American basketball legend "Uncrowned" Elgin Baylor dies

Elgin Baylor, the Lakers legend and one of the greatest NBA players in history, has passed away at the age of 86, his former team announced yesterday.

Baylor, who was reputed to be the greatest player to not win the league title in history after losing the final eight times, was separated peacefully surrounded by his wife Elaine and his daughter Kristel, according to the team that defended its colors for 14 seasons between 1958 and 1971.

"Elgin was the love of my life and my best friend," the Lakers quoted his wife, Elaine, as saying, "Like everyone, I was amazed with his tremendous courage, dignity, and time he gave to all of his fans. At this time, I ask that I and our family have privacy to mourn his death."

And the Lakers' choice fell on Baylor in 1958 when he included him in "DARFIT" in 1958 as the number one choice when the team was in Minneapolis instead of Los Angeles.

And he left his impact quickly by achieving an average of 24.9 points per game with 15 rebounds and 4.1 decisive assists during his first season, on his way to impose himself as one of the club and league legends, right up to his forced retirement in 1971 in his fourteenth season due to knee problems.

Baylor (1.96 m) ended his career with 23149 points, at a rate of 27.4 per match, in addition to 11,463 follow-ups (at a rate of 13.5 per match) and 3650 assists (4.3 per match).

Despite his role in transforming the Lakers into one of the most dominant teams in the league during the 1960s, Baylor was unable to crown his legacy with a title after falling eight times in the final round, including three of seven matches against arch-rivals the Boston Celtics.

In one of the final matches of the 1961 season against the Celtics, Baylor scored 61 points, setting a record that is still shocking today in terms of the number of points per player in a match in the final round.

Unfortunately for Baylor, the Lakers won the 1971-72 season after retiring after only nine games that season due to injury.

In recognition of his contributions to the club, the Lakers awarded Baylor the championship ring, which sold in 2013 for $ 132,000.

The Lakers decided to pull the number 22, which Baylor wore, and raise it at the "Staples Center" stadium, and also built a statue for him outside the stadium and unveiled it in 2018. Baylor remained in the league after his retirement, taking over the supervision of New Orleans Jazz between 1974 and 1979.

In 1986, he joined neighboring Los Angeles Clippers when he took over as deputy director of basketball operations, and remained in that position until his resignation in 2008.

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