Ranking the 10 Best Players to Never Win an NBA Title

#3 Elgin Baylor

#22 Elgin Baylor (Image courtesy: thesportsfanjournal.com)

Career Averages: 27.4 Points, 13.5 Rebounds, 4.5 Assists

Honors: 11x All-Star, 10x All NBA selections

Elgin Baylor was perhaps the first above the rim player in the NBA. An incredible athlete, he was famous for his trademark hanging jump shots. He was also an excellent rebounder and a good passer.

Baylor is perhaps the best example of an all-time great player running into an unstoppable dynasty. Baylor reached 8 NBA Finals in 12 seasons and lost 7 of them to the Boston Celtics. There were many excruciating losses along the way as four of the Finals' losses were in 7 games.

Baylor is an incredibly unlucky case. Knee problems led him to retire in 1972 and after he retired 9 games into the season, the Lakers went on an NBA record 33-game win streak. They would go on to win the title and while the Lakers gave Baylor a championship ring anyway, it didn't really count.

He is unquestionably the most underrated player of all time, who gets left out of many debates on the all-time greats because he never won a title. He still holds the record for most points scored in an NBA Finals game with 61. A little-known fact is that the Lakers were on the verge of folding in 1958 and if Baylor hadn't shown up they might as well have had.