2024 the best basketball player in the world review

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Elgin Baylor’s memoir of an epic all-star career in the NBA—during which he transformed basketball from a horizontal game to a vertical one—and his fights against racism during his career as a player and as general manager of the LA Clippers under the infamous Donald Sterling

People think of Elgin Baylor as one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the game—and one of the NBA’s first black superstars—but the full extent of his legacy stretches beyond his spectacular, game-changing shots and dunks. With startling symmetry, Baylor recounts his story: flying back and forth between the U.S. Army and the Lakers, his time as a central figure in the great Celtics-Lakers rivalry and how he helped break down color barriers in the sport, his 1964 All-Star game boycott, his early years as an executive for the New Orleans Jazz, and twenty-two years as general manager for the notorious L.A. Clippers and Donald Sterling, spent fighting to draft and sign young, black phenoms—only to be hamstrung by his boss at every turn.

No one has seen the league change, and has worked to bring change, more than Baylor. Year after year, he continued to fight and persevere against racism. At the beginning of his career, he was forced to stay in separate hotel rooms. From those days to today’s superstardom, he has had a front-row view of the game’s elevation to one of America’s favorite sports. For the first time, Elgin Baylor tells his full story and sets the record straight.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books (April 10, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0544617053
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0544617056
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.16 x 9 inches
Reviewer: Steve
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Never Knew How good he was
Review: I was a bit too young to remember Elgin Baylor, the player. I certainly did not know Elgin, the person. I was about 13 when he retired. I know he had injuries, and was a very good player. I did not know of the adversity he faced and that he was essentially a first team All-NBA player for most of his career. The Lakers may not be the Lakers as we know if it were not for Elgin Baylor. He is Mr. Laker. A very good read if you want to understand the NBA in its very early years, certainly if you are a Laker fan, and NBA fan, or a fan of a person that fought adversity in many ways during that period of time in our country. I was not sure I would like the book, but it was extremely good. The Lakers have had many good players, but none better than the Rabbit, Elgin Baylor. He deserved better, but is one of the NBA's Class Act's.

Reviewer: Fred Voss
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Up close, first-hand, as-it-happens account of an amazing basketball man
Review: In this gripping and exciting and revelatory book Elgin Baylor brings the reader into the confidence of his own deepest thoughts and feelings as they happened during his dramatic life and incredible basketball career. In 1966 I saw Elgin, coming back from his horrific knee injury, take off on a cross-the-top-of-the-key drive and then take flight, somehow hanging in the air like he was suspended by rope, double-pumping and still hanging with perfect body control, floating across the key as his defender fell to earth, then finger-rolling up a spin shot that jumped backwards off the backboard to fall with a swish through the net, all done with the greatest of ease and balance. The crowd immediately exploded in applause, no doubt a crowd who had watched Elgin in his prime before the injury and saw that suddenly and with great determination and bravery, Elgin was back flying again. I still think that was the loudest and most heartfelt applause I have ever heard. In this book, Elgin makes you feel such incredible moments in his career. You feel as if you are there with him as he breaks the records and awes his opponents and dazzles his fans. And he takes you into his confidence and makes you feel his struggles with racism, until you feel that the man himself is just as impressive and inspiring as Elgin Baylor the great player was. It's an up-close, first hand, as-it-happens charismatic account including a riveting play-by-play description of his participation in the last quarter of what many call "the greatest finals game of all time." Watching Baylor play was like seeing the Grand Canyon or a Van Gogh sunflower for the first time. He says he loved basketball and used it to escape the pain in his life, and to give the gift of his amazing abilities to his fellow players and to his fans. This book shows how he elevated a sport into the realm of art as he faced down racism and took the game of basketball into the air for the first time. For me he will never come down, but forever be floating across the key, a thing of power and dignity and beauty, forever.

Reviewer: Bruce Altshuler
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Only one Elgin
Review: As a kid, there Elgin was the most exciting player ever to play pro ball . Not even Michael Jordan could match Elgin for talent, grit and spectacular plays. Had it not been for injuries and army duty interrupting him, plus a delayed entry into the NBA, he would have accomplished more but watching him made me a fan forever. His story was inspiring andhe deals with his skills and setbacks well.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: This book was almost--but not quite--as good as he was.
Review: How sad that Baylor has almost been forgotten, or that he's relegated to the top 30-players. He was the best forward of his time and farther ahead of the competition than even Jordan and James. And he did it all with dignity and class.

Reviewer: Lee Netzer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Elgin Baylor is my all time favorite basketball player
Review: Elgin Baylor is my all time favorite basketball player, so when I learned that he had written a biography, I knew I had to buy it. I grew up in New York City, so I didn't get to see him play as often as I would have liked, but I watched him play numerous times on television, and at Madison Square Garden in the 1960s, either when the Lakers played the Knicks, or in the first game of a double header (yes, there used to be basketball double headers where two visiting teams played each other in the first game). Unfortunately, I missed seeing him play in his best years, as I didn't become an avid basketball and Lakers fan until the 1964/65 season, when I was 16 years old.The first basketball game I ever attended was the season opener at the Garden in the fall of 1964 when the Lakers played the Knicks and Elgin led the Lakers with 34 points in a Lakers victory. I continued to watch him play whenever I could, often sitting under the basket at the Garden in, believe it or not, $3 seats. Even though Elgin's best years were behind him by the time I got to see him play, I got a flavor of what the vintage Baylor was like when I witnessed him score 46 points in a Lakers overtime loss to the Knicks at the Garden.I enjoyed Elgin's biography immensely, as it allowed me to learn more about the psyche of the man behind the legend, a humble man who has always carried himself with dignity and grace, despite the discrimination and prejudice that he experienced while growing up, in his early years as a player, and as the GM for the Los Angeles Clippers under owner Donald Sterling. The book also allowed me to fill in the blanks of his early years as a high school and college player and his first five years as a pro. I would highly recommend this book to any basketball fan. The book documents why Elgin Baylor is one of the best, if not THE best player of all time, and how he revolutionized the game with his slick moves and hanging, mid-air spin shots and jump shots that today's players have emulated, including Kobe Bryant.

Reviewer: AlBotross
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: It covers a period of time that I ignored completly. It talks about Bill Russel, Wilt and Jerry West. Over all I liked the book.