Hang Time / Mariner Books (ePub)

Elgin Baylor's memoir of an epic all-star career in the NBAduring which he transformed basketball from a horizontal game to a vertical oneand 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 gameand one of the NBA's first black superstarsbut the full extent of his legacy stretches beyond his spectacular, game-changing shots and dunks. With startling symmetry, Baylor recounts his story: 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 phenomsonly 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.