditional box score
Elgin Baylor stats by season
Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| 1971–72 | 11.8 | 6.3 | 2.0 | -2.62 | LAL | 9 | 0 | 26.6 | 43.3% | — | 81.5% | — | -3.6 |
| 1970–71 | 10.0 | 5.5 | 1.0 | -8.20 | LAL | 2 | 0 | 28.5 | 42.1% | — | 66.7% | — | -8.5 |
| 1969–70 | 24.0 | 10.4 | 5.4 | +4.59 | LAL | 54 | 0 | 41.0 | 48.6% | — | 77.3% | #3 | 346.0 |
| 1968–69 | 24.8 | 10.6 | 5.4 | +3.33 | LAL | 76 | 0 | 40.3 | 44.7% | — | 74.3% | #7 | 382.8 |
| 1967–68 | 26.0 | 12.2 | 4.6 | +2.62 | LAL | 77 | 0 | 39.3 | 44.3% | — | 78.6% | #6 | 344.1 |
| 1966–67 | 26.6 | 12.8 | 3.1 | +2.17 | LAL | 70 | 0 | 38.7 | 42.9% | — | 81.3% | #8 | 289.4 |
| 1965–66 | 16.6 | 9.6 | 3.4 | +0.97 | LAL | 65 | 0 | 30.4 | 40.1% | — | 73.9% | #19 | 148.1 |
| 1964–65 | 27.1 | 12.8 | 3.8 | +1.52 | LAL | 74 | 0 | 41.3 | 40.1% | — | 79.2% | #12 | 255.1 |
| 1963–64 | 25.4 | 12.0 | 4.4 | +3.06 | LAL | 78 | 0 | 40.6 | 42.5% | — | 80.4% | #7 | 372.4 |
| 1962–63 | 34.0 | 14.3 | 4.8 | +6.20 | LAL | 80 | 0 | 42.1 | 45.3% | — | 83.7% | #2 | 677.8 |
| 1961–62 | 38.3 | 18.6 | 4.6 | +4.93 | LAL | 48 | 0 | 44.4 | 42.8% | — | 75.4% | #4 | 379.0 |
| 1960–61 | 34.8 | 19.8 | 5.1 | +6.40 | LAL | 73 | 0 | 42.9 | 43.0% | — | 78.3% | #1 | 684.7 |
| 1959–60 | 29.6 | 16.4 | 3.5 | +5.34 | MNL | 70 | 0 | 41.0 | 42.4% | — | 73.2% | #1 | 532.7 |
| 1958–59 | 24.9 | 15.0 | 4.1 | +3.95 | MNL | 70 | 0 | 40.8 | 40.8% | — | 77.7% | #2 | 408.8 |
| Career | 27.4 | 13.5 | 4.3 | — | LAL/MNL | 846 | — | 40.0 | 43.1% | — | 78.0% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
Film evidence
Elgin Baylor highlights
Watch the selected footage or film analysis, then use the season record and impact data to put what happened on the floor in context.
Career retrospective
Elgin Baylor's best career highlights
Archival footage shows Baylor's body control, pull-up scoring and creative finishing, skills that are easy to understate in early-era box scores.
What these measures mean
- Era-centered box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average.
- Impact Rate Rank
- The player's place among qualified players in one season.
- Value contribution / Season Value
- Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
- Career Impact Rank
- An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.
2.0 composite · lower is better
1.8 average league finish
4,809 total value
Career standing
How Elgin Baylor ranks all time
These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.
Best in the league
Elite finishes
Upper-tier finishes
Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons
Career Composite Score2.0
Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.
- Best 3 effective weight
- 74%
- Missing-season finish
- 93.5
- Qualified seasons
- 12
- All-time rank
- #12
Strongest seasons
Every season
Elgin Baylor advanced stats by season
Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.
More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage
Scroll for more columns
| 1971–72Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 37 | 9 | 239 | -2.62 | — | — | -3.6 | — | Modeled |
| 1970–71Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 36 | 2 | 57 | -8.20 | — | — | -8.5 | — | Modeled |
| 1969–70Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 35 | 54 | 2,213 | +4.59 | 98.6 | #3 | 346.0 | 93rd | Modeled |
| 1968–69Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 34 | 76 | 3,064 | +3.33 | 95.5 | #7 | 382.8 | 95th | Modeled |
| 1967–68Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 33 | 77 | 3,029 | +2.62 | 95.8 | #6 | 344.1 | 97th | Modeled |
| 1966–67Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 32 | 70 | 2,706 | +2.17 | 93.0 | #8 | 289.4 | 92nd | Modeled |
| 1965–66Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 31 | 65 | 1,975 | +0.97 | 80.6 | #19 | 148.1 | 75th | Modeled |
| 1964–65Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 30 | 74 | 3,056 | +1.52 | 87.6 | #12 | 255.1 | 90th | Modeled |
| 1963–64Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 29 | 78 | 3,164 | +3.06 | 93.5 | #7 | 372.4 | 95th | Modeled |
| 1962–63Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 28 | 80 | 3,370 | +6.20 | 98.9 | #2 | 677.8 | 98th | Modeled |
| 1961–62Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 27 | 48 | 2,129 | +4.93 | 96.5 | #4 | 379.0 | 92nd | Modeled |
| 1960–61Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 26 | 73 | 3,133 | +6.40 | 100.0 | #1 | 684.7 | 99th | Modeled |
| 1959–60Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 25 | 70 | 2,873 | +5.34 | 100.0 | #1 | 532.7 | 97th | Modeled |
| 1958–59Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 24 | 70 | 2,855 | +3.95 | 98.8 | #2 | 408.8 | 98th | Modeled |
Career movement
Elgin Baylor's career impact by season
Peak +6.40 in 1960–61 · 14 seasons · 33,863 minutes
The same historical box-score model is used for every season, making the career shape comparable through time. The vertical scale adapts to this player's range and always includes zero.
Era-centered box impactMinutesModeled estimate
Player-specific impact scaleWorkload
Career comparison
Compare the shape, not the calendar
Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.
Elgin BaylorAllen Iverson
| NBA season | Elgin Baylor | Allen Iverson |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3.9 | 1.9 |
| 2 | 5.3 | 4.0 |
| 3 | 6.4 | 5.7 |
| 4 | 4.9 | 3.9 |
| 5 | 6.2 | 5.6 |
| 6 | 3.1 | 5.2 |
| 7 | 1.5 | 3.4 |
| 8 | 1.0 | 2.7 |
| 9 | 2.2 | 4.8 |
| 10 | 2.6 | 5.2 |
| 11 | 3.3 | 1.8 |
| 12 | 4.6 | 2.7 |
| 13 | -8.2 | -0.0 |
| 14 | -2.6 | -2.4 |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to Elgin Baylor
The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.
SG · All-Time Career #72
Allen Iverson
90career similarity score
92/100 closest-season score · 1960–61 ↔ 2000–01SG · All-Time Career #90Eddie Jones
88career similarity score
90/100 closest-season score · 1960–61 ↔ 1999–00PF · All-Time Career #63Chris Webber
88career similarity score
92/100 closest-season score · 1960–61 ↔ 1999–00Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →