Los Angeles Lakers: Top 30 greatest players of all-time

• 14 seasons with Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers (1958-72)
• Averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game
• 11x All-Star with Lakers

Elgin Baylor is the rare Lakers player who cleaned up when it came to individual accolades, but struggled to enjoy much in the way of team success. Oh, and he spent his entire 14 seasons with the same franchise, although they relocated after the first two.

Alas, Baylor notched 11 All-Star Game appearances while his Minneapolis (for two years) and Los Angeles (for 12 seasons) Lakers won zero NBA Finals series. He had back-to-back seasons with point-per-game averages in 1961-62 and 1962-63.

As a 6-foot-5 forward, there was nothing spectacular about Baylor’s size or build. He stepped in as a  (24-year-old) rookie and appeared in 70 games, averaging 24.9 points per game as the Lakers made it all the way to the NBA Finals. Baylor was named NBA Rookie of the Year after the season as well.

In the first eight seasons of Baylor’s career, he shot just 42.4 percent from the floor. In his final six seasons in the league, that field goal percentage jumped to 44.7 percent. It may seem small, but 2.3 percent over the course of a few years is a lot.

Of course, the Lakers did win the 1972 title — just one year after Baylor’s 14-year career came to a title-less close. Every season except the final two of his career was spent averaging in double-digits.

Baylor is another example of a Laker lifer who deserves recognition for the monster numbers he put up for the club — even if it was largely in a time that is impossible to compare to today’s game.