30 best NBA players to never win a championship

3. Elgin Baylor

It’s not entirely unfair to describe the career of Elgin Baylor as one of the unluckiest in NBA history. Baylor joined the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1958-59 season, just four seasons removed from the franchise winning four of five NBA Championships from 1950-54. Baylor then retired midway through the 1971-72 season after playing only nine games (and only two the year prior). As fate would have it, the Lakers would go on to win the title that year. Talk about all-time bad timing.

However, the Lakers’ shortcomings were certainly no fault of Baylor’s when he was helping to lead the way. (Part of that was, of course, due to the dominance of the Bill Russell-Red Auerbach Boston Celtics.) Prior to his final two “seasons” in which he played those 11 games, though, Baylor was simply outstanding and a beast in every sense.

From 1958-70, Baylor averaged an incredible 27.6 points, 13.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. That stretch includes a four-year stretch early in his career from 1959-63 where he posted 33.8 points, 17.1 rebounds and 4.5 dimes per game. Those numbers are every bit as ridiculous as they sound.

Without question, the league as a whole was watered down a great deal and unable to deal with a player that had the athleticism that Baylor possessed. Where the big men like Wilt Chamberlain and Russell dominated due to their size, Baylor did so because he was simply more skilled than anyone at small forward or on the outside at the time. It’s always difficult to compare eras, but Baylor’s level of production is simply too impressive to not include him in the top-three of this list.