Elgin Baylor vs. Cooper Flagg Season by Season Comparison
Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Cooper Flagg 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, 13 more than Cooper Flagg, who played 1. Elgin Baylor had the first of his seasons in 1958-59, while Cooper Flagg had his rookie season in 2025-26. 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.
Their Careers | |||
| Player | Total Seasons | Playoffs Played | NBA Years |
| Elgin Baylor | 14 | 12 | 1958-59 to 1971-72 |
| Cooper Flagg | 1 | 0 | 2025-26 |
Comparison Season by Season |
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Jump to season: | ||
Rookie Season |
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| Elgin Baylor | Cooper Flagg | |
| Season | 1958-59 | 2025-26 |
| Team | Minneapolis Lakers | Dallas Mavericks |
| 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 |
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: | +69 | +8.8 | +14.9 | +5.0 | +4.1 | -0.9 | +4.6 | +8.2 | +.100 | +5.6 | +7.8 | +.223 | ||||||||
| Cooper Flagg | 1 | 32.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 13.0 | .308 | 0.0 | 1.0 | .000 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.000 |
| 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 |
| Cooper Flagg | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Additional Years |
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* Elgin Baylor played 13 seasons more than Cooper Flagg in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 2 to 14, from 1960 to 1972—Elgin Baylor played in 11 Playoffs. In those 13 extra years over Cooper Flagg, Elgin Baylor got these achievements: | |
| Honors & Awards | 9 All-NBA First Team 10 All-Star Game |