Legendary Los Angeles Laker Elgin Baylor has died at the age of 86.
“Elgin was THE superstar of his era – his many accolades speak to that,” Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “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.”
Baylor’s wife, Elaine, and daughter, Krystal, were at his side when he died. The team announced Monday that he died of natural causes.
“Elgin was the love of my life and my best friend,” Elaine said in the statement. “And like everyone else, I was in awe of his immense courage, dignity and the time he gave to all fans. At this time we ask that I and our family be allowed to mourn his passing in privacy.”
The 11-time NBA All-Star's career launched in 1958 when the Minneapolis Lakers drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick and spent his career with the franchise, which moved to Los Angeles after his first two seasons.
His No. 22 jersey has been retired in the Staples Center rafters and he is among six Lakers luminaries to have a statue outside of Staples Center, including Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and former team announcer Chick Hearn.
Baylor entered the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame after his 13-year NBA career. He posted an NBA Finals record 61 points in Game 5 of the 1961 NBA Finals against Boston, won the league’s Rookie of the Year award (1959) and was an 11-time All-Star and 10-time All-NBA First Team.
Baylor never won a championship despite appearing in eight NBA Finals and retired nine games into the 1971-72 season due to ailing knee problems. The Lakers would win the championship later that year.
Baylor averaged 27.4 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists during his career. He was the first player in NBA history to score 70 points in a game when he had 71 against the Knicks in Nov. 1960 – which was a Lakers single-game record that stood until Kobe Bryant broke it with 81 against the Raptors in Jan. 2006.
Following his playing career he spent three seasons as head coach of the New Orleans Jazz from 1976-79. He worked for the Clippers as a personnel executive from 1986 until 2008, when he left the team with acrimony and according to Associated Press, an unsuccessful lawsuit against owner Donald Sterling and the NBA claiming age and race discrimination.
Baylor was the 2006 NBA Executive of the Year after help building a team that won its first playoff series since 1976.
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