Elgin Baylor vs. Alex Caruso Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Alex Caruso and Elgin Baylor, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Elgin Baylor played 14 years in the NBA, 5 more than Alex Caruso, who played 9. Elgin Baylor had the first of his seasons in 1958-59, while Alex Caruso had his rookie season in 2017-18. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Elgin Baylor	Alex Caruso
Season	1958-59	2017-18
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	70	40.8	24.9	-	-	15.0	4.1	-	-	-	3.9	8.6	21.2	.408	-	-	-	7.6	9.8	.777
difference:	+33	+25.6	+21.3			+13.2	+2.1				-2.5	+7.2	+18.1	+.023				+7.0	+9.0	+.077
Alex Caruso	37	15.2	3.6	0.4	1.4	1.8	2.0	0.6	0.3	1.1	1.4	1.4	3.1	.431	0.4	1.2	.302	0.6	0.8	.700
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	13	42.8	25.5	-	-	12.0	3.3	-	-	-	4.0	9.4	23.3	.403	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.770
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Elgin Baylor	Alex Caruso
Season	1959-60	2018-19
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	Did Not Play

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	70	41.0	29.6	-	-	16.4	3.5	-	-	-	3.3	10.8	25.4	.424	-	-	-	8.1	11.0	.732
difference:	+45	+19.8	+20.4			+13.7	+0.4				-1.1	+7.7	+18.5	+.021				+6.1	+8.4	+.065
Alex Caruso	25	21.2	9.2	0.8	1.9	2.7	3.1	1.0	0.4	1.7	2.2	3.1	6.9	.445	1.0	2.0	.480	2.0	2.6	.797
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	9	45.3	33.4	-	-	14.1	3.4	-	-	-	4.2	12.3	26.0	.474	-	-	-	8.8	10.4	.840
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Elgin Baylor	Alex Caruso
Season	1960-61	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	NBA Champion

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	73	42.9	34.8	-	-	19.8	5.1	-	-	-	3.8	12.8	29.7	.430	-	-	-	9.3	11.8	.783
difference:	+9	+24.5	+29.3			+17.9	+3.2				-2.3	+10.9	+25.2	+.018				+8.2	+10.3	+.049
Alex Caruso	64	18.4	5.5	0.3	1.7	1.9	1.9	1.1	0.3	0.8	1.5	1.9	4.5	.412	0.6	1.9	.333	1.1	1.5	.734
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	12	45.0	38.1	-	-	15.3	4.6	-	-	-	3.7	14.2	30.2	.470	-	-	-	9.8	11.8	.824
difference:	+9	+20.7	+31.6			+13.0	+1.8				-1.1	+11.9	+24.8	+.045				+8.7	+10.4	+.024
Alex Caruso	21	24.3	6.5	0.7	1.6	2.3	2.8	1.1	0.6	1.5	2.6	2.3	5.4	.425	0.8	2.9	.279	1.1	1.4	.800

Season 4
	Elgin Baylor	Alex Caruso
Season	1961-62	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	48	44.4	38.3	-	-	18.6	4.6	-	-	-	3.2	14.2	33.1	.428	-	-	-	9.9	13.1	.754
difference:	+10	+23.4	+31.9			+15.7	+1.8				-1.3	+11.9	+27.8	+.008				+9.1	+11.8	+.109
Alex Caruso	58	21.0	6.4	0.5	2.4	2.9	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.3	1.9	2.3	5.3	.436	0.9	2.4	.401	0.8	1.3	.645
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	13	43.9	38.6	-	-	17.7	3.6	-	-	-	3.5	14.3	32.7	.438	-	-	-	10.0	12.9	.774
difference:	+7	+23.7	+32.8			+16.4	+3.1				-1.5	+12.0	+26.4	+.070				+9.7	+12.6	+.226
Alex Caruso	6	20.2	5.8	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.5	0.2	0.7	1.2	2.0	2.3	6.3	.368	0.8	2.8	.294	0.3	0.3	1.000

Season 5
	Elgin Baylor	Alex Caruso
Season	1962-63	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	80	42.1	34.0	-	-	14.3	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	12.9	28.4	.453	-	-	-	8.3	9.9	.837
difference:	+39	+14.1	+26.6			+10.7	+0.8				-0.2	+10.4	+22.2	+.055				+6.9	+8.1	+.042
Alex Caruso	41	28.0	7.4	0.8	2.8	3.6	4.0	1.7	0.4	1.4	2.6	2.5	6.2	.398	1.0	3.1	.333	1.4	1.8	.795
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	13	43.2	32.6	-	-	13.6	4.5	-	-	-	3.7	12.3	27.8	.442	-	-	-	8.0	9.7	.825
difference:	+9	+14.9	+26.3			+10.8	+0.2				-0.9	+10.0	+22.0	+.051				+8.0	+9.7
Alex Caruso	4	28.3	6.3	0.5	2.3	2.8	4.3	1.3	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.3	5.8	.391	1.8	4.5	.389	0.0	0.0	-

Season 6
	Elgin Baylor	Alex Caruso
Season	1963-64	2022-23
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Did Not Play

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	78	40.6	25.4	-	-	12.0	4.4	-	-	-	3.0	9.7	22.8	.425	-	-	-	6.0	7.5	.804
difference:	+11	+17.1	+19.8			+9.1	+1.5				-0.6	+7.8	+18.5	+.030				+5.1	+6.4	+.004
Alex Caruso	67	23.5	5.6	0.6	2.3	2.9	2.9	1.5	0.7	1.1	2.4	1.9	4.3	.455	0.8	2.3	.364	0.9	1.1	.808
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	5	44.2	24.2	-	-	11.6	5.6	-	-	-	3.4	9.0	23.8	.378	-	-	-	6.2	8.0	.775
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Elgin Baylor	Alex Caruso
Season	1964-65	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	74	41.3	27.1	-	-	12.8	3.8	-	-	-	3.2	10.3	25.7	.401	-	-	-	6.5	8.2	.792
difference:	+3	+12.6	+17.0			+9.0	+0.3				-0.7	+6.7	+18.1	+.067				+5.5	+6.8	+.032
Alex Caruso	71	28.7	10.1	0.9	3.0	3.8	3.5	1.7	1.0	1.4	2.5	3.6	7.6	.468	1.9	4.7	.408	1.0	1.4	.760
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	1	5.0	0.0	-	-	0	1.0	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	2.0	.000	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Elgin Baylor	Alex Caruso
Season	1965-66	2024-25
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	65	30.4	16.6	-	-	9.6	3.4	-	-	-	2.4	6.4	15.9	.401	-	-	-	3.8	5.2	.739
difference:	+11	+11.1	+9.5			+6.7	+0.9				-0.5	+3.8	+10.1	+.045				+3.0	+4.3	+.085
Alex Caruso	54	19.3	7.1	0.7	2.2	2.9	2.5	1.6	0.6	0.7	1.9	2.6	5.8	.446	1.1	3.1	.353	0.8	0.9	.824
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	14	41.9	26.8	-	-	14.1	3.7	-	-	-	2.7	10.4	23.4	.442	-	-	-	6.1	7.5	.810
difference:	+9	+17.5	+17.6			+11.4	+1.5					+7.3	+16.4	+.008				+4.8	+5.8	+.015
Alex Caruso	23	24.4	9.2	0.7	2.0	2.7	2.2	2.0	0.6	0.8	2.7	3.1	7.0	.450	1.6	3.9	.411	1.3	1.7	.795

Season 9
	Elgin Baylor	Alex Caruso
Season	1966-67	2025-26
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Did Not Play

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	70	38.7	26.6	-	-	12.8	3.1	-	-	-	3.0	10.2	23.7	.429	-	-	-	6.3	7.7	.813
difference:	+55	+19.9	+20.9			+10.4	+0.6				-1.9	+8.2	+18.7	+.029				+5.8	+7.0	+.013
Alex Caruso	15	18.8	5.7	0.3	2.1	2.4	2.5	1.6	0.3	1.0	1.1	2.0	5.0	.400	1.1	3.2	.354	0.5	0.7	.800
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	3	40.3	23.7	-	-	13.0	3.0	-	-	-	2.0	9.3	25.3	.368	-	-	-	5.0	6.7	.750
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Elgin Baylor played 5 seasons more than Alex Caruso in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 14, from 1968 to 1972—Elgin Baylor played in 3 Playoffs. In those 5 extra years over Alex Caruso, Elgin Baylor got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA First Team 3 All-Star Game