This Day In Lakers History: Elgin Baylor Selected No. 1 Overall By Minneapolis In 1958 NBA Draft

Matthew Moreno
2 Min Read
Darryl Norenberg-USA TODAY Sports

On April 22, 1958, the Minneapolis Lakers selected Elgin Baylor with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. He spent two seasons playing in Minneapolis, then the remaining 12 years of his career playing for the franchise in Los Angeles.

Although he tends to be forgotten among the greats to play the game, Baylor was a pioneer. He introduced a jump shot to the sport and had an array of offensive moves that included flying through the air like today’s athletes commonly do.

Lakers president of basketball operations and fellow Hall-of-Famer Magic Johnson lauded Baylor for playing the game with a style and flare that he and others could not mimic. Kobe Bryant happily admitted that he used Baylor as a muse to learn from.

Baylor averaged 24.9 points per game, 15 rebounds and 4.1 assists en route to earning Rookie of the Year honors. He’s the Lakers’ all-time leading rookie scorer with 1,742 points. It’s an accomplishment all the more remarkable when considering Baylor did not have the benefit of a three-point line.

Baylor ranks first in franchise history in rebounds (11,463), third in points (23,149) and sixth in assists (3,650). He averaged 30 points in each of the first three seasons after the team moved to Los Angeles, helping them establish a foothold in the city that still lasts to this day.

Elgin Baylor had jersey retired and statue by Lakers

Baylor’s 61 points against the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the 1962 NBA Finals still stands as an all-time record. The Lakers retired Baylor’s No. 22 jersey on Nov. 9, 1963, and honored him with a statue outside Staples Center on April 6, 2018.

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Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers games, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com
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