.jpeg) Schayes with theSyracuse Nationals in 1955 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1928-05-19)May 19, 1928 The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 10, 2015(2015-12-10) (aged 87) Syracuse, New York, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | DeWitt Clinton (The Bronx, New York) |
| College | NYU (1944–1948) |
| BAA draft | 1948: 1st round, 4th overall pick |
| Drafted by | New York Knicks |
| Playing career | 1948–1964 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Number | 55, 4 |
| Coaching career | 1963–1972 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1948–1964 | Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers |
Coaching | |
| 1963–1966 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1970–1972 | Buffalo Braves |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 19,249 (18.2 ppg) (NBL/BAA/NBA) 18,438 (18.5 ppg) (BAA/NBA) |
| Rebounds | 11,256 (12.1 rpg) |
| Assists | 3,072 (3.1 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Adolph Schayes (/ˈʃeɪz/SHAYZ; May 19, 1928 – December 10, 2015) was an American professionalbasketball player and coach in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). A top scorer andrebounder, he was a 12-timeNBA All-Star and a 12-timeAll-NBA selection. Schayes won anNBA championship with theSyracuse Nationals in 1955.[1] He was named one of the50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and was also named to theNBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. He was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973.
Schayes played his entire career with the Nationals and their successor, thePhiladelphia 76ers, from 1948 to 1964.[2] In his 16-year career, he led his team into theplayoffs 15 times.[3] After the Nationals moved to Philadelphia, Schayes becameplayer-coach of the newly minted 76ers. He ended his playing career after the 1963–64 season and stayed on as coach for two more seasons, earningNBA Coach of the Year honors in 1966. He briefly coached with theBuffalo Braves.
Adolph Schayes was born on May 19, 1928, inthe Bronx, New York City, the son of Tina (née Michel), a homemaker, and Carl Schayes, a truck driver for Consolidated Laundries.[4] His parents wereRomanian-Jewish immigrants.[5] He grew up on Davidson Avenue and 183rd Street, nearJerome Avenue inUniversity Heights, Bronx.[6]
Schayes attended Creston Junior High School 79 andDeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where he excelled inbasketball, playing for the basketball team and led it to a borough championship.[3][7] At 6-foot-8, Dolph Schayes was agile and possessed great finesse around the basket. From 1944 to 1948, Schayes popularized the city game while starring under Hall of Fame coach Howard Cann at New York University[8]
Schayes played his college basketball atNew York University (NYU) in 1944–48. In 1945, as a 16-year-old freshman, Schayes helped NYU reach the NCAA final.[9] Schayes earned anaeronautical engineering degree, was an All-American in basketball and won theHaggerty Award in his final year.[2][9][10] His NYU coach,Howard Cann, said of him: "He was in the gym practicing every spare minute. We had to chase him out."[7]
Schayes was drafted by both theNew York Knicks in the1948 BAA draft (1st round; 4th pick overall), and by theTri-Cities Blackhawks in theNBL draft.[11] The Blackhawks traded his rights to theSyracuse Nationals, who then offered him a contract worth $7,500 (worth $98,200 today), 50% more than the Knicks, influencing his decision to go to Syracuse.[10][12] Schayes played one season in the NBL and was named the league'sRookie of the Year.[13] The following season (1949–50), the Nationals moved to the newly formedNational Basketball Association as part of the merger between the BAA and NBL.
Although tall for his era at 6 ft 8 in (203 cm), Schayes was especially known for his deadly, high-arcing, outside set-shot. It arced so high that his teammates came to call it the "Sputnik".[14] Defenders who attempted to deny him the outside shot were confronted by his powerful drive to the basket.[15] These two offensive weapons served him well, even as the NBA was transitioning from basketball's traditionalset shot into a league ofjump-shooters.[citation needed]
Early in Schayes' career, he broke his right arm and played almost an entire season in a cast. Oddly, this injury became a seminal point in his development: he learned to shoot with his off-hand, making him especially difficult to guard. He was one of the best—and the last—to use a two-handed set-shot with feet planted on the floor, before the game changed to one-handed jump shots.[12][16]
In the 1949–50 season, Schayes was sixth in the league in assists, with 259.[11] Heled the NBA in rebounding in 1950–51 (in which he also had 10 of the top 14 individual rebounding games), with 1,080 and a 16.4-per-game average.[17][18] He was third in the league in rebounding in 1952–53, with 920.[11] In 1953–54, his 12.3 rebounds per game were fourth-best in the NBA.[11]
In 1954–55, Schayes led his team to the NBA championship.[11] In 1956–57, he led the league in minutes-per-game (39.6) and free throws (625), while grabbing 1,008 rebounds (3rd in the league) and averaging 22.6 points per game (4th in the league). In 1957, he set an NBA consecutive free throw record in a single game with 18.[19] In 1957–58 he again led the league in minutes-per-game (40.5), and averaged a career-high 24.9 points per game, second in the league, while averaging 14.2 rebounds per game (fourth in the NBA).[1][11]
Schayes led the NBA in free throw percentage three times: in 1958 (.904), 1960 (.892) and 1962 (.896).[17][18][20] In 1959, he scored a career-high 50 points in a game against the Celtics.[19] In the NBA, he didn't miss a single game from February 17, 1952, to December 26, 1961, an NBA-record streak of 706 games.[19] In 1960–61, he again led the league in free throws (with 680).[11] In 1961, he became the first player in NBA history to amass 30,000 career total PRA (Points + Rebounds + Assists).
Schayes was the first person in the NBA to ever surpass 15,000 points and 10,000 rebounds.[9]
A 12-timeNBA All-Star, Schayes was a six-timeAll-NBA First Team honoree, and was also selected to the All-NBA Second Team six times.[20] He came in second in MVP voting in 1958, and 5th in both 1956 and 1957.[16] When he retired in 1964, he held the NBA records for games played (996), foul shots made (6,712), attempted (7,904), personal fouls (3,432) and was second toBob Pettit in scoring (18,438) and third in rebounds (11,256).[citation needed]
When the Nationals moved to Philadelphia in 1963 as thePhiladelphia 76ers, Schayes became player-coach. However, his playing career had all but ended; he only played in 24 games, the only time in his career in which he played in fewer than 50 games. He didn't play at all during the playoffs.
Schayes retired as a player after the season but stayed on as coach for three more seasons. He was namedNBA Coach of the Year in 1966.[17] That season, he led the Sixers to the Eastern Division regular-season title, ending a nine-year reign by theBoston Celtics. However, the Celtics ousted the Sixers in a five-game Eastern final, and Schayes was fired.[9] He was succeeded by his predecessor with the Nats,Alex Hannum, who led the team to the best record in league history at the time and an NBA title.
From 1966 to 1970, Schayes was the supervisor of NBA referees.[2][21] He was named the first coach of theBuffalo Braves in 1970,[9] but was fired one game into his second season after a 123-90 loss to theSeattle SuperSonics.[22]
Schayes coached the USMaccabiah Games basketball team to an upset win to take the gold medal in the1977 Maccabiah Games.[2][21][23][24] He also coached the U.S. Masters basketball team at the1993 Maccabiah Games.[25] He also played an active role raising money for the Maccabiah Games.[21][24]
Schayes settled inSyracuse, New York, in 1948, where he first played in the NBA, and where he was a real estate developer after his playing days.[26]
Schayes' son is retired NBAcenterDanny Schayes, who played forJamesville-DeWitt High School, inDeWitt, New York;Syracuse University; and in the NBA for 18 seasons.[2][7] His granddaughters Abi, Carla, and Rachel Goettsch won silver medals for the United States volleyball team at the2001 Maccabiah Games, and his grandson Mickey Ferri won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the2005 Maccabiah Games.[25][27]
Schayes died of cancer on December 10, 2015, at the age of 87.[9][28] He wasburied at Woodlawn Cemetery in Syracuse.
In 1970, Schayes was elected to theNBA 25th Anniversary Team as one of the top 12 retired players.[16]
In 1972, Schayes was elected to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[2] He is also a member of theInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the USNational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and the National Jewish American Sports Hall of Fame.[29]
In 1996, Schayes was selected as one of the50 Greatest Players in NBA History.[21]
In May 2015, Schayes was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame, where he received a street named in his honor, called "Dolph Schayes Street".[30]
The 76ers retired Schayes' jersey on March 12, 2016, while theSyracuse Crunch retired it on March 26, 2016.[31][32]
In 2021, Schayes was elected to theNBA 75th Anniversary Team.[33] To commemorate the NBA's 75th AnniversaryThe Athletic ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Schayes as the 61st greatest player in NBA history.[34]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won anNBA championship | * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–50 | Syracuse | 64 | — | .385 | .774 | — | 4.0 | 16.8 |
| 1950–51 | Syracuse | 66 | — | .357 | .752 | 16.4* | 3.8 | 17.0 |
| 1951–52 | Syracuse | 63 | 31.8 | .355 | .807 | 12.3 | 2.9 | 13.8 |
| 1952–53 | Syracuse | 71 | 37.6 | .374 | .827 | 13.0 | 3.2 | 17.8 |
| 1953–54 | Syracuse | 72 | 36.9 | .380 | .827 | 12.1 | 3.0 | 17.1 |
| 1954–55† | Syracuse | 72 | 35.1 | .383 | .833 | 12.3 | 3.0 | 18.5 |
| 1955–56 | Syracuse | 72 | 35.0 | .387 | .858 | 12.4 | 2.8 | 20.4 |
| 1956–57 | Syracuse | 72 | 39.6* | .379 | .904 | 14.0 | 3.2 | 22.5 |
| 1957–58 | Syracuse | 72 | 40.5* | .398 | .904* | 14.2 | 3.1 | 24.9 |
| 1958–59 | Syracuse | 72 | 36.7 | .387 | .864 | 13.4 | 2.5 | 21.3 |
| 1959–60 | Syracuse | 75 | 36.5 | .401 | .893* | 12.8 | 3.4 | 22.5 |
| 1960–61 | Syracuse | 79 | 38.1 | .372 | .868 | 12.2 | 3.7 | 23.6 |
| 1961–62 | Syracuse | 56 | 26.4 | .357 | .897* | 7.8 | 2.1 | 14.7 |
| 1962–63 | Syracuse | 66 | 21.8 | .388 | .879 | 5.7 | 2.7 | 9.5 |
| 1963–64 | Philadelphia | 24 | 14.6 | .308 | .807 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 5.6 |
| Career | 996 | 34.4 | .380 | .849 | 12.1 | 3.1 | 18.5 | |
| All-Star | 11 | 22.5 | .440 | .840 | 9.5 | 1.5 | 12.5 | |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Syracuse | 11 | — | .385 | .733 | — | 2.5 | 17.1 |
| 1951 | Syracuse | 7 | — | .448 | .766 | 14.6 | 2.9 | 20.4 |
| 1952 | Syracuse | 7 | 35.4 | .451 | .769 | 12.9 | 2.1 | 20.3 |
| 1953 | Syracuse | 2 | 29.0 | .250 | .769 | 8.5 | 0.5 | 9.0 |
| 1954 | Syracuse | 13 | 28.8 | .457 | .741 | 10.5 | 1.8 | 16.0 |
| 1955† | Syracuse | 11 | 33.0 | .359 | .840 | 12.8 | 3.6 | 19.0 |
| 1956 | Syracuse | 8 | 38.8 | .366 | .880 | 13.9 | 3.4 | 22.1 |
| 1957 | Syracuse | 5 | 43.0 | .305 | .891 | 18.0 | 2.8 | 21.4 |
| 1958 | Syracuse | 3 | 43.7 | .391 | .833 | 15.0 | 3.1 | 26.7 |
| 1959 | Syracuse | 9 | 39.0 | .400 | .916 | 13.0 | 4.6 | 28.2 |
| 1960 | Syracuse | 3 | 42.0 | .455 | .933 | 16.0 | 2.7 | 29.3 |
| 1961 | Syracuse | 8 | 38.5 | .336 | .900 | 11.4 | 2.6 | 20.6 |
| 1962 | Syracuse | 5 | 19.0 | .364 | .692 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 11.4 |
| 1963 | Syracuse | 5 | 21.6 | .455 | .917 | 5.6 | 1.4 | 10.2 |
| Career | 97 | 34.0 | .390 | .825 | 12.2 | 2.6 | 19.5 | |
Dolph Schayes.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Dolph Schayes.
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