Elgin Baylor, one of the premier superstars in the NBA, gets his first biography courtesy of Bayne, a Washington, D.C., sportswriter, who makes the case for considering Hall of Famer Baylor among the most elite players with his signature gravity-defying 'hesitation' jump shot. Born in 1934 in segregated D.C., Baylor didn’t play basketball until high school, quickly gaining notice on the Phelps Vocational High School team. When the High Court struck down integration in1954, Baylor transferred to another school, where a press notice called him 'literally unstoppable,' before joining teams at the College of Idaho and Seattle University, scoring big points and media attraction. During the 1958 NBA draft, Baylor was selected first overall and signed with the Minnesota Lakers, only to face Jim Crow laws when it came to hotels; the Lakers sat out a game in hopes of influencing team owners to create a nondiscrimination policy. Bayne writes expertly of Baylor’s golden era with the newly relocated Los Angeles Lakers, his team-up with sharpshooter Jerry West, their rivalry with the Boston Celtics, his play in seven NBA finals and 11 All-Star games, and his decision to retire in 1971 due to bad knees. Bayne’s gracious biography of a media-savvy, high-profile ex-sportsman shows the man as much more than his patented spin moves and one-legged jumpers.

Publishers Weekly

While often cited by current NBA superstars as being one of basketball’s most athletically gifted and influential players of all-time, Elgin Baylor (b. 1934) is not a household name for many of today’s fans. This biography from Bayne(Sky Kings)chronicles Baylor’s on-court heroics during the 1960s as a Minneapolis and then L.A. Laker, giving insight into why the versatile, acrobatic, high-scoring power forward is so revered within NBA circles. Baylor’s greatest games during the peak of his playing career, his mostly friendly rivalries with Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, and the Lakers’ status as perennial bridesmaids to the hated Boston Celtics are covered in impressive detail. . . .VERDICT Surprisingly, this is the first biography devoted to the Hall of Famer.

Library Journal

The new book Elgin Baylor: The Man Who Changed Basketball gives us a look at the revolutionary man from his early childhood to his time both on and off the court in the NBA. The first biography on the Hall of Famer, author Bijan C. Bayne takes us through Baylor’s life giving us the most rounded look at a man that stood tall in basketball and in life. Elgin Baylor: The Man Who Changed Basketball is out now. Get out and read something on one of the architects of the game.

North Pole Hoops

I was prompted to read Bijan C. Bayne's biography, simply titled Elgin Baylor with the realization I knew virtually nothing of this basketball icon. Not only was he playing in pre-ESPN days, with all the adulation that prompts, he was also a modest man. Elgin was a high school and college phenom when black athletes were just starting to emerge from mainstream media invisibility. Jackie Robinson had begun the change, but in Washington DC, an African American teen was ignored by the city's dailies. Unlike today. I think I was started hearing about LeBron James at his conception. Bayne's biog reveals Baylor as a decent family man, politically involved and responsible. More than anything else, for over a decade (the 60's), he dominated nearly every game in which he played. . . . It is sufficient to recall Elgin as a man well placed in the pantheon of basketball greats.

WBAI-FM

The basketball fan . . . might like unwrapping [this book as a gift], Elgin Baylor: The Man Who Changed Basketball by Bijan C. Bayne (foreword by Bob Ryan).

QSaltLake

Sometimes I am amazed at how many basketball fans are unaware of elite players from earlier eras. It appears that these people think there was no professional basketball players before Micheal Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson came into the league in the 1980's. One of these forgotten players was considered one of the best all time in the 1960's, Elgin Baylor. His story is captured in this excellent biography. . . .Elgin Baylor was one of the first true superstars of the NBA, with his best years coming during the late 1950’s and early1960’s for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers. This biography of the man by Bijan C. Bane is the most complete book about Baylor. It is a well-researched and well written account of Baylor’s entire basketball career. . . .Bayne captures the spirit of Baylor’s game with exciting accounts of the skills he would show off. . . .Like Baylor’s game, the book is filled with beautiful passages similar to this one. . . .[T]his is an outstanding book on a man that is often overlooked when the greatest players in the history of the game are mentioned. While that is a shame, this book does justice to show that Baylor truly is one of the game’s elite players and the reader will come away with much respect for both Elgin Baylor the player and the man.

The Guy Who Reviews Sports Books