Elgin Baylor
NBA Hall of Famer & Pioneer | NBA All-Star | NBA Head Coach
Elgin Baylor was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association for the Minneapolis (later relocated to Los Angeles) Lakers. Baylor was the No. 1 draft pick in 1958, NBA Rookie of the Year in 1959, 11-time NBA All-Star, and a 10-time member of the All-NBA first team.
In 1977, Baylor was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1996, Baylor was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. In October 2021, Baylor was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. Baylor is the leader for most rebounds in Lakers franchise history with 11,463.
After coaching, Baylor spent 22 years as general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers. He won the NBA Executive of the Year Award in 2006.
- Overall Coaching Record: 86-135
Coaching Career
Baylor started his coaching career under Scotty Robertson as an assistant coach for the New Orleans Jazz. His fellow assistant was former 10x NBA Champion and All-Star Sam Jones. After starting the season with a 1-15 record, Baylor was named the interim for only one game until Butch van Breda Kolff was hired, who coached Baylor during their time together with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz finished with a 23–59 record. Baylor had technically become the 2nd head coach in franchise history.
The following season, Baylor was retained by Coach van Breda Kolff. The team finished with a 38–44 record, missing the playoffs. In 1976, the team started with a 14-12 record before van Breda Kolff was fired on December 14, 1976. He had a 74-100 head coaching record with the team.
Notable Players Coached
- Pete Maravich
- 5× NBA All-Star (1973, 1974, 1977–1979)
- 2× All-NBA First Team (1976, 1977)
- 2× All-NBA Second Team (1973, 1978)
- 1971 NBA All-Rookie First Team
- 1977 NBA scoring champion
- 50th & 75th NBA anniversary team selection
- No. 44 retired by Atlanta Hawks
- No. 7 retired by Utah Jazz
- No. 7 retired by New Orleans Pelicans
- Walt Bellamy (4× NBA All-Star (1962–1965), 1962 NBA Rookie of the Year, & Future 2x Naismith Hall of Famer (1993 & 2010)
- Gail Goodrich (1972 NBA champion & 5× NBA All-Star (1969, 1972–1975)
- E.C. Coleman (1977 NBA All-Defensive First Team & 1978 NBA All-Defensive Second Team)
- Truck Robinson (2× NBA All-Star (1978, 1981), All-NBA First Team (1978), & 1978 NBA rebounding leader)
- Rick Adelman (Future 3x NBA All-Star Game Head Coach, 2021 Naismith Hall of Famer Inductee as Coach, & 2023 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award)
- Henry Bibby (1973 NBA Champion)
- Jim Barnett (1968 NBA All-Star)
- Ron Behagen (1974 NBA All-Rookie First Team)
The Jazz signed Gail Goodrich in 1976, one of Baylor’s former teammates and van Breda Kolff former player he coached in L.A. per league rules at the time, the Lakers were to receive compensation for losing a veteran free agent. The Jazz agreed to send their regular first-round pick from the 1979 draft to Los Angeles along with first-round picks in 1977 and 1978 and an additional second-round pick.
When the Jazz finished the 1978–79 season with the worst record in the NBA, the Lakers received one of the top two picks of that draft. The Jazz’ #1 pick in 1979 was used by the Lakers to select Magic Johnson.
The Jazz started the 1976-1977 season with a 14-12 record, and van Breda Kolff was fired, making Baylor the permeant head coach until 1979. Throughout the 1976-1977 season, Pete Maravich averaged his career high of 31.1 points per game.
The following season, the Jazz finished with a 39–43 record, at the time, still wasn’t enough for the playoffs despite being 7th place in the Eastern Conference. In his last season as the head coach, the Jazz finished with a 26–56 record.
During Baylor’s head coaching tenure, his assistant coach was Bill Bertka, who was an assistant with the Lakers from 1971-1976 and would later return to the Lakers organization in 1981 as an assistant coach until 2001 where he transitioned into their director of scouting then later a basketball consultant.
When Baylor was fired in 1979, he had an overall coaching record of 86-135 with the New Orleans Jazz, this would be the only team he coached in his career. The following season, the Jazz relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Notable Players Coached
- Pete Maravich
- 5× NBA All-Star (1973, 1974, 1977–1979)
- 2× All-NBA First Team (1976, 1977)
- 2× All-NBA Second Team (1973, 1978)
- 1971 NBA All-Rookie First Team
- 1977 NBA scoring champion
- 50th & 75th NBA anniversary team selection
- No. 44 retired by Atlanta Hawks
- No. 7 retired by Utah Jazz
- No. 7 retired by New Orleans Pelicans
- Spencer Haywood
- Spencer Haywood
- Future 1980 NBA champion
- 1970 ABA Most Valuable Player
- Future 4× NBA All-Star
- 1970 ABA All-Star
- ABA All-Star Game MVP
- 2× All-NBA First Team
- All-ABA First Team
- 2× All-NBA Second Team
- ABA Rookie of the Year
- ABA All-Rookie First Team
- 1970 ABA scoring champion
- 1970 ABA rebounding leader
- ABA All-Time Team
- Gail Goodrich (1972 NBA champion & 5× NBA All-Star (1969, 1972–1975)
- E.C. Coleman (1977 NBA All-Defensive First Team & 1978 NBA All-Defensive Second Team)
- Truck Robinson (2× NBA All-Star (1978, 1981), All-NBA First Team (1978), & 1978 NBA rebounding leader)
- Ron Lee (1978 NBA Steals Leader)
- Marty Byrnes (Future 1980 NBA Champion)