Elgin Baylor

The cover of the Los Angeles Lakers program for "Elgin Baylor Night" on March 21, 1969

Elgin Gay Baylor (born September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was a basketball player and later head coach. Widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, Baylor was an 11-time All Star.

Quotes about

• "He was one of the most spectacular shooters the game has ever known. I hear people talking about forwards today and I haven't seen many that can compare with him."
  • —basketball legend Jerry West, told to Hoop in 1992, quoted in Sachare, Alex (1 June 1997), 100 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time, Pocket Books, ISBN 0671011685 
• "I say without reservation that Elgin Baylor is the greatest corner man to have ever played professional basketball."
  • —Former Los Angeles Lakers coach Fred Schaus, who coached Baylor, in 1971
  • "Elgin Baylor will retire". Southern Illinoisan. Associated Press: p. 12. November 5, 1971. 
• Tommy Hawkins, Baylor's teammate for six seasons and opponent for four (and later a basketball broadcaster) declared to the San Francisco Examiner that "[P]ound for pound, no one was ever as great as Elgin Baylor." He also said, "Elgin certainly didn't jump as high as Michael Jordan. But he had the greatest variety of shots of anyone. He would take it in and hang and shoot from all these angles. Put spin on the ball. Elgin had incredible strength. He could post up Bill Russell. He could pass like Magic and dribble with the best guards in the league." ^{[citation needed]}