Elgin Baylor vs. Jalen Brunson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jalen Brunson 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, 6 more than Jalen Brunson, who played 8. Elgin Baylor had the first of his seasons in 1958-59, while Jalen Brunson had his rookie season in 2018-19. 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	Jalen Brunson
Season	1958-59	2018-19
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

more >>

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:	+3	+19.0	+15.6			+12.7	+0.9				-2.2	+5.0	+13.5	+.059				+6.4	+8.2	+.052
Jalen Brunson	73	21.8	9.3	0.3	2.0	2.3	3.2	0.5	0.1	1.2	1.7	3.6	7.7	.467	0.9	2.5	.348	1.2	1.6	.725
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
Jalen Brunson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Elgin Baylor	Jalen Brunson
Season	1959-60	2019-20
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+13	+23.1	+21.4			+14.0	+0.2				-2.0	+7.6	+18.6	+.042				+7.0	+9.7	+.081
Jalen Brunson	57	17.9	8.2	0.4	2.0	2.4	3.3	0.4	0.1	1.2	1.3	3.2	6.8	.466	0.8	2.1	.358	1.1	1.3	.813
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
Jalen Brunson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Elgin Baylor	Jalen Brunson
Season	1960-61	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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:	+5	+17.9	+22.2			+16.4	+1.6				-2.2	+8.0	+20.5	+.093				+7.5	+9.6	+.012
Jalen Brunson	68	25.0	12.6	0.4	3.0	3.4	3.5	0.5	0.0	1.2	1.6	4.8	9.2	.523	1.2	2.9	.405	1.8	2.2	.795
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:	+5	+28.7	+30.1			+12.7	+3.2				-2.8	+11.3	+23.9	+.015				+8.4	+9.9	+.055
Jalen Brunson	7	16.3	8.0	0.9	1.7	2.6	1.4	0.0	0.0	0.6	0.9	2.9	6.3	.455	0.9	1.9	.462	1.4	1.9	.769

Season 4
	Elgin Baylor	Jalen Brunson
Season	1961-62	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

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:	+31	+12.5	+22.0			+14.7	+0.2				-1.3	+7.8	+20.3	+.074				+7.6	+10.4	+.086
Jalen Brunson	79	31.9	16.3	0.5	3.4	3.9	4.8	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.9	6.4	12.8	.502	1.2	3.2	.373	2.3	2.7	.840
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:	+5	+9.0	+17.0			+13.1	+0.1				-1.4	+6.2	+15.4	+.028				+6.0	+7.9	+.026
Jalen Brunson	18	34.9	21.6	0.8	3.8	4.6	3.7	0.8	0.1	1.1	2.1	8.1	17.3	.466	1.4	4.2	.347	4.0	5.0	.800

Season 5
	Elgin Baylor	Jalen Brunson
Season	1962-63	2022-23
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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:	+12	+7.1	+10.0			+10.8	+1.4				-0.6	+4.3	+10.8	+.038				+3.5	+4.1	+.008
Jalen Brunson	68	35.0	24.0	0.6	3.0	3.5	6.2	0.9	0.2	2.1	2.2	8.6	17.6	.491	2.0	4.7	.416	4.8	5.8	.829
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:	+2	+2.9	+4.8			+8.7	+1.1				-1.3	+2.4	+6.9	+.032				+2.4	+3.5	+.087
Jalen Brunson	11	40.3	27.8	0.8	4.1	4.9	5.6	1.5	0.1	2.1	2.4	9.9	20.9	.474	2.4	7.3	.325	5.6	6.2	.912

Season 6
	Elgin Baylor	Jalen Brunson
Season	1963-64	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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:	+1	+5.2	+3.3			+8.4	+2.3				-1.1	+0.6	+1.4	+.054				+0.5	+1.0	+.043
Jalen Brunson	77	35.4	28.7	0.6	3.1	3.6	6.7	0.9	0.2	2.4	1.9	10.3	21.4	.479	2.7	6.8	.401	5.5	6.5	.847
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
difference:	+8	+4.4	+8.2			+8.3	+1.9				-1.4	+2.6	+2.4	+.066				+1.0	+1.2
Jalen Brunson	13	39.8	32.4	0.6	2.7	3.3	7.5	0.8	0.2	2.7	2.0	11.6	26.2	.444	2.0	6.5	.310	7.2	9.2	.775

Season 7
	Elgin Baylor	Jalen Brunson
Season	1964-65	2024-25
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Clutch Player of the Year
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

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:	+9	+5.9	+1.1			+9.9	+3.5				-1.1	+1.3	+7.2	+.087				+0.8	+1.3	+.029
Jalen Brunson	65	35.4	26.0	0.4	2.5	2.9	7.3	0.9	0.1	2.5	2.1	9.0	18.5	.488	2.3	6.1	.383	5.7	6.9	.821
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	-
difference:	+17	+32.8	+29.4			+3.4	+6.0				-3.3	+10.1	+19.8	+.461				+6.7	+7.8
Jalen Brunson	18	37.8	29.4	0.7	2.8	3.4	7.0	0.4	0.3	3.1	3.3	10.1	21.8	.461	2.7	7.4	.358	6.7	7.8	.851

Additional Years
* Elgin Baylor played 6 seasons more than Jalen Brunson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 14, from 1967 to 1972—Elgin Baylor played in 4 Playoffs. In those 6 extra years over Jalen Brunson, Elgin Baylor got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	3 All-NBA First Team 4 All-Star Game