Los Angeles Lakers: 4 surprising facts about the Lakers and the NBA Draft
By Jason Reed
The NBA Draft is one of the most exciting things in the NBA. Every year, future legends are selected by various NBA teams, sometimes being anticipated (such as LeBron James) and other times being a surprise (Giannis Antetokounmpo).
Let’s not forget about the draft busts as well. Those are always fun to look back at in retrospect, as long as you are not a fan of the team that drafted the bust.
The Los Angeles Lakers have an interesting history with the NBA Draft as well. While often not having a high selection in the draft because of the team’s success, there are some very interesting facts about the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA Draft that we came across.
Starting with…
1. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Elgin Baylor twice
Well, the Minneapolis Lakers drafted Elgin Baylor twice, but you get the point.
The Lakers selected Elgin Baylor with the 26th pick in the 1956 Draft from Seattle University. Baylor actually did not play collegiate prior to being drafted the first time as he had to sit out a season as he was not eligible and instead played on an AAU team.
Baylor decided to forego the Lakers and played collegiate basketball, leading Seattle to the NCAA Championship Game in his second season before falling short. Baylor was tremendous in his collegiate career, averaging 31.2 points and 19.8 rebounds per game.
After that NCAA Championship birth, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Baylor with the first overall pick in the 1958 NBA Draft. The rest is history.