Elgin Baylor’s Lasting Legacy

There are legends. And there are LEGENDS.

Elgin Baylor is a LEGEND.

Perhaps the most well-known alumnus of Seattle University – there’s a reason the basketball court is named after him – Baylor is on the short list of greatest basketball players of all time. A Most Valuable Player award-winner. A Basketball Hall-of-Famer. And certainly the most famous athlete to emerge from SU.

A native of Washington, D.C., Baylor played one year of college basketball at the College of Idaho before transferring to Seattle University for the 1956-57 season. But it was the 1957-58 season where Baylor cemented his place on the Mt. Rushmore of Seattle University.

After starting the season 4-4, the 6-foot-5 Baylor led SU to wins in 19 of its next 20 games, including wins over No. 4 San Francisco and No. 3 Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament, landing Seattle University in the national title game against No. 9 Kentucky.

Despite playing in front of a hostile, all-white crowd at Freedom Hall in Louisville, SU led by 11 points in the first half and held a two-point advantage with seven minutes left before falling 84-72. Despite a rib injury suffered in the national semifinal win over Kansas State, Baylor finished with 25 points and 19 rebounds, and his 135 points in the tournament set a record, earning him Most Outstanding Player honors.

After averaging 32.5 points and 19.3 rebounds for SU that season, Baylor was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft by the Minneapolis Lakers. He still holds a number of Seattle University program records, including career points per game, rebounds per game and total rebounds.

As a pro, Baylor made 1 All-Star games, earned a spot on the NBA’s 50th anniversary team and was inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977. His. No. 22 jersey has been retired by both Seattle University and the Lakers, for whom he holds the franchise record for most career rebounds. At SU, Baylor remains the program career leader in points and rebounds per game and total rebounds.

After retiring as a player Baylor coached the New Orleans Jazz before becoming Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Clippers, winning NBA Executive of the Year in 2006. Along with longtime SU supporter Bill Eisiminger, Baylor established the Elgin and Elaine Baylor and Bill Eisiminger Men’s Basketball Endowed Scholarship to provide scholarships to Seattle University student athletes.

When Baylor died in 2021 at age 86, Seattle University Vice President of Athletics Shaney Fink said “Throughout and beyond his illustrious career as a player, coach and general manager in the NBA, Elgin kept close ties to the city of Seattle and his alma mater, Seattle University. Elgin possessed an exceptional personality and warmth, and an admirable generosity.”