"Dolph" Schayes

Adolph "Dolph" Schayes (born May 19, 1928) is a retired American professional basketball player and coach in the NBA. He was a member of the 1955 NBA champion Syracuse Nationals and a 12-time All-Star. Schayes played his entire career with the Nationals and their successor, the Philadelphia 76ers, from 1948 to 1964 in a Hall of Fame career.

[edit] Life and career

Schayes was born in New York, New York. The son of Romanian immigrant parents, his father, Carl was a truck driver for Consolidated laundries, and his mother, Tina was a housewife. Both were Romanian Jewish immigrants.^[1] “Dolph” grew up on Davidson Avenue and 183rd Street, off Fordham.^[2] He attended Creston Junior High School 79 and DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, New York, and played his college basketball at New York University 1944–48. Schayes was drafted by both the New York Knicks in the 1948 BAA Draft and the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in the NBL Draft. The Blackhawks traded his rights to the Nationals, who then offered him a contract worth 50% more than the Knicks, leading to his decision of going to Syracuse.^[3] Although tall for his era at 6'8", Schayes was especially known for his deadly, high-arcing, outside set-shot. Defenders who attempted to deny him the outside shot were confronted by his powerful drive to the basket. These two offensive weapons served him well, even as the NBA was transitioning into a league of jump-shooters. 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 Schayes' 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.^[3]
In the NBA, Schayes did not miss a single game from February 17, 1952 until December 26, 1961 (a streak of 706 games). Schayes led the NBA in rebounding (16.4 rpg) during 1950–51 season, and led the NBA in free throw percentage three times.^[4] Dolph Schayes was a six time All-NBA First-Team honoree and was also selected to the All-NBA Second-Team six times.^[4] Upon retirement in 1964, Schayes held the NBA records for career scoring (19,249 points) and games played (1,059), and in 1961 became the first in NBA history to 30,000 career total PRA (Points + Rebounds + Assists). In 1996, Schayes was selected as one of the 50 Greatest NBA players of all-time.
When the Nationals moved to Philadelphia in 1963, Schayes was named player-coach. He retired after the season, but stayed on as coach for three more seasons. He was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1966. He was named the first coach of the Buffalo Braves in 1970, but resigned one game into his second season.
Schayes settled in Syracuse in 1948, and still makes his home there. When Larry Costello (a native of nearby Minoa and a teammate of Schayes) died in 2001, Schayes became the only remaining member of the Syracuse Nationals to still be living and working in Central New York.
He is the father of retired NBA journeyman center Danny Schayes.