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NBA Draft: 30 greatest draft picks in league history

By Josh Cornelissen

Larry Bird, Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Tom Herde/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Larry Bird, Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Tom Herde/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Lakers
Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images) /

26. player. 20. . Small Forward. Seattle Redhawks, 1958 (No. 1). Elgin Baylor

Greatest NBA Draft picks in league history: Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Lakers

The history of the Los Angeles Lakers includes a number of elite players who helped the franchise collect its many titles. One player somewhat overshadowed in that history is Elgin Baylor, one of the league’s greatest players to never win an NBA title.

The Washington, D.C. native led Seattle University to the NCAA Championship Game in 1958, losing to the dominant Kentucky Wildcats. The then-Minneapolis Lakers then took him No. 1 overall in the 1958 NBA Draft, leading to Baylor leaving school a year early to begin his professional career.

Baylor’s impact was immediate, as he was one of the league’s most prolific players as a rookie. He led the Lakers to the NBA Finals and their first (of many) losses there to the Boston Celtics during his career. Prior to his third season, the Lakers moved to Los Angeles and continued to go deep into the playoffs without winning a title.

Baylor played 14 seasons with the Lakers, making First-Team All-NBA 10 times and averaging 27.4 points per game for his career. Despite standing just 6-foot-5, he was a prolific rebounder, averaging 13.5 rebounds per game for his career. No player under 6-foot-7 other than Baylor ever averaged as many, and no player his height or shorter averaged more than 8.9 per game.

The Lakers made the playoffs all 14 years of his career, making the NBA Finals eight times, yet never broke through. The year he retired is the year the Lakers finally put things together and won their first tile in Los Angeles.

Despite this stark hole in his résumé, Baylor was a tremendous player who deserves more than history has given him. If he had broken through even once to claim the ultimate prize, he would be a large step further up this list.