Former player and Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor, who continued his illustrious career for decades as general manager of the LA Clippers, has passed away at the age of 86.
Baylor died of natural causes on Monday and was surrounded by his wife, Elaine, and daughter, Krystal, the Los Angeles Lakers said in a statement.
“Elgin was the love of my life and my best friend,” Elaine said in the statement. “And like everyone else, I was impressed by his immense courage, dignity and the time he gave all the fans. At this point we ask that I and our family may privately mourn his passing.”
Regarded as one of the best basketball players, Baylor was selected to the All-Star Game 11 times and was an All-NBA 10 times during his 14 seasons with the Lakers from 1958 to 1971.
He was also the Rookie of the Year from 1958-59, as well as the MVP of the All-Star Game that year. He averaged a double-double in his career, with 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game.
With the Lakers, who moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960, Baylor played eight NBA Finals appearances, but never won a title, losing seven games to the Boston Celtics three times.
He holds the record for scoring in the Single Game Finals with 61 points against the Celtics in 1962. “Elgin was a superstar of his day,” Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said in a statement.
“He was one of the few Lakers players whose career spanned from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. More importantly, he was a man of great integrity, even serving his country in the military,” he said.
His highlights also included becoming the first player to score 70 points in a game and hit 71 points against the New York Knicks in November 1960. That remained the Lakers’ record in one game until Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. in 2006.
Baylor retired early in the 1971-72 season due to knee problems.
After his career as a player, Baylor coached the New Orleans Jazz for three seasons (1976-79) with no playoff appearance before resigning.
He then found a long-term home in the Clippers’ headquarters, where he served as general manager from 1986 to 2009, although the team made only two playoff appearances during his tenure. He was named NBA Executive of the Year in 2005-06, when the Clippers won 47 games and reached the semi-finals of the Western Conference.
Baylor said he was forced to quit his job due to age and racial profiling.