Elgin Baylor vs. Happy Hairston Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Happy Hairston 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, 3 more than Happy Hairston, who played 11. Elgin Baylor had the first of his seasons in 1958-59, while Happy Hairston had his rookie season in 1964-65. 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 achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14
Rookie Season
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1958-59	1964-65
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Royals Lost East Div Semis

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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
Happy Hairston	61	12.1	6.1	-	-	4.8	0.4	-	-	-	1.6	2.1	5.8	.373	-	-	-	1.8	2.7	.667
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
Happy Hairston	3	13.0	4.0	-	-	6.7	1.0	-	-	-	0.7	1.7	6.0	.278	-	-	-	0.7	1.0	.667

Season 2
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1959-60	1965-66
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	Royals Lost East Div Semis

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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
Happy Hairston	72	24.9	14.1	-	-	7.6	0.6	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	11.3	.489	-	-	-	3.1	4.5	.685
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
Happy Hairston	5	30.0	15.4	-	-	7.4	0.0	-	-	-	4.0	5.0	12.4	.403	-	-	-	5.4	7.6	.711

Season 3
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1960-61	1966-67
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	Royals Lost East Div Semis

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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
Happy Hairston	79	30.9	14.9	-	-	8.0	0.8	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	12.2	.479	-	-	-	3.2	4.8	.660
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
Happy Hairston	4	35.0	16.0	-	-	6.8	1.5	-	-	-	3.8	7.0	13.5	.519	-	-	-	2.0	3.8	.533

Season 4
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1961-62	1967-68
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cincinnati Royals, Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Pistons Lost East Div Semis

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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
Happy Hairston	74	34.0	17.9	-	-	8.3	1.3	-	-	-	2.7	6.5	13.3	.487	-	-	-	4.9	7.1	.699
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
Happy Hairston	6	24.8	11.7	-	-	6.2	1.2	-	-	-	3.7	4.8	11.8	.408	-	-	-	2.0	3.3	.600

Season 5
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1962-63	1968-69
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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
Happy Hairston	81	35.7	18.1	-	-	11.8	1.3	-	-	-	3.1	6.5	14.0	.469	-	-	-	5.0	6.8	.731
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
Happy Hairston	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1963-64	1969-70
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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
Happy Hairston	70	34.7	18.5	-	-	11.1	1.7	-	-	-	3.3	6.9	13.9	.496	-	-	-	4.7	5.9	.789
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
Happy Hairston	16	18.5	7.4	-	-	4.8	1.3	-	-	-	1.9	2.9	6.8	.435	-	-	-	1.5	2.2	.686

Season 7
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1964-65	1970-71
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 Finals

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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
Happy Hairston	80	36.5	18.6	-	-	10.0	2.1	-	-	-	3.2	7.2	15.4	.466	-	-	-	4.2	5.4	.782
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	-
Happy Hairston	12	39.3	17.0	-	-	9.1	2.8	-	-	-	3.4	6.9	13.7	.506	-	-	-	3.2	4.2	.760

Season 8
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1965-66	1971-72
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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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
Happy Hairston	80	34.4	13.1	-	-	13.1	2.4	-	-	-	3.1	4.6	10.0	.461	-	-	-	3.9	5.0	.779
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
Happy Hairston	15	38.5	13.5	-	-	13.1	2.1	-	-	-	2.9	4.9	11.2	.440	-	-	-	3.6	4.5	.794

Season 9
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1966-67	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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
Happy Hairston	28	33.5	16.3	-	-	13.2	2.4	-	-	-	2.8	5.6	11.7	.482	-	-	-	5.0	6.4	.787
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
Happy Hairston	3	8.7	2.7	-	-	1.3	0.3	-	-	-	0.7	0.3	3.0	.111	-	-	-	2.0	2.7	.750

Season 10
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1967-68	1973-74
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 Semis

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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
Happy Hairston	77	34.2	14.5	4.4	9.2	13.5	2.7	0.8	0.2	-	3.4	5.0	9.9	.507	-	-	-	4.5	5.8	.771
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
Happy Hairston	5	34.4	9.2	3.0	7.4	10.4	3.8	1.0	0.2	-	1.6	3.0	7.2	.417	-	-	-	3.2	3.6	.889

Season 11
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1968-69	1974-75
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	76	40.3	24.8	-	-	10.6	5.4	-	-	-	2.7	9.6	21.5	.447	-	-	-	5.5	7.5	.743
Happy Hairston	74	30.9	10.3	4.1	8.7	12.8	2.3	0.7	0.1	-	2.9	3.7	7.2	.506	-	-	-	2.9	3.7	.801
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	18	35.6	15.4	-	-	9.2	4.1	-	-	-	3.1	5.9	15.4	.385	-	-	-	3.5	5.6	.630
Happy Hairston	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Elgin Baylor	Happy Hairston
Season	1969-70	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	-

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	54	41.0	24.0	-	-	10.4	5.4	-	-	-	2.4	9.5	19.5	.486	-	-	-	5.1	6.6	.773
Happy Hairston	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	18	37.1	18.7	-	-	9.6	4.6	-	-	-	2.8	7.7	16.4	.466	-	-	-	3.3	4.5	.741
Happy Hairston	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-