Cross-era · careers 34 years apart
Elgin Baylor vs Chris Paul
Elgin Baylor (1958-1971) and Chris Paul (2005-2025) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 34 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Elgin Baylor was the higher-volume scorer (27.4 points per game to 16.8); adjusted for era they scored at 2.34× and 1.71× their league average respectively; Chris Paul was the more efficient scorer (58.1% true shooting to 49.4%). Elgin Baylor holds the edge on accolades — 1 championship and the #30 all-time ranking to Chris Paul's #33.
Career averages
| Elgin Baylor | Stat | Chris Paul |
|---|
| 27.4 |
Points / game |
16.8 |
| 13.5 |
Rebounds / game |
4.4 |
| 4.3 |
Assists / game |
9.2 |
| 0.0 |
Steals / game |
2.0 |
| 0.0 |
Blocks / game |
0.2 |
| 43.1% |
Field goal % |
46.5% |
| 0.0% |
3-point % |
36.6% |
| 78.0% |
Free throw % |
86.9% |
| 49.4% |
True shooting % |
58.1% |
| 846 |
Games played |
1,370 |
Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)
| Elgin Baylor | Stat | Chris Paul |
|---|
| 2.34× |
Points vs era avg |
1.71× |
| 2.21× |
Rebounds vs era avg |
1.06× |
| 1.97× |
Assists vs era avg |
4.23× |
Advanced metrics
Advanced stats weren't tracked in Elgin Baylor's era.
| Elgin Baylor | Stat | Chris Paul |
|---|
| — |
Offensive rating |
114.9 |
| — |
Defensive rating |
105.9 |
| — |
Net rating |
9.0 |
| — |
Usage % |
14.2% |
| — |
Assist % |
30.6% |
| — |
Rebound % |
7.1% |
Playoff averages
| Elgin Baylor | Stat | Chris Paul |
|---|
| 27.0 |
Points / game |
20.0 |
| 12.9 |
Rebounds / game |
4.9 |
| 4.0 |
Assists / game |
8.3 |
| 0.0 |
Steals / game |
1.9 |
| 0.0 |
Blocks / game |
0.2 |
| 43.4% |
Field goal % |
48.4% |
| 0.0% |
3-point % |
36.9% |
| 75.3% |
Free throw % |
84.6% |
| 134 |
Playoff games |
149 |
Accolades
| Elgin Baylor | Stat | Chris Paul |
|---|
| 0 |
MVP awards |
0 |
| 0 |
Finals MVP |
0 |
| 1 |
Championships |
0 |
| 11 |
All-Star selections |
11 |
| 10 |
All-NBA 1st Team |
4 |
| #30 |
All-time GOAT rank |
#33 |