Tag: Elgin Baylor

HoopsHype ranks LeBron James as its second greatest player in NBA history

LeBron James was No. 2 on HoopsHype’s list of the 77 greatest players ever, and just one of many Lakers greats to make the ranking.

The NBA is about to begin its 78th season, and there are plenty of interesting storylines going into the 2023-24 campaign. One of them is whether LeBron James will continue to play at a high level and lead the Los Angeles Lakers to another world championship, which would be his fifth.

He already has a sterling resume, and his individual accomplishments are almost second to none. While he has won four championships, he has also lost six times in the NBA Finals. Depending on how one perceives James, he or she may consider it a disappointment, or one may consider simply making it to the title series 10 times a massive accomplishment, regardless of how many times he took home the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The debate about where James ranks among the greatest NBA players ever rages on. HoopsHype just gave its ranking of the 77 greatest players ever, and it had James at No. 2.

Via HoopsHype:

“There have been major developments in LeBron James‘ GOAT case since last year, most notably in the form of the four-time league MVP becoming the NBA’s all-time regular season leading scorer. (He already was No. 1 by a mile in the playoffs). Oh, and he also has the most playoff series wins in league history after a surprising run to the Western Conference Finals last season, though that did end in a sweep loss.

“Now three of the eight HoopsHype staffers taking part in this vote pick him as the best ever. It’s getting close.

“… Few players have ever matched James’ absurd basketball IQ, one that he could use to continue to dominate for the next few seasons as his career winds down.”

If James is fortunate enough to avoid any major injuries, he could continue to add to his legacy and strengthen his argument as arguably the greatest ever over the next couple of years or so.

Celtics champ, broadcaster Cedric Maxwell counters Dr. J’s all-time great list with his own

With the 2023 NBA offseason here in full swing, a fair amount of attention tends to turn toward the history of the league.

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With the 2023 NBA offseason here in full swing, a fair amount of attention tends to turn toward the history of the league in the absence of new deeds to analyze on the court or in roster construction. And in the wake of Philadelphia 76ers legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving putting out an all-time list of NBA greats, others have started to do the same.

Among them are former Boston Celtics championship forward and current broadcaster Cedric Maxwell broke down his list compared to Dr. J’s on his eponymous CLNS Media podcast with cohost Josue Pavon. The names on Erving’s list are Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor along with more modern era players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Karl Malone.

To hear who Maxwell put on his all-time great list, check out the clip embedded below.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Nick Young believes he was snubbed from LA Times’ 75 greatest Lakers players list

The L.A. Times Sports staff revealed the results of that ambitious question. Their experts only looked at players who played at least 100 games with the franchise. Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and …

The L.A. Times Sports staff revealed the results of that ambitious question. Their experts only looked at players who played at least 100 games with the franchise. Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Shaquille O’Neal topped the list. One player who felt like he was shorted, however, was Nick “Swaggy P” Young. He tweeted: “The hate is real why ya’ll hate me but love me..” after the results of the poll were posted online.

Source: For The Win

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Chris Fedor @ChrisFedor
#Cavs Darius Garland hasn’t been himself this season — the effervescent All-Star that helped pull the organization out of basketball purgatory. Sickness. Slumps. Injuries. But forget Sunday’s final score. Best sight for Cavs was a prancing, swaggy D.G.
cleveland.com/cavs/2022/11/d… – 1:22 AM

More on this storyline

Nick Young: The media is killing the NBA -via Twitter @NickSwagyPYoung / November 5, 2022
From there, he spoke about his time with the Wizards, including a BB gun fight happening in the locker room. Young explained that he brought a BB gun to the locker room to scare Gilbert Arenas as a prank after Gilbert got him with a paintball gun. Nick explained that Gilbert took the BB gun and shot him during a team meeting about guns: -via TalkBasket / October 3, 2022

Down by 2, Hawks player/coach Alex …

Justin Kubatko: Giannis Antetokounmpo …

Justin Kubatko: Giannis Antetokounmpo yesterday: ✅ 42 PTS ✅ 12 REB ✅ 8 AST He’s recorded at least 30p/10r/5a in 13 playoff games, the sixth-most such games in NBA history: 48 – LeBron James 20 – Elgin Baylor 20 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 19 – Larry Bird 14 – Wilt Chamberlain 13 – Antetokounmpo pic.twitter.com/1FUsZckpMT

On the date: Elgin Baylor sets NBA Finals scoring record

In Game 5 of the 1962 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, Lakers legend Elgin Baylor had a game for the ages.

When fans think of the NBA of the 1960s, the names that most come to mind are Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson.

For some reason, Elgin Baylor never got as much publicity as them, but he was about as great as any of them.

In 1962, when he was in his fourth season, he averaged an incredible 38.3 points a game, as well as 18.6 rebounds per game.

If it weren’t for Chamberlain putting up 50.4 points per game that year, perhaps Baylor would’ve gotten more recognition.

But one thing he did do that Chamberlain didn’t in 1962 was guide his team to the NBA Finals.

There, the Lakers faced the Boston Celtics, and basketball’s greatest rivalry was born.

The two teams split the first four games, as West hit a layup at the buzzer in Game 3 for a classic L.A. win.

But in Game 5 at the old Boston Garden, it was Baylor time. He scored 61 points on 22-of-46 shooting and 17-of-19 from the free throw line, plus 22 rebounds to power the Lakers to a 126-121 victory.

To this day, those 61 points remain the most any player has ever scored in any championship series.

Those who were lucky enough to watch Baylor play would say that he was Julius Erving before Julius Erving, or Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan.

Legendary Lakers play-by-play announcer Chick Hearn, who called games until his death in 2002 and had seen all the other all-time greats to that point, once made a bold statement about just how incredible Baylor really was.

Via Seattle Times:

“Chick Hearn said he was better than anybody he had ever seen,” former Laker and Hall of Famer James Worthy said at Baylor’s statue unveiling at Staples Center in 2018.

Baylor passed away last year at the age of 86. It’s a shame that his playing career came well before the advent of videotape, as many of today’s fans don’t know how skilled or talented he really was.

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From undrafted to role player, Sooner to Lakers guard Austin Reaves closes out rookie season on a high note

After going undrafted, former Sooner Austin Reaves made a name for himself playing for the prestigious Lakers franchise as a rookie.

[autotag]Austin Reaves[/autotag]’ college basketball journey started at Wichita State in 2016 before he transferred out and forever became a member of the Oklahoma Sooners family.  He sat out a year before being able to play because the transfer portal had not been created in 2018.

His Oklahoma career saw him average 16.3 points per game in two years for the Sooners and he started all 56 games during his tenure. He chipped in 4 assists and 5 boards a game as well. He made plays against tough teams and future pros.

After his redshirt senior year in Norman, Reaves waded into the NBA waters with no guarantee he’d be drafted. That’s exactly what would happen too. Reaves went undrafted and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-way contract. In the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League, Reaves played well averaging 6.6 points, and 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steal in 22.2 minutes.

Reaves’ summer league performance earned him a two-year contract. One with partial guarantees for year one and a team option in year two.

The former Sooners guard made his NBA debut on October 22, 2021 for a Lakers team in need of a spark and considerable help in the backcourt. The Lakers were dealing with injuries and unproductive rotation players for a struggling Lakers team expected to contend for the Western Conference, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

He’d post 8 points in his debut against the the Pheonix Suns. In December, after getting comfortable with his role at the NBA level, Reaves began to stand out.

Reaves dropped 15 points, on 5-of-6 shooting from three, grabbed 7 rebounds, and hit a game-winning 3-pointer in a 107–104 victory over Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

For the remainder of the season, Reaves battled inconsistent minutes despite his steadying presence for a Lakers team that was broken mentally and physically. Los Angeles suffered a number of injuries to star players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis in addition to Kendrick Nunn who projected to start for the Lakeshow.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel seemed to trust Reaves at times and other times it was as if Reaves never existed. As it became more apparent the Lakers were going to be unable to wheel and deal for outside help to right the ship, an uptick in Reaves minutes saw positive results.

Despite the Lakers’ inability to make the playoffs with their plethora of future hall of famers, Reaves cemented himself in the final game of his rookie season. The former Sooners guard exploded for a triple-double against the Denver Nuggets. He put up a career-high 31 points, along with 16 rebounds and 10 assists, in a 146–141 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets.

That was the first time in NBA history an undrafted rookie dropped a 30-point triple-double and only the second player ever to record a triple-double in their rookie season after going undrafted.

He also joined an elite Lakers list of Lonzo Ball, Elgin Baylor (NBA Hall of Famer), Jerry West (Hall of Famer and the man the NBA Logo is modeled after), Magic Johnson (widely considered one of the 10 best players ever and Hall of Famer) as the only Lakers players ever to post triple-doubles as rookies.

With that win, the Lakers season ended and Reaves spoke to Lakers media about his rookie year.

It’s an accomplishment to play with one hall of fame player in an NBA career, but six at one point is incredibly insane and was a massive opportunity for Reaves. The ability to learn from their ability and their talent could prove invaluable as he heads into his first full offseason with the Lakers.

For Reaves, his future seems a lot more secure and straightforward than it was at this point last year. He’s on an NBA team and he’ll be returning next year as a great rotational piece for whoever the Lakers hire to replace one-time NBA championship-winning coach Frank Vogel.

For Reaves, that means a fresh start and a fresh opportunity to prove himself as he’s done so many times before. From his leap of faith from Wichita State to Oklahoma and his success in the Crimson & Cream to posting 30 point triple-doubles like his teammates LeBron James and Russell Westbrook have done so frequently, Reaves has made a name for himself. Now he has a perfect opportunity to build on that and become an even bigger and more integral part of what will be a new-look Lakers team next year.

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He brought a high-flying blend of …

He brought a high-flying blend of finesse and strength. He was a pioneer of spinning shots off the glass to finish at the rim and a savvy rebounder who players of his era compare to modern stars, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone. “If he’d get in trouble going to the basket in the air,” said Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich, “he would just throw it against the backboard before it came down, and then go get it and then put it up. That’s how smart he was.” Jerry West, Baylor’s close friend and teammate for that first decade in Los Angeles, put it best. “He was kind of a glimpse to the future,” West recently told The Athletic.