Cross-era · careers 5 years apart

Elgin Baylor vs Julius Erving

Elgin Baylor (1958-1971) and Julius Erving (1976-1986) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 5 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 22.0); adjusted for era they scored at 2.34× and 2.09× their league average respectively; Julius Erving was the more efficient scorer (55.8% true shooting to 49.4%). Julius Erving holds the edge on accolades — 1 MVP, 3 championships and the #21 all-time ranking to Elgin Baylor's #30.

Career averages

Elgin BaylorStatJulius Erving
27.4 Points / game 22.0
13.5 Rebounds / game 6.7
4.3 Assists / game 3.9
0.0 Steals / game 1.8
0.0 Blocks / game 1.5
43.1% Field goal % 50.6%
0.0% 3-point % 18.6%
78.0% Free throw % 77.9%
49.4% True shooting % 55.8%
846 Games played 836

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

Elgin BaylorStatJulius Erving
2.34× Points vs era avg 2.09×
2.21× Rebounds vs era avg 1.53×
1.97× Assists vs era avg 1.55×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Elgin Baylor's era.

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Julius Erving's era.

Playoff averages

Elgin BaylorStatJulius Erving
27.0 Points / game 21.9
12.9 Rebounds / game 7.0
4.0 Assists / game 4.2
0.0 Steals / game 1.7
0.0 Blocks / game 1.7
43.4% Field goal % 48.4%
0.0% 3-point % 8.0%
75.3% Free throw % 78.1%
134 Playoff games 141

Accolades

Elgin BaylorStatJulius Erving
0 MVP awards 1
0 Finals MVP 0
1 Championships 3
11 All-Star selections 11
10 All-NBA 1st Team 9
#30 All-time GOAT rank #21

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