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Elgin Baylor, long time Laker and all-time great, dies at 86

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“Before Jordan, there was Elgin Baylor with his high-flying act and incredible scoring ability.” -Earvin “Magic” Johnson

“He was and is my favorite all-time basketball player.” -Julius “Dr. J” Erving

Laker great Elgin Baylor died of natural causes, in the company of his wife Elaine and daughter Krystal on March 22. He was 86.

A product of Spingarn High School in segregated Washington, he received no serious recruiting overtures in spite of his obvious gifts.

“I wanted to be a gym teacher,” he recalled. “I certainly never dreamed of playing pro ball. None of us did.”

He chanced upon a scholarship to the College of Idaho and when he moved on to Seattle University, he averaged 31.1 points a game as his team reached the NCAA semifinals before the Minneapolis Lakers coaxed him into leaving college to turn pro.

Minneapolis was in dire straits and Baylor is credited with revitalizing the franchise as he was named Rookie of the Year, with a 24.9 scoring average. He was a crowd favorite with his ability to seemingly “suspend” in mid-air.

Baylor later shrugged off his ability, explaining that he “…didn’t hang in the air any longer than anybody else; that’s impossible. I just shot it on the way down.”

None-the-less, when he finally penned his autobiography in 2018, the title “Hang Time” was self-explanatory.

By 1960, they’d moved to Los Angeles and acquired a clutch shooting guard named Jerry West. He and Baylor became one of the league’s most potent tandems. With its acquisition by new owner Jack Kent Cooke and a new arena (The Forum), the Lakers became a favorite destination point for the Hollywood elite.

In spite of his personal achievements, Baylor toiled in the shadow of the Bill Russell/Boston Celtics dynasty and never won a championship.  Right after his injury-induced retirement in 1972, the Lakers finally won the title and Baylor received an honorary ring.

Baylor was a true pioneer, on and off the court. In 1959 he endured widespread criticism for sitting out a game against the Cincinnati Royals in Charleston, W.Va., when the Kanawha Hotel refused to accommodate “Negro” members of the Lakers.

He later was active in voter registration, and was a major participant in the 1964 players’ walkout All-Star Game which forced team owners to recognize the player’s union.

Years later, he toiled as General Manager of the Los Angeles Clippers under owner Donald Sterling, against whom he filed a racial discrimination suit for wrongful termination in 2009 (the case was dismissed).

His friend and teammate, Jerry West gave perhaps the greatest accolade: “He was one of the most gifted and special players this game will ever see and has never gotten his just due for what he accomplished on the court.”

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