NBANBA Los Angeles Lakers1958–1971Hall of Fame · 1977

Elgin Baylor

Elgin Baylor on the wall — for the Lakers fan who knows who came before West.

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Career snapshot

Career averages: 27.4 PPG · 13.5 RPG · 4.3 APG · 43.1 FG%

Accolades

★ Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1977)

★ 1959 NBA Rookie of the Year

★ 11× NBA All-Star

★ 10× All-NBA First Team

★ 38.3 PPG in 1961-62 — 3rd-highest single-season scoring average in NBA history

★ 8× NBA Finals appearance (still without a championship — retired 9 games into the Lakers’ 1972 title season)

★ 71 points in a single game (Nov 15, 1960) — NBA record at the time

★ Los Angeles Lakers jersey #22 retired · NBA 75th Anniversary Team

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The card collector's view

1961-62 Fleer #3 is Baylor’s flagship rookie card — a high-grade copy is one of the most-chased vintage basketball pieces and a cornerstone of any Lakers collection. The 1969-70 Topps card from his veteran Lakers years anchors the late-career vintage pieces. For premium collectors, his Panini National Treasures patch-autographs and Lakers retrospective jersey relics are the high-end memorabilia anchors.

About Elgin Baylor at FreshDCards

Elgin Baylor was Connie Hawkins before there was a Connie Hawkins and Dr. J before there was a Dr. J. The first overall pick by Minneapolis in 1958, he averaged 38.3 points in 1961–62 — still the third-highest single-season scoring average in NBA history — while serving Army Reserve duty on weekends. Eleven-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA First Team, and one of the most acrobatic scorers the league had ever seen. Never won a championship despite eight Finals appearances. Hall of Fame 1977.

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