On April 22, 1958, the Minneapolis Lakers selected Elgin Baylor with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. He spent two seasons playing in Minneapolis, then the remaining 12 years of his career playing for the franchise in Los Angeles.
Although he tends to be forgotten among the greats to play the game, Baylor was a pioneer. He introduced a jump shot to the sport and had an array of offensive moves that included flying through the air like today’s athletes commonly do.
Lakers president of basketball operations and fellow Hall-of-Famer Magic Johnson lauded Baylor for playing the game with a style and flare that he and others could not mimic.