3. Elgin Baylor (Round 1, Pick 1, 1958)
You can talk about the competition of different eras as much as you want, but the numbers that Elgin Baylor put up with the Lakers when he was at his peak were just ungodly. Over his four-year peak with the Lakers, the forward averaged an absolutely absurd 33.8 points and 17.1 rebounds per game, numbers that would knock fans on their backs if we saw them today as averages for one season, much less over four years.
The unfortunate part of Baylor’s career is that the Hall of Fame big man never captured a ring for a team that has made a living off of winning championships over the past half-century or so. However, there’s no denying what he was able to do as a whole over his career, beyond just his incredible four-year peak. For his career from 1958-72 (though he only played 11 games from 1970-72) Baylor averaged 27.4 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. That’s just incredible production from a big man, no matter if he’s playing in a different era of the NBA or in a youth league at the local YMCA.
Baylor often gets overlooked to a certain degree in terms of all time Lakers greats, largely because he never brought the team a title (thanks a lot, Bill Russell). However, those Lakers teams wouldn’t have even been relevant if it weren’t for the 11-time All-Star in Baylor.
Next: No. 2 Jerry West