26 Facts About Dolph Schayes

Adolph Schayes was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association.

Dolph Schayes was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and one of the 76 players named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

Dolph Schayes was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973.

Dolph Schayes played his entire career with the Nationals and their successor, the Philadelphia 76ers, from 1948 to 1964.

Dolph Schayes was born in the Bronx, New York, the son of Tina, a homemaker, and Carl Dolph Schayes, a truck driver for Consolidated Laundries.

Dolph Schayes grew up on Davidson Avenue and 183rd Street, near Jerome Avenue in University Heights, Bronx.

Dolph Schayes attended Creston Junior High School 79 and DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, New York, where he played for the basketball team and led it to a borough championship.

In 1945, as a 16-year-old freshman, Dolph Schayes helped NYU reach the NCAA final.

Dolph Schayes earned an aeronautical engineering degree, was an All-American in basketball and won the Haggerty Award in his final year.

Dolph Schayes was drafted by both the New York Knicks in the 1948 BAA draft, and by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in the NBL draft.

Dolph Schayes played one season in the NBL and was named the league's Rookie of the Year.

Dolph Schayes was the first person in the NBA to ever surpass 15,000 points.

Dolph Schayes came in second in MVP voting in 1958, and 5th in both 1956 and 1957.

Dolph Schayes retired as a player after the season but stayed on as coach for three more seasons.

Dolph Schayes was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1966.

Dolph Schayes 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.

Dolph Schayes was named the first coach of the Buffalo Braves in 1970, but was fired one game into his second season.

Dolph Schayes coached the US Maccabiah Games basketball team to an upset win to take the gold medal in the 1977 Maccabiah Games.

Dolph Schayes coached the US Masters basketball team at the 1993 Maccabiah Games.

Dolph Schayes played an active role raising money for the Maccabiah Games.

Dolph Schayes settled in Syracuse, New York, in 1948, where he first played in the NBA, and where he was a real estate developer after his playing days.

Dolph Schayes' son is retired NBA center Danny Dolph Schayes, who played for Jamesville-DeWitt High School, in DeWitt, New York; Syracuse University; and in the NBA for 18 seasons.

Dolph Schayes died of cancer on December 10,2015, at the age of 87.

Dolph Schayes was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Section 30, Plot 475.

In 1970, Dolph Schayes was elected to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team as one of the top 12 retired players.

Dolph Schayes is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the US National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and the National Jewish American Sports Hall of Fame.