Power Ranking the Lakers 10 Greatest Draft Picks
By Jacob Rude
5. Elgin Baylor 1st overall, 1958 draft
4. Jerry West 2nd overall, 1960 draft
The great, and unfortunate, Lakers teams of the 60s came as a result of two great draft choices. First in ’58, the Lakers first overall and watched him grow into a superstar immediately. Upon moving the franchise to Los Angeles prior to the 1960-61 season, West became the first pick for the Los Angeles Lakers. The only man taken ahead of West was the great Oscar Robertson, a worthy selection himself.
These two would pair together and have some memorable scoring seasons, series, and games. We know their struggles in facing (and losing to) the Celtics year in and year out, but that never deterred their determination and ferocity. West and Baylor would finally get their rings in the early 70s (despite Baylor retiring at the beginning of the season), but it’s not necessarily a fair measuring stick of just how great these two were together.
For their careers, the duo averaged 55.0 points, 10.9 assists, 19.1 rebounds together over 12 seasons, making them quite possibly the best Lakers duo of all-time.