Boston Celtics legendary player Bob Cousy recently sat down for an interview with SiriusXM Radio. During the interview, Cousy gave props to many players from his generation in an attempt to defend the players of his era. He would go on to say who he believed is the greatest small forward to ever play the game of basketball. Shockingly, it was not fellow Celtics legend Larry Bird, as noted by LakersDaily.
“Still the best, in my judgment, small forward that ever played the game, a guy named Elgin Baylor,” Cousy said.
Baylor is unquestionably one of the greatest players in NBA history, and therefore one of the greatest small forwards. He played for the Celtics' biggest rival, the Los Angeles Lakers, from 1958-1971. During that time, Baylor was named to the All-Star team 11 times, averaging a double-double each time. He averaged over 24 points per game during his time with Los Angeles.
Baylor was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977.
It's still a little strange to see a Celtics Hall of Fame player not name Larry ‘Legend' for that spot, especially for a Lakers player. But Cousy did play against Baylor, including the 1960 and 1963 NBA Finals. Boston won both of those titles during their unheralded stretch of eight straight and 10 of 11 titles.
Baylor led the Lakers to the NBA Finals eight times, losing all eight. Most of those were to the Boston Celtics. The Lakers legend was named to the NBA All-First Team 10 times during his career. He recently passed away on March 22, 2021.
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