Schayes, "Dolph" (Adolph)
Basketball
b. May 19, 1928, New York, NY
A 6-foot-9 forward, Schayes was deadly with a two-hand set shot from the corner. When his defender guarded him closely to stop that shot, Schayes would fake it and drive past him to the basket.
As a senior, he led New York University to a 22-4 record in 1948. NYU reached the finals of the National Invitation Tournament that year but lost to St. Louis University. Schayes then joined the Syracuse Nationals of the National Basketball and was named rookie of the year.
The NBL merged with the NBA in 1949, and the Nationals moved to Philadelphia in 1963 and became known as the Warriors. Schayes spent just one season in Philadelphia. When he retired after the 1963/64 season, he held NBA records for games played, 1,059; points, 19,249; and free throws, 6,979. Schayes played in a record 706 consecutive games from 1952 to 1961 and once made 50 consecutive free throws.
A tough competitor, Schayes hated to miss a game. He suffered a broken right wrist in 1952 and continued to play while wearing a cast. "The cast made me work on my left-handed shots, which soon improved," he said. "Later, when the left wrist was cracked, my right-handed shots improved."
He coached the Philadelphia 76ers and from 1963/64 through 1965/66 and the Buffalo Braves in 1970/71. He was replaced after just one game in the 1971/72 season. The NBA coach of the year in 1966, Schayes had a 151-172 record as a coach.
In his 16 seasons as a player, Schayes scored 19,249 points in 1059 games, an average of 18.2. He was among the ten players named to the NBA's Silver Anniversary team in 1971.