The Los Angeles Lakers made the move from Minneapolis in 1960, beginning a westward expansion in the NBA that has led to the league looking how it looks today. And one of the players that led the Lakers through that move was shooting guard Frank Selvy.
Selvy was famous for his 100-point game as an All-American guard at Furman university. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1954 NBA Draft by the Baltimore Bullets and eventually found his way to Minneapolis to play for the Lakers at the tail end of the 1959-60 season.
He played the final four years of his career with the Lakers in L.A. He was named an All-Star for the 1961-62 campaign — one of two All-Star selections in his nine-year career — and helped lead the Lakers to the postseason in all five of his seasons with the team.
Selvy, 91, passed away Tuesday morning. Selvy’s family announced that he died at his home in Simpsonville. The Furman athletic department released the news, with the school’s vice president of intercollegiate athletics, Jason Donnelly, calling Selvy “Furman’s all-time greatest athlete.”
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Barbara; two children, Valerie S. Miros and Mike Selvy; 11 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Selvy went to back-to-back NBA Finals with the Lakers in 1962 and 1963. Selvy was third in minutes per game on both of those teams behind Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, two of the greatest players in Lakers and NBA history. While Selvy didn’t have the same fame as those other players, he was integral to those teams.
Selvy eventually returned to Furman to be a coach after retiring from the game of basketball due to injuries.
Lakers hosting Timberwolves on Opening Night
Over six decades after the Lakers made the move from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, L.A. is scheduled to host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Opening Night of the 2024-25 season.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis are squaring off with one of the brightest young stars in the league in Edwards and a Timberwolves team that many will be picking to reach the NBA Finals this year.
That game will also mark the coaching debut of JJ Redick, who the Lakers hired this offseason despite not having any previous experience. There will be a lot of pressure on Redick to come in and have success right away even though the franchise did not make any significant moves this offseason.
With James and Davis being at the ages they are, the Lakers won’t have many opportunities left to compete for a championship. The team has typically started slow the last few seasons, needing to work themselves out of a hole in order to make the playoffs.
While it won’t be easy against the Timberwolves, the Lakers will be looking to turn that around and win on Opening Night for the first time in eight years.
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