Elgin Baylor vs. Kenny Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kenny Smith 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

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, 4 more than Kenny Smith, who played 10. Elgin Baylor had the first of his seasons in 1958-59, while Kenny Smith had his rookie season in 1987-88. 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
Kenny Smith	10	5	1987-88 to 1996-97

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10


Rookie Season
	Elgin Baylor	Kenny Smith
Season	1958-59	1987-88
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	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:	+9	+5.2	+11.1			+12.7	+3.0				-1.6	+3.2	+9.8	+.069				+4.9	+6.5	+.042
Kenny Smith	61	35.6	13.8	0.7	1.6	2.3	7.1	1.5	0.1	3.0	2.3	5.4	11.4	.477	0.2	0.6	.308	2.7	3.3	.819

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
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Elgin Baylor	Kenny Smith
Season	1959-60	1988-89
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	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:	+11	+2.2	+12.3			+13.6	+4.2				-1.2	+4.0	+10.8	+.038				+4.9	+6.6	+.005
Kenny Smith	81	38.8	17.3	0.6	2.2	2.8	7.7	1.3	0.1	3.1	2.1	6.8	14.6	.462	0.6	1.6	.359	3.2	4.4	.737

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
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Elgin Baylor	Kenny Smith
Season	1960-61	1989-90
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+6	+12.3	+22.9			+17.8	+0.5				-2.0	+8.0	+19.4	+.036				+7.3	+9.3	+.038
Kenny Smith	79	30.6	11.9	0.2	1.8	2.0	5.6	1.0	0.1	2.1	1.8	4.8	10.3	.466	0.3	1.1	.313	2.0	2.5	.821

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
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Elgin Baylor	Kenny Smith
Season	1961-62	1990-91
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Rockets 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:	+30	+9.8	+20.6			+16.5	+2.5				-1.5	+7.5	+20.2	+.092				+6.2	+8.7	+.090
Kenny Smith	78	34.6	17.7	0.5	1.6	2.1	7.1	1.4	0.1	3.0	1.7	6.7	12.9	.520	0.6	1.7	.363	3.7	4.4	.844

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:	+10	+6.2	+23.3			+15.0	+4.4				-1.8	+8.3	+20.0	+.036				+7.3	+9.9	+.115
Kenny Smith	3	37.7	15.3	1.3	1.3	2.7	8.0	1.3	0.3	2.0	1.7	6.0	12.7	.474	0.7	1.3	.500	2.7	3.0	.889


Season 5
	Elgin Baylor	Kenny Smith
Season	1962-63	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+1	+8.3	+20.0			+12.1	+2.1				-1.4	+7.6	+17.2	+.022				+5.6	+6.8	+.029
Kenny Smith	81	33.8	14.0	0.4	1.8	2.2	6.9	1.3	0.1	2.8	1.4	5.3	11.2	.475	0.7	1.7	.394	2.7	3.1	.866

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
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Elgin Baylor	Kenny Smith
Season	1963-64	1992-93
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+4	+11.1	+12.4			+10.0	+1.0				-1.7	+5.0	+13.7	+.095				+3.6	+4.8	+.074
Kenny Smith	82	29.5	13.0	0.3	1.6	2.0	5.4	1.0	0.1	2.0	1.3	4.7	9.1	.520	1.2	2.7	.438	2.4	2.7	.878

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:	+7	+11.6	+9.4			+9.6	+1.4				-1.9	+3.7	+13.1	+.114				+3.9	+5.0	+.003
Kenny Smith	12	32.6	14.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	4.2	0.8	0.1	2.2	1.5	5.3	10.7	.492	1.9	3.8	.500	2.3	3.0	.778


Season 7
	Elgin Baylor	Kenny Smith
Season	1964-65	1993-94
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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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:	+4	+13.0	+15.5			+11.0	+0.4				-1.6	+5.9	+16.6	+.079				+4.8	+6.2	+.079
Kenny Smith	78	28.3	11.6	0.3	1.5	1.8	4.2	0.8	0.1	1.6	1.6	4.4	9.1	.480	1.1	2.8	.405	1.7	2.0	.871

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:	+22	+25.3	+10.8			+2.3	+3.1				-1.7	+3.7	+6.2	+.455				+1.8	+2.3
Kenny Smith	23	30.3	10.8	0.2	2.1	2.3	4.1	1.0	0.2	1.4	1.7	3.7	8.2	.455	1.5	3.3	.447	1.8	2.3	.808


Season 8
	Elgin Baylor	Kenny Smith
Season	1965-66	1994-95
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
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:	+16	+5.3	+6.2			+7.7	+0.6				-1.1	+2.9	+8.6	+.083				+2.2	+3.4	+.112
Kenny Smith	81	25.1	10.4	0.3	1.6	1.9	4.0	0.9	0.1	1.5	1.3	3.5	7.3	.484	1.8	4.1	.429	1.6	1.8	.851

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:	+8	+12.3	+16.0			+11.9	+0.8				-0.6	+6.9	+15.3	+.004				+4.5	+5.7	+.090
Kenny Smith	22	29.6	10.8	0.3	1.9	2.2	4.5	0.6	0.1	1.4	2.1	3.5	8.1	.438	2.1	4.7	.442	1.6	1.8	.900


Season 9
	Elgin Baylor	Kenny Smith
Season	1966-67	1995-96
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+2	+14.9	+18.1			+11.4	+0.5				-1.3	+7.2	+16.9	+.004				+5.0	+6.1	+.008
Kenny Smith	68	23.8	8.5	0.3	1.1	1.4	3.6	0.7	0.0	1.5	1.7	3.0	6.8	.433	1.3	3.5	.382	1.3	1.6	.821

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
difference:	+5	+16.4	+14.8			+11.5	+1.8				-0.2	+6.4	+18.7	+.066				+3.4	+5.1	+.250
Kenny Smith	8	23.9	8.9	0.5	1.0	1.5	4.8	0.6	0.0	1.0	1.8	2.9	6.6	.434	1.5	3.9	.387	1.6	1.6	1.000


Season 10
	Elgin Baylor	Kenny Smith
Season	1967-68	1996-97
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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10th 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	77	39.3	26.0	-	-	12.2	4.6	-	-	-	3.0	9.8	22.2	.443	-	-	-	6.3	8.1	.786
difference:	+29	+23.4	+19.7			+11.3	+2.2				-2.4	+7.7	+17.2	+.020				+5.5	+7.2	+.081
Kenny Smith	48	15.9	6.3	0.1	0.8	0.9	2.4	0.4	0.0	1.5	0.6	2.1	5.0	.423	1.2	2.8	.437	0.8	0.9	.867

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	15	42.2	28.5	-	-	14.5	4.0	-	-	-	2.7	11.7	25.1	.468	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.679
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Elgin Baylor played 4 seasons more than Kenny Smith in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 14, from 1969 to 1972—Elgin Baylor played in two Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Kenny Smith, Elgin Baylor got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 2 All-Star Game

Elgin Baylor vs. Kenny Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kenny Smith 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years