Daniel Leslie Schayes (born May 10, 1959) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who played for Syracuse University and played 18 seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA), from

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

until

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

. At 6' 11" and 235 pounds, he played at

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. He is the son of the late

Dolph Schayes Adolph Schayes (May 19, 1928 – December 10, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A top scorer and rebounder, he was a 12-time NBA All-Star and a 12-time All-NBA selection. ...

, who was selected for the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

. Since his retirement from the NBA, Schayes has served as co-host of ''Centers of Attention,'' a sports talk show on ESPN Radio Syracuse in Syracuse, New York. His co-host is

Etan Thomas Dedrick Etan Thomas (born April 1, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a published poet ...

, also a retired American professional

player.

Early life

Schayes was born into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city' ...

, the son of Naomi Eva (née Gross) and

, who played professional basketball and was inducted in the Hall of Fame. His father's parents were born in Romania, and immigrated to the United States. Schayes grew up in

DeWitt, New York DeWitt is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 26,074. The town is named after Major Moses DeWitt, a judge and soldier. An eastern suburb of Syracuse, DeWitt also is "the site ...

.''Slices of Orange: Great Games and Performers in Syracuse University Sports ...'' - Sal Maiorana, Scott Pitoniak
/ref> He is an alum of

Jamesville-Dewitt High School Jamesville-DeWitt High School (JDHS) is a New York state public education facility located in the town of DeWitt, serving high school students (grades 9–12) in the Jamesville-Dewitt Central School District. Notable alumni * Buddy Boeheim, pr ...

, where he scored 1,012 points for the basketball team. The team won the Onondaga League North title in 1977. Schayes played on the US basketball team that won a gold medal at the

1977 Maccabiah Games At the 10th Maccabiah Games in Israel, more than 2,800 athletes from 34 countries participated in 26 different sports, including chess and bridge. The opening ceremonies were held on July 12, 1977, in Ramat Gan Stadium before a crowd of 50,000 p ...

Tel Aviv, Israel Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

; he also played for Team USA at the

1981 Maccabiah Games The 11th Maccabiah Games brought 3,450 athletes to Israel from 35 nations. The Opening Ceremony was held on July 7, 1981, before a crowd of 53,000 and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Ramat Gan Stadium, with 3,500 Jewish athletes paradin ...

, which won a gold medal. He served as Head Coach of Team USA in basketball at the

2013 Maccabiah Games The 19th Maccabiah ( he, המכביה התשע-עשרה) were held during July 18 to 30, 2013. The Games brought together 7,500 competing athletes, making it the third-largest international sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games and ...

, which won another gold medal.

College

During his senior year at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, the first year in which he started for the team, Schayes averaged nearly 14.6 points and 8.3 rebounds a game, and compiled 284 rebounds. He was named to the 1981 All-

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

first team and was both an All-American and an

Academic All-American The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...

. He holds the record at the

Carrier Dome The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022) and colloquially called "The Dome," or more recently "The JMA Dome," is a domed sports stadium in Syracuse, New York. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the Universi ...

for rebounds in a game (23).

Professional career

He was selected in the first round with the 13th overall pick by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in the

1981 NBA Draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft, 23 NBA t ...

out of

. Schayes was the second center to be drafted that year, with Steve Johnson of Oregon State being the first. After spending two seasons with the Jazz, he played for several different teams, notably with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, in which he spent his best years. The highlight of his NBA career was his performance in the 1987–88 season with the Nuggets when he averaged 13.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. In the playoffs that season he averaged 16.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He was 4th in the NBA with a .640 true shooting percentage. He retired after the NBA lockout-shortened 1999 season, after averaging 1.5 points in an injury-plagued 19-game stint with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. Schayes was briefly a member of the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

after signing as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

before the start of the 1999–00 season. However, he made no appearances for them due to his injuries, and was waived. He had an 18-year career in the NBA, in which he averaged 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 1,138 games.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1981-82 , align="left" ,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, 82 , , 20 , , 19.8 , , .481 , , .000 , , .757 , , 5.2 , , 1.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.9 , , 7.9 , - , align="left" , 1982-83 , align="left" ,

, 50 , , 50 , , 32.8 , , .449, , .000, , .805, , 9.0 , , 3.3 , , 0.8 , , 1.4 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , 1982-83 , align="left" ,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 32 , , 0, , 20.2 , , .472 , , .000, , .710, , 5.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 0.9 , , 9.2 , - , align="left" , 1983-84 , align="left" ,

, 82, , 15 , , 17.3 , , .493 , , .000 , , .790 , , 5.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 0.7 , , 7.1 , - , align="left" , 1984-85 , align="left" ,

, 56, , 0 , , 9.7 , , .465 , , .000 , , .814 , , 2.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" , 1985-86 , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 13 , , 20.7 , , .502 , , .000 , , .777 , , 5.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.8 , , 8.2 , - , align="left" , 1986-87 , align="left" ,

, 76 , , 41 , , 20.5 , , .519 , , .000 , , .779 , , 5.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 1.0 , , 8.5 , - , align="left" , 1987-88 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 74 , , 26.7 , , .540 , , .000 , , .836 , , 8.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.8 , , 1.1 , , 13.9 , - , align="left" , 1988-89 , align="left" ,

, 76 , , 64 , , 25.2 , , .522 , , .333 , , .826 , , 6.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 1.1 , , 12.8 , - , align="left" , 1989-90 , align="left" ,

, 53 , , 22 , , 22.5 , , .494 , , .000 , , .852 , , 6.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.8, , 10.4 , - , align="left" , 1990-91 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, 82, , 38 , , 27.2 , , .499 , , .000 , , .835 , , 6.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 10.8 , - , align="left" , 1991-92 , align="left" ,

, 43 , , 4 , , 16.9 , , .417 , , .000 , , .771 , , 3.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" , 1992-93 , align="left" ,

, 70, , 7 , , 16.1 , , .399 , , .000 , , .818 , , 3.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , 1993-94 , align="left" ,

, 23 , , 6 , , 10.0 , , .304 , , .000 , , .955 , , 2.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 2.1 , - , align="left" , 1993-94 , align="left" ,

L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, 13 , , 0 , , 10.2 , , .368 , , .000 , , .800 , , 2.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , 1994-95 , align="left" ,

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 69 , , 27 , , 11.9 , , .508 , , 1.000 , , .725 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 4.4 , - , align="left" , 1995-96 , align="left" ,

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, 32 , , 6 , , 12.5 , , .340 , , .000 , , .804 , , 2.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" , 1996-97 , align="left" ,

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, 45 , , 6 , , 12.0 , , .392 , , .000 , , .750 , , 2.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , 1997-98 , align="left" ,

, 74 , , 33 , , 17.2 , , .418 , , .000 , , .807 , , 3.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , 1998-99 , align="left" ,

, 19 , , 1 , , 7.5 , , .379 , , .000 , , .750 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 1.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1138, , 427 , , 19.3 , , .481 , , .133 , , .806 , , 5.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.7 , , 7.7 , -

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , 0 , , 20.4 , , .488 , , .000 , , .1000 , , 5.0 , , 1.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 16.2 , , .611 , , .000 , , .750 , , 4.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 13.1 , , .423 , , .000 , , .700 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 6 , , 29.5 , , .535 , , .000 , , .800 , , 8.2 , , 0.9 , , 0.4 , , 1.7 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 25.0 , , .706 , , .000 , , .667 , , 5.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 11 , , 28.5 , , .625 , , .000 , , .843 , , 7.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 0.9 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 18.0 , , .143 , , .000 , , .750 , , 5.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 23.7 , , .391 , , .000 , , .909 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 0 , , 14.6 , , .379 , , .000 , , .875 , , 2.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 8.5 , , .750 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 2 , , 18.4 , , .391 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 69 , , 22 , , 20.5 , , .518 , , .000 , , .823 , , 4.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 0.7 , , 7.8

Halls of Fame and awards

In 1989, he was inducted into the

athletic Hall of Fame. and the school retired his jersey number. Schayes was named "Best male athlete to hail from CNY" by the ''Post Standard'' in 2000. He was also added to the Syracuse University All-Century Basketball team and Hall of Fame. Schayes is also a member of the New York Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Schayes is married to Wendy Lucero-Schayes, a former

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

diver. He currently runs No Limits Investing in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, where he now lives. Schayes was part of a promotional campaign put on by the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

that depicts him

slam dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one ...

ing and says, "If you believe in America, prejudice is foul play!"">"CNN contributor jumps to conclusions and is left eating crow"
/ref> While attending Syracuse University, Schayes co-founded the United Students Financial Board, which gathered more than 200 members in its inaugural year. Since retiring from basketball, Schayes has been an active supporter of the Jewish Democratic Council of America and has spoken at numerous events, including a rally for 2004 presidential candidate

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...

References

External links

Basketball statsPlayer Profile at NBA.comJews in Sports bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schayes, Danny 1959 births Living people American men's basketball players American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Basketball players from Syracuse, New York Centers (basketball) Denver Nuggets players Jewish American sportspeople Jewish men's basketball players Los Angeles Lakers players Maccabiah Games basketball players of the United States Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games medalists in basketball Competitors at the 1977 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1981 Maccabiah Games Miami Heat players Milwaukee Bucks players Orlando Magic players People from DeWitt, New York Phoenix Suns players Syracuse Orange men's basketball players Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players 21st-century American Jews

Early life

College

Professional career

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Halls of Fame and awards

Personal life

See also

References

External links