Elgin Baylor vs. Kyle Kuzma Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kyle Kuzma 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 Kyle Kuzma, who played 8. Elgin Baylor had the first of his seasons in 1958-59, while Kyle Kuzma 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	Kyle Kuzma
Season	1958-59	2017-18
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
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:	+7	+9.6	+8.8			+8.7	+2.3				-1.8	+2.5	+7.7	+.042				+5.7	+7.1	+.070
Kyle Kuzma	77	31.2	16.1	1.1	5.1	6.3	1.8	0.6	0.4	1.8	2.1	6.1	13.5	.450	2.1	5.6	.366	1.9	2.7	.707
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
Kyle Kuzma	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Elgin Baylor	Kyle Kuzma
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:		+7.9	+10.9			+10.9	+1.0				-0.9	+3.7	+9.9	+.032				+5.4	+7.4	+.020
Kyle Kuzma	70	33.1	18.7	0.9	4.6	5.5	2.5	0.6	0.4	1.9	2.4	7.1	15.5	.456	1.8	6.0	.303	2.7	3.6	.752
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
Kyle Kuzma	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Elgin Baylor	Kyle Kuzma
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:	+12	+17.9	+22.0			+15.3	+3.8				-1.7	+8.0	+18.7	+.006				+7.4	+9.3	+.048
Kyle Kuzma	61	25.0	12.8	0.9	3.6	4.5	1.3	0.5	0.4	1.5	2.1	4.8	11.0	.436	1.4	4.5	.316	1.9	2.5	.735
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	+22.0	+28.1			+12.2	+3.8				-1.3	+10.5	+21.7	+.040				+8.4	+10.0	+.040
Kyle Kuzma	21	23.0	10.0	0.9	2.2	3.1	0.8	0.3	0.3	1.0	2.4	3.7	8.5	.430	1.2	4.0	.313	1.4	1.8	.784

Season 4
	Elgin Baylor	Kyle Kuzma
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:	+20	+15.7	+25.4			+12.5	+2.7				-1.4	+9.3	+22.0	+.015				+8.9	+11.7	+.063
Kyle Kuzma	68	28.7	12.9	1.6	4.5	6.1	1.9	0.5	0.6	1.7	1.8	4.9	11.1	.443	2.0	5.6	.361	1.0	1.4	.691
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	+22.4	+32.3			+13.9	+2.4				-2.2	+12.0	+24.7	+.146				+9.0	+11.4	+.107
Kyle Kuzma	6	21.5	6.3	0.7	3.2	3.8	1.2	0.3	0.2	1.0	1.3	2.3	8.0	.292	0.7	3.8	.174	1.0	1.5	.667

Season 5
	Elgin Baylor	Kyle Kuzma
Season	1962-63	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	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:	+14	+8.7	+16.9			+5.8	+1.3				-0.9	+6.5	+14.2	+.001				+5.9	+6.6	+.125
Kyle Kuzma	66	33.4	17.1	1.1	7.4	8.5	3.5	0.6	0.9	2.6	1.9	6.4	14.2	.452	1.9	5.7	.341	2.4	3.3	.712
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
Kyle Kuzma	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Elgin Baylor	Kyle Kuzma
Season	1963-64	2022-23
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA 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:	+14	+5.6	+4.2			+4.8	+0.7				-0.7	+1.7	+5.0	+.023				+3.3	+3.8	+.074
Kyle Kuzma	64	35.0	21.2	0.9	6.4	7.2	3.7	0.6	0.5	3.0	2.3	8.0	17.8	.448	2.5	7.5	.333	2.7	3.7	.730
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
Kyle Kuzma	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Elgin Baylor	Kyle Kuzma
Season	1964-65	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First 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:	+4	+8.7	+4.9			+6.2	+0.4				-1.0	+1.6	+6.9	+.062				+3.8	+4.8	+.017
Kyle Kuzma	70	32.6	22.2	0.9	5.7	6.6	4.2	0.5	0.7	2.7	2.2	8.7	18.8	.463	2.2	6.4	.336	2.7	3.4	.775
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	-
Kyle Kuzma	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Elgin Baylor played 6 seasons more than Kyle Kuzma 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 Kyle Kuzma, Elgin Baylor got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	3 All-NBA First Team 4 All-Star Game