Huge player but also huge loser since he did not win any title despite eight Finals disputed, Elgin Baylor, who disappeared on March 22, 2021, remains one of the legends and one of the great stars of the NBA of the 1960s, with Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.
This elegant and airy winger, prototype of the “modern” player, has multiplied the big matches and legendary performances (61 points in the Finals in 1962, a record that still stands). This was the case on November 15, 1960 in particular, during a trip to Madison Square Garden.
In front of 10,132 spectators and in the victory of Los Angeles, the Lakers player scored 71 points (not to mention 25 rebounds) against the Knicks! It was the NBA record at the time, and the former top mark was already in the possession of Elgin Baylor, who scored 64 points in November 1959 against Boston.
“It’s the greatest individual performance I’ve ever seen,” said Ned Irish, president of the Knicks, for the New York Post. “The first time I saw him in college, in Seattle, I walked out of the room thinking he was the best player I had ever seen. We saw it this evening: I was not wrong. »
The fans present during this meeting had notably noted that with his performance, Elgin Baylor had also set a new record for Madison Square Garden.
The old one was still recent since it belonged to Wilt Chamberlain, then a rookie, who had scored 58 points in New York in February 1960. When he passed him, the Lakers star had received a standing ovation from the public.
“I was terribly nervous, like never before, when they announced that I had the record with 59 points,” says Elgin Baylor. “Before that time, I was completely unaware of any of this. »
The rest of the story is known: Elgin Baylor’s record of 71 points will last “only” 472 days since on March 2, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain achieved his masterpiece with 100 points, still against the unfortunate Knicks.
