Hang Time: My Life in Basketball

by Elgin Baylor, Alan Eisenstock

Elgin Baylor’s memoir of an epic all-star career in the NBA—during which he transformed basketball from a horizontal game to a vertical one—and his fights against racism during his career as a player and as general manager of the LA Clippers under the infamous Donald Sterling People think of Elgin Baylor as one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the game—and one of the NBA’s first black superstars—but the full extent of his legacy stretches beyond his spectacular, game-changing shots and dunks. With startling symmetry, Baylor recounts his flying back and forth between the U.S. Army and the Lakers, his time as a central figure in the great Celtics-Lakers rivalry and how he helped break down color barriers in the sport, his 1964 All-Star game boycott, his early years as an executive for the New Orleans Jazz, and twenty-two years as general manager for the notorious L.A. Clippers and Donald Sterling, spent fighting to draft and sign young, black phenoms—only to be hamstrung by his boss at every turn. No one has seen the league change, and has worked to bring change, more than Baylor. Year after year, he continued to fight and persevere against racism. At the beginning of his career, he was forced to stay in separate hotel rooms. From those days to today’s superstardom, he has had a front-row view of the game’s elevation to one of America’s favorite sports. For the first time, Elgin Baylor tells his full story and sets the record straight.

Genres: Sports, Basketball, Nonfiction, Audiobook, History, Autobiography

341 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 10, 2018

About the author

From 1958, American player Elgin Baylor, a forward for the Lakers of Minneapolis and Los Angeles, ranks among the all-time leaders of national basketball association in scoring average per game to 1971.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_B...

Reviews

[Tim Blackburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an outstanding basketball autobiography that I highly endorse to basketball fans. A fascinating glimpse into Elgin Baylor's life. Mr. Baylor summarizes the book best when he declares the book as an American Story. He recounts the thrilling parts of his basketball journey from learning the game as a youngster through high school through college to the NBA. His college journey is very interesting since it is so atypical of the standard athlete's journey even in the 1950's. His minute by minute description of the final 7 minutes of Game 7 of the 1969 NBA finals is magnificient. He vividly describes the action as well as his personal emotions as his Lakers lost a bitterly contested finals series to the Celtics for the 7th time in Elgin's career. Mr. Baylor also poignantly guides the reader through heartbreaking racial injustices that he was subjected to. He vividly relates an instance where DC police forced his Father to whip his 13 year old sister for slapping a white girl for spitting on her and calling her a vulgar name, while 11 year old Elgin was forced to watch. Tragic - the incident permanently scarred his sister who died an untimely death at age 45 and is emotional scars for Elgin to this day. Again, this book is for all basketball fans!!!

[Judd Vance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have tons of basketball books and fancy myself a student of the history. Back in the late 1990s, I wished for good biographies or autobiographies of Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor. Now I have all three.

Simply put, this is one of the finest basketball autobiographies I ever read. He was 82 at the time it was published, so the wisdom of hindsight and experience was working in his favor for analyzing his life. Many such books have a chapter on growing up, then one on college, and then pro time. Baylor spends sufficient time talking about growing up in Jim Crow Virginia and how it shaped his life. It is important to understand not only where he came from but where this country came from, so that we can better appreciate the people who overcame it, such as Elgin and Bill Russell.

His college story is equally fascinating: going to Idaho as a two-sport player before being told he was going to be only a basketball player and then transferring to Seattle and meeting Bill Russell and playing for a NCAA championship.

If you don't know a lot Baylor, know this: before there was Kobe, there was Jordan. Before Jordan, there was Dr. J and David Thompson. Before them, there was Connie Hawkins, and before the Hawk, there was Elgin Baylor: he invented the slashing, one-on-one, creating your own shot game and his lineage is evident to this day. His numbers were just obscene. People try to say that Wilt did this because he was bigger than everybody else. Baylor was an undersized power forward putting up over 34 points per game 3 straight seasons and grabbing nearly 20 rebounds per game at one point! He made first team All-NBA 10 out of 11 years (he missed due to injury). He even made it when he missed a large part of the season while in the army! Like I said, it was a different time, and you should read it to understand that time. It is a tragedy that so many have no idea just how great he was.

I wouldn't say he was outspoken, but he does have some opinions concerning players like Russell, West, Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bob Pettit.

He did talk some about how despicable of a person Clippers owner Donald Sterling was. I wish he would have spent more time than one chapter going over his long career with that team. That was the only part I would like to have learned more.

If you want to know about the NBA of the past in an educational and enjoyable way, start with Terry Pluto's "Tall Tales" and then read this. Then drop me a line and I'll hook you up with more suggestions.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say I'm a great fan of basketball, but Baylor's is one of the names I remember from my youth--along with Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, and Wilt Chamberlin. And this is a compulsively readable (or listenable with Peter Jay Fernandez excellent narration) book. The emphasis is always on basketball--from his youth excelling at pick-up ball, often with much older players, in DC through his college days playing against Bill Russell in and NCAA championship game to his record-setting career in the NBA with the Lakers, first in Minneapolis and then in LA. There's an undercurrent of racism as well and his battle against it. He was scarred as a young boy witnessing a confrontation between his father and two white policemen. His refusal to play a game in the south, when he and his Black teammates were denied rooms at the team's hotel, led to a change in NBA policy: teams wouldn't stay in hotels that wouldn't house all team members. He played in 8 NBA championship games and lost them all--7 to the Boston Celtics and Bill Russell and the 8th to the NY Knicks. The book is thoughtful, candid, insightful--for fans of NBA history or anyone who appreciates a compelling personal story.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good biography about the "best basketball player no one has ever seen." Elgin Baylor pent his entire career playing for the LA Lakers, from the late 50's to the early 1070's. It is rare to even find video of him on You Tube. He epitomized the NBA as it grew into a national sport. If he played today he would be compared to any of the great players of this age. A sports fan would enjoy the book as it reads as a history of the NBA. The era of Bill Russell, Wilt, Jerry West and of course Baylor

[Dave Cottenie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hang Time was promising with an interesting beginning and origins to Elgin Baylor’s playing career in high school, college and with the Lakers. He often referred to not caring about statistics, but the latter part of the book ended up being one box score after another. He worked 22 years as the Clippers GM, but glossed over that era very quickly, which was disappointing. Not super exciting but okay and definitely an underrated player.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a huge basketball fan, and really don't know much about the game. I love to watch our local high school games. That's about it. Hadn't ever heard of Elgin Baylor until an interview for this book on NPR. Boy, instead i read this book. Baylor describes his life through the excitement of games and tournaments - so well, I thought I was a witness right there with him. At the same time, Baylor remembers and shares the ever present racism of the fans, owners and the rest of America of those times. What a moving and gripping book. So well done, I recommend it to all, even if you are only a partial fan of the game.

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: BEFORE THERE WAS JORDAN… BEFORE THERE WAS DR J… THERE WAS ELGIN #22 BAYLOR…
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This book is way… way… overdue! I’ve been waiting over forty-years for this. I’m not talking about a book about Elgin Baylor… I’m talking about one “BY” Elgin Baylor. When I was twelve-years old and our team won the San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles) basketball championship… I had two basketball idols… Jerry West #44… and Elgin Baylor #22. When I played in junior high school… same heroes…. Played in high school… same heroes… played in junior college… same heroes… played on the military team… same heroes. I read every book… every magazine… every newspaper article… but no complete detailed autobiography by Elg himself… and here it finally is.

Elgin changed the game of basketball. All of a sudden a player was playing above the rim in almost suspended animation. As the late great… (Greatest basketball announcer ever) Chick Hearn would say…. “ELGIN GOES UP TO THE FOURTH FLOOR… AND LETS THE DEFENDERS OFF AT THE THIRD… AND SCORES! And so he did… and he rebounded like no other 6 foot 5 inch player ever has to this day. Even with his last 2 years that were destroyed with career ending injuries… totaling only eleven games… he still had a lifetime rebound average of 13.5 per game… to go along with his lifetime scoring average of 27.4 points per game… which was also obviously decimated by a final two year total of eleven games.

To get the immediate attention of any younger (than a Grandpa like me) person who doesn’t know how great Baylor was…. (There was no ESPN no 24/7 sports shows) HE WAS DR. J’S… JULIUS ERVING’S BASKETBALL IDOL! When I was a young ballplayer all the way up to my still playing when I was fifty… I patterned my game… by practicing day and night… mimicking Jerry West’s (#44 Mr. Clutch) hard final bounce… stop on a dime… with a fully extended high rising jump shot. I also was blessed with very large… strong hands… so like Elgin… I could dribble a ball… and when the ball bounced up I could simply open my hand with palm pointing down and “palm it” right from the dribble. I then practiced thousands of times… Baylor’s “one- hand ball-palming” leaping and hanging in the air going across the key (as the great “Chickie” would say)… going either “right to left” or “left to right”… across your radio dial! Being able to perform that automatic “ball-palming” hanging Baylor move… allowed me to still beat my 6 foot 3 inch son for over thirty years in one-on-on and Horse. Thank you Elg!

This book goes back to Baylor’s childhood in Washington D.C. and sadly depicts… from Elgin’s very lips…the despicable racism he had to face on a daily basis. Every detail is told as if it happened yesterday. And that’s the way it should be… like the anti-Semitism… I’ve faced… I have never forgotten. So the clear description is a good learning lesson for younger readers. What was extremely sad is the hatred Baylor developed for his Father… mostly because of how his Father reacted to bigoted cops that came to their door. Elgin’s self-driven growth started on a dilapidated “black-only” park that was close to a much more desirable “white-only” park… was one of many examples of the racism rampant in those days in that city. Basketball becomes his passion… his very reason for being. As a basketball player myself… I must say that his descriptions of his desire to get better every day… is perfectly narrated as he admits his flaws… as he always tries to get better… and always tried to up the competition he faced. That reminds me of one of the most influential (in my sports life) articles I ever read as a child. It was written by one of the all-time greats and contemporary of Baylor’s… the incomparable “Big O”… Oscar Robertson… who wrote… “You can never get better by playing against your little brother in the back yard!”. That’s a rule I followed and so did Elgin to a “T”.

His record breaking high school career… along with his growth as a person is perfectly detailed. While unstoppable on the court… he was set up by an older woman into believing he was the Father of her baby and got married under false pretenses. He attended College of Idaho for a year and then transferred to Seattle University and took the nation by storm… and was the number one draft choice in the NBA… taken by the then “Minneapolis” Lakers and literally saved the once proud franchise. The move to Los Angeles by the Lakers put Baylor on even a bigger stage… and after hooking up with rookie Jerry West a year later… brought the Lakers back to prominence. Number 22 and Number 44 may have been the greatest one-two scoring combo in NBA history. There was only one problem… a BIG… BIG… PROBLEM… his name was Bill Russell… and his team was the Boston Celtics. Time after time after time… Russell and the Celtics would beat the Lakers in the Championship game. As a true old-school fan… and Laker fan… I don’t hesitate for a second… in stating that uncategorically… that Bill Russell is the greatest *WINNER* in the history of basketball. (He won 11 NBA championships in 13 years… he won back to back NCAA Championships… and a Gold Medal in the Olympics) To this day he gives West and Baylor nightmares.

It’s wonderful as an old Laker fan to hear some of the old-time stories of guys like “Hot- Rod” Hundley… Frank Selvy… Leroy Ellis… Rudy “The Ivy League Muscleman” LaRusso… Jim Krebs… and his Ouija board… Dick “Fall-Back-Baby” Barnett… Fred “Stomper” Schaus… and so many more. Wilt Chamberlain pops up every time you look around… from a high school challenge… to the pro’s… to Elgin’s second wedding (after an annulment of the earlier scam)… and in games when the only goal (besides baskets) for Wilt… even above winning… was wanting to brake Baylor’s scoring record.

From the playgrounds in D.C…. through Elgin’s time in the U.S. Army… playing in the NBA on weekends and averaging over thirty points despite his rust… to his career ending knee injury… and his post playing tumult with the L.A. Clippers… and everything in between is laid out as sweet and smoothly as a Baylor hanging finger roll in the paint.

Note: the co-author Alan Eisenstock should be given kudos as the writing style is a wonderful combination of detail when needed… and brisk staccato… when the situation calls for it. I didn’t recognize Alan’s name at first… but I then noticed he had written a book I had read and thoroughly enjoyed back in 2003… which was before I wrote reviews entitled “Ten On Sunday”.

[Ptarrant5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first saw Elgin Baylor play, I was in seventh grade and basketball was becoming the center of my sports solar system. He would attack the rim against the Bill Russell Celtics and hang, moving the ball in different directions, and gently place the ball over the hands of the defenders, when gravity returned them back to the court, but Baylor was able to outlast them in the air. I became mesmerized by that series and Jerry West's heroics in the seventh game(he was the only Finals MVP from a losing team) but couldn't take my eyes off Baylor when he challenged the Celtics in the paint. Little did I know that Baylor, in the first 6 years of his career was the player most respected by his peers for his all-around play, and that his improvisation with the ball in his hands, like a great Jazz musician, was a gateway to the modern NBA. I also never knew, or appreciated, how much he influenced change in Professional sports.
Baylor grew up in a very racially charged Washington DC, having to sneak into a whites only playground to work on his game after the sun went down. When his little sister slapped a white girl who called her the "N" word, he was disgusted with his father, who beat her with a belt at the suggestion of the police officers who came to his house. Somehow, the "rabbit", as he was known in DC, was able to overcome the lack of news coverage given to his legendary exploits at his all African American high school, and pursued an education and basketball fame at the University of Seattle. When he got to the Minneapolis Lakers in 1958, he was an instant sensation and took the league by storm. Hot Rod Hundley, his teammate on the Lakers from West Virginia, arranged for a game to be played in Charlottesville so that all the people in his state could see how good his teammate was. When they pulled into town and arrived at their hotel, the manager told the team that Baylor, and his two other black teammates, would not be able to stay at the hotel. An embarrassed Hundley called the Mayor, the Governor, and anybody else that he could think of, but the Black athletes were not going to be able to stay at the hotel. In solidarity, the team stayed at the Black Hotel in town. When a white teammate told Baylor that he felt out of place, Baylor told him, "Now you know how I feel." At the game the following day, Baylor refused to play. When Hundley initially told him that he had to play, Baylor told him that he was a man, and if he couldn't stay in a hotel in that town, he wasn't going to play basketball there. The prequel to the sanitation strike in Memphis. Hundley then agreed with his position. The days of segregated hotels for professional athletes quickly came to an end. When the nascent NBA players association threatened to sit out before the first televised all-star game in 1964, they knew they needed Baylor's approval for the rest of the players to make a stand. After a delay to the start of the game, the owners caved, and the players in today's NBA owe a debt of gratitude to the improved working conditions that made steady improvement since that all-star game in 1964. Later in that season he suffered a career altering knee injury that made him rely on his guile and experience, over his air defying exploits, to remain a great player, but not the generational player he had been before the injury. Today's load management, implemented in an attempt to prevent knee and achilles tendon injuries, may have helped prevent the injury, but Baylor would have fought it every inch of the way. Although the NBA schedule in those days was incredibly excessive, Elgin played for his teammates and the fans who paid to see him play.
Elgin continued to discuss the rest of his career in the book - from his disappointing retirement at the age of 37, on the cusp of the Lakers historic 1972 championship, to his days as a General Manager for the racist Donald Sterling and his Clippers. It was a wild ride for the "rabbit" and I was happy to relive it with him. It's a great sports memoir for basketball fans, but also a piercing reminder of how far we have come, and how far we have to go.

[Andy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This autobiography of one of the greatest all time basketball players has the best of both worlds; it has great vignettes of his basketball career including insights into Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West and frank discussions of Baylor's struggles against racism both inside and outside the basketball world.
Baylor describes growing up in Washington DC. The segregation of the time meant that Baylor played in all black schools against other black high school teams in decrepit gyms and largely ignored by the newspapers such as the Washington Post. Baylor also described incidents outside basketball; his sister was harassed by white girls and called the N word and slapped one to get away. The police came to arrest her but told Baylor's dad that if he beat her in front of them they would skip the arrest. Baylor watched the beating and described with nuance how the dad's submission forever affected his relationship with both Baylor and his sister.
As Baylor recounts his career some outstanding stories stand out. He and Bill Russell became good friends in college, the night before their first NBA game against each other, the two got together as usual and their conversation included their shared challenges of being one of the few Black players in the league. The next day Russell ignored Baylor's offer of a handshake and refused to make eye contact--Baylor eventually understood that Russell's intensity during a game did not affect their lifelong friendship. His relationship with Chamberlain was different. They first met when they were young basketball legends before they became pro, they agreed to play each other on the Washington DC street courts and Baylor gleefully recounts how his team always beat Chamberlain's in front a throng of spectators. The tenor of his comments continued throughout the book with a telling story about the 7th game of the 1969 championship game between the Lakers and Celtics, arguably the greatest game ever played. Chamberlain is hurt late in the even game and takes himself out of the game. Baylor describes Russell's stare at Chamberlain walking off the court and subsequent eye contact with Baylor which is explains as Russell's disgust of Chamberlain's mental weakness and acknowledgement to Baylor that they were fellow warriors.
A contemporary story recounts a conversation with Jerry West about Stephen Curry with Baylor noting the coolness of talking about the greatest shooter in history with the second greatest shooter in history, noting that the perfectionist West had to also talk about Curry's excessive turnovers and the reader notes that Baylor needed to include that shortcoming in his book.
Baylor also recounts racial incidents in the NBA. One time the Laker management arrganged to play a game in West Virginia that was especially to the coach who grew up there. The night before the Black Laker plays were not allowed to stay in the segregated hotels, the next day Baylor announced he would not play in the game. Baylor was soundly attacked for his decision but eventually the country and even those in West Virginia came to respect Baylor's courage.
This book has so much for basketball fans and non fans alike

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elgin Baylor was named to 10 All-NBA First Teams, and yet he still doesn't get the credit he deserves for changing basketball into a dynamic, almost acrobatic game played - especially these days - well above the rim. Without Baylor, it's hard to imagine Dr. J. It's hard to imagine MJ. Elgin was one of the greatest pro basketball players ever.

His book is broken into three sections. The first deals with Baylor's childhood growing up in segregated Washington DC in the 1940s and 1950s. Racism is rampant. An incident involving his father (with whom Elgin had a poor relationship), his sister Columbia (whom he loved) and the DC police is abhorrent, disgusting. Baylor never forgets it. (Nor will you.)

The second section, longest by far, covers Elgin's playing career in some rich detail, with many games analyzed with particularity. For a basketball fan, this is pretty cool. There's no way that Baylor could remember all these games so precisely, so it's a given that he has relied upon a good historical source like basketball-reference.com to recreate the play. This section is full of stats and analysis. Baylor often comments that his focus was on winning, not personal statistics, but that comes across a little oddly given the statistical detail we're all enjoying. Section two describes the heartbreak of losing, again and again and again (okay, 7 times) in the NBA Finals to Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics. His admiration, his respect, for Russell is keenly felt. Baylor also talks about Wilt Chamberlain's performance on the Lakers. It ain't pretty.

In the third section he briefly talks about his two marriages, his not very successful coaching career, and at last he turns his attention to over two decades he worked as general manager of the San Diego basketball club owned by Donald Sterling, a crude, distasteful, racially antagonistic bigot if ever there was one. Sterling's behavior is awful; eventually the League threw him out. Baylor briefly attempts to explain why he stayed on while Sterling was the owner. He's not very persuasive. Read it yourself and see what you think.

I wanted this to be a 4 star book, but it's more of a 3.5 star book. A longer, more forthcoming final section would have reached 4 stars. Maybe Elgin just got tired; he was in his 80th year when the book was published. In any case, "Hang Time" is certainly worth your time if you love pro basketball.

[Джан Тефик · Rating 5 out of 5]

След мемоара на Бил Ръсел, някак естествено изборът ми се спря на мемоар отново на баскетболист от по-далечното време. Разбира се, отново баскетболно величие, което дори вече си има и статуя пред залата "Staples Center" в Ел Ей.
Става въпрос за легендата Елджин Бейлър, който след дълго увещаване от съпругата си Илейн, че има какво да разкаже на хората, се съгласява да се открие и да сподели за своя личен живот и кариера в НБА. Книгата отнема 4г. приготовления, в които авторът Алън Айзънсток постоянно посещава семейство Бейлър в дома им, където приказват и приказват за миналото на Елджин, къде през смях, къде през сълзи, но винаги с бутилка бяло вино, когато денят преминава във вечеря.
Издадена през 2018г., мемоарът е завършена ретроспекция през призмата на вече 83 годишния Бейлър. Биография-образец, както обичам да казвам. Всичко е изложено без никакви скрупули или задръжки. Елджин се открива напълно пред читателите като се връща чак в детството си, дори и това на моменти да е болезнено, предвид това, че не се разбира много с баща си и дълго време не си говорят. Предвид това, че Америка по това време все още е силно повлияна от расизъм и сегрегация. Сегрегация до там, че на едно чернокожо момче не му е позволено да играе на баскетболната площадка, която е само за бели и трябва да се промъква нощем, за да може да сложи усмивката на лицето си.
Елджин влиза в драфта под номер 1 и моментално завладява залите из различните щати. Феноменален атлет, който превръща една хоризонтална игра във вертикална. За 14 сезона, той е Ол-Стар 11 пъти и е избиран в първият състав 10 пъти. Самият факт, че Лос Анджелис Лейкърс се основава покрай него, като крайъгълен камък на франчайза, говори само по себе си (преди това отборът е в Минеаполис)!
Въпреки, че на моменти е малко по-подробна откъм сведения и факти за отделните сезони на отбора му, книгата е пълна с интересни премеждия и случки със съотборници и врагове на терена. Елджин никога не успява да стане шампион, но 7 пъти успява изведе Лейкърс на финал и то не срещу кого да е, а срещу великаните от Бостън Селтикс и техния "голиат" Бил Ръсел, водени от легендата Ред Ауербах.
Беше удоволствие за мен, Елджин! Благодаря!

[Ken Heard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic autobiography of one of the greatest, yet underappreciated, NBA players of all time. Back when the NBA was just really beginning, when Wilt stalked the front court and Oscar Robertson bombed from outside, Elgin Baylor, the "Rabbit," was driving and scoring at will.

Baylor looks at his career in an unbiased way, acknowledging that he was good, but also giving credit to his coaches and to Jerry West who played in the backcourt with him. Baylor's maturity as the seasons progress is seen well in this. Toward the end, players went to him about boycotting the All-Star Game in order to get owners to lighten up their financial reins on them.

This isn't a soft-spoken book, though. He is very critical of Wilt Chamberlain's ways, especially his aloofness with other teammates and his lazy ways during practice. He also talks about the racism that went on during his career and after when he was a general manager with Donald Sterling's San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers.

The reader agonizes with Baylor's knee injuries and his frustration over not being able to beat the Celtics in the Finals. Bill Russell, Baylor admits, was the main reason they could never conquer the Lakers.

Baylor writes his autobio in present tense, which may seem weird for a look back on the past. But it works. Obviously, the conversations are recreated, but they put the reader in the place. His game recaps are fun, along with his memory of strategies used during games. One of his coaches, I can't remember which, called for a second-half stall when playing the Celtics in a Finals contest and Baylor recalls it all. His recap of a Lakers' almost-comeback against the Celtics is also fine reading.

This is an excellent book for any fan of the NBA. It really shows basketball in the 1960s, before it became what it is today, and gives a great feel for the era and his striving to be one of the best players of all time.

[Writemoves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am old enough to remember a little bit about Elgin Baylor's career. I remember the 1960s Lakers had Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. It's a shame that Baylor was not able to win an NBA title. Throughout the book, you can tell it was very important for him. There are a lot of interesting stories in the book including Baylor's experiences with racism. There were also a number of interesting anecdotes about different NBA players including Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Hot Rod Hundley and other players that he competed with and against.

The book focuses primarily on his playing experiences both in college and in the NBA. He makes short thrift of his time as general manager in San Diego and working for Donald Sterling. Baylor recounts a story about a women executive who had to pick up her child to which Sterling said that when she returns, tell her she is fired. Enough said about Donald Sterling.

A good read for someone like myself in his 60s and who remembers Elgin Baylor and the players he referenced in the book.

[RA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember practicing Elgin's bank jumper when I was in the 8th or 9th grade. He was mesmerizing, at that time, an omen of the not-too-distant basketball future. A truly revolutionary style of playing, like Cousy, Russell, Earl the Pearl, Magic, Dr. J, Jordan & others.

This is the story of his playing days, from DC to LA, with stops in Idaho, Seattle (U.), & Minneapolis. There are some references to his painful relationship, as a GM, with Donald Sterling, the idiot owner of the LA Clippers.

A fabulous historical document, with painful reminiscences of the ever-present racism he had to endure (like many others), and how he dealt with it, being a quiet pioneer in some instances.

But it's mostly about detailed memories of games and plays throughout high school, colleges, and in the NBA. This is a great read for hoop historians. Elgin is someone who should be remembered with the greats, now overlooked since he was way ahead of his time.

[Tom Gase · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read on any basketball player. I didn't know too much about Elgin Baylor except that the was basically the Los Angeles Lakers first star player along with Jerry West. I had read books about West, but never one on Baylor. Baylor really takes the reader inside his life, and not just his NBA career. He had to overcome adversity early on as a teenager and has always had to deal with racism. Elgin, who very sadly passed away two months ago, seems like a very nice person as well as a great NBA player. He was kind of the original Julius Erving and Michael Jordan as he was known for his hang time while driving to the basket. If you're a fan of the NBA, you really need to read this book. It talks about all his seasons and playoffs, and yes, losses to the Celtics. He gives Bill Russell a lot of credit in this book, saying the main reason the Lakers could never win a title is because Boston had Russell and the Lakers didn't. Good stuff and RIP Elgin.

[Michael Lent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met Mr. Baylor once at a Clippers game. He is a giant of a man in every sense of the word. He played with other NBA greats such as Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West at a time when players were forced to fly coach (imagine trying to fit into those seats) and black players stayed in separate hotels away from their white teammates and coaches. Baylor grew up in DC, played college ball at Idaho and Seattle U. His professional career spanned the Civil Rights movement and later, he was General Manager of the Clippers under the infamous Donald Sterling. Sadly, many of his greatest games were never video taped.

Hang Time is a wonderful chronicle of Elgin Baylor's career full of pain, pathos and ultimately, triumph. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to meet Mr. Baylor (now in his mid-80s), so I can thank him personally.

[Jeannie]

Reading Jen Bryant’s picture book Above the Rim inspired me to learn more about Elgin Baylor. I do not usually read sports biographies, but this one is very compelling and this autobiography reads very smoothly. This is not about statistics although there are charts in the back, but about how Baylor faced life and took control, learning to understand himself and observe others to become a great player and later coach. . Having grown up in Washington, DC in the mid-twentieth century (1940’s-50’s), he experienced various forms of overt and veiled racism. He felt compelled to use his amazing skill with the ball to move away, first to college and then to say on the West Coast. It is a success story, but not always a smooth ride. Although it is written for adults I feel older teens would devour this.

[Derren Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a sports autobiography/memoir and this one is pretty good! Athletes that write always floor me in the ways they look back and describe their career, individual games, all of it. Elgin Baylor writes like every game was the most important one he ever played, which is fun to read because this book is heavy heavy heavy on the basketball. But! His story is also, of course, much bigger than basketball and it shows--I feel like those parts are the strongest and most illuminating. I also really just appreciate the confidence he writes with as an older guy looking back on his entire life playing: not afraid to tell the truth about how good he was, but so so appreciative of those around him and what he's accomplished. He also just brings a lot of great wisdom into the stories he's telling which I enjoyed.

[LAMONT D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elgin was just a little bit before my time as far as ever remembering watching him actually play. His legacy, stats and name precede him, and it was very interesting to read about his life and the early years of the NBA. I like that he kept many of the games, playoffs, seasons in a short concise recap of what happened other than that very painful game 7 loss to the Celtics in LA which meant he never won an NBA championship as Boston with Bill Russell beat him and his Lakers every time. I like that he keeps things very professional in his book even with those he had issues with along the way. He does of course address the racism and how it affected him and his family. And the last part about Donald Sterling was short but you got the drift of what it was like to work with the man during his ownership of the Clippers. I don't know how he did it.

[sir chester snickerdoodle · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, I was almost turned off from this. The title seemed too generic and I feared it would be yet another bland run of the mill sports bio.

I’m glad I gave this book a chance because i saw very quickly why it needed to be written.

Elgin Baylor lived an extremely interesting life and was a true original at his craft in every sense of the word. People have no idea how great this guy was and all that he and his contemporaries endured in days that weren’t as accommodating to its star athletes.

It almost entirely covers his playing days but touches briefly on the Donald Sterling stuff. When he did, the book became incredibly interesting but it’s understandable why he wouldn’t want to give that slimeball more print than he already did.

All in all, I’m glad I didn’t allow the title to keep me from reading it.

[Jeff Alexy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read Jerry West's autobiography and some books about these Laker teams, so I was excited about reading this book. But overall, it fell flat. I thought that the beginning section of the book documenting Baylor's early life was very well written and interesting. But once he left for college, the book went downhill. The writing became worse. And Baylor comes off as very arrogant and self-centered. I know most great players are arrogant, but his seemed to be somewhat unfounded and a little sad, especially at the end when he retires rather than come off the bench. I know he scored a lot of points in the NBA, but that was back when there were only a handful of teams and it was acceptable to shoot 40% from the field.

[NSelem · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice basketball autobiography. Baylor includes some personal details about growing up in a segregated environment (despite D.C. being called a "Chocolate City") & how that impacted him & his family:
"I don't understand why my mother had to come to my rescue instead of my father, but I will soon. My father, too, is intimidated by the police... My father- quiet, proud, angry, & yet made impotent by the mere notion of the police- stands silently... he has only one choice, which is to do nothing, brutally aware that if he intervenes on behalf of his sons, the cops will take him in, too.

[David Barney · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is heavy on Baylor’s early life and his college and pro career. I wish it would have also spent some time with his life after his playing career. But, I guess his time with the Clippers wasn’t worth the time to write about. Baylor was before my time. Yet, from what I read and the old highlights of his career he was a stud. Before Julius Erving, Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

So-so. The whole book was up-and-down and passages were hit-or-miss for me.
There were sections that didn't really keep my attention, while others were very captivating.
On the plus side, Baylor's writing was candid and insightful.
And he also did a good job in throwing in a lot of humor especially when discussing stories of ex-teammates both on and off the court.

[Bob O'Dell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciate the open, honest approach Elgin took to his life growing up and how he carried many of these themes into his later years. This is a must read for basketball lovers, and a great read on the impact of race on us still today.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how he not only shared his life in sports, but how he and some members of his family endured Jim crow. It was heart wrenching on how he was cheated out of at least 2 or championships. Great story.

[Marklutherlawoffice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a late comer to the joys of watching NBA basketball (The 2024 Timberwolves inspired me). This is a wonderful read about a great player who played for Minneapolis and Los Angeles Lakers. Well worth the listen.

[Jim Blessing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent biography of a largely forgotten Basketball great.

[Al Menaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was pretty good. Lots of interesting stuff about Elgin's career and many great basketball guys. Lots of stuff about racism in the 50s and 60s.

[Joshua Pechthalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it