Elvin Hayes is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and an inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
22 Facts About Elvin Hayes
2.
Elvin Hayes is known for his longevity, being third all-time in NBA minutes played, and missing only nine games during his 16 season career.
3.
In 1966, Elvin Hayes led the Houston Cougars into the Western Regional semifinals of the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament before the Cougars lost to the Pac-8 champion Oregon State Beavers.
4.
In 1967, Elvin Hayes led the Cougars to the Final Four of the 1967 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
5.
Elvin Hayes' rebounding total is second to Bill Russell's Final Four record of 27.
6.
That game helped Elvin Hayes earn The Sporting News College Basketball Player of the Year.
7.
Elvin Hayes led Houston in scoring in each of three seasons.
8.
Elvin Hayes has the most rebounds in NCAA tournament history at 222.
9.
Elvin Hayes was taken by the San Diego Rockets and the Houston Mavericks, respectively.
10.
Elvin Hayes joined the NBA with the San Diego Rockets in 1968 and went on to lead the NBA in scoring with 28.4 points per game, averaged 17.1 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team.
11.
Elvin Hayes' scoring average is the fifth best all-time for a rookie, and he remains the last rookie to lead the NBA in scoring average.
12.
Elvin Hayes scored a career-high 54 points against the Detroit Pistons on November 11,1968.
13.
Elvin Hayes set an NBA Finals record for most offensive rebounds in a game, the following year, in a May 27,1979 game against the SuperSonics.
14.
Shortly after finishing his career in the NBA, Elvin Hayes returned to the University of Houston to finish the last 30 credit hours of his undergraduate degree.
15.
In November 2007, Elvin Hayes became a Liberty County, Texas, sheriff's deputy, fulfilling a childhood dream.
16.
Elvin Hayes never missed more than two games in any of his 16 seasons in the NBA.
17.
Elvin Hayes played in 12 straight NBA All-Star Games from 1969 to 1980.
18.
Elvin Hayes retired holding the NBA record for total regular-season minutes played, with exactly 50,000.
19.
Elvin Hayes was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.
20.
Elvin Hayes was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and voted to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
21.
Elvin Hayes boycotted the Hall of Fame beginning in 1990 and refused to return until Guy Lewis, his coach at the University of Houston, was admitted.
22.
In 2003, Elvin Hayes was inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame, which honors San Diego's finest athletes.