Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17, 1945), nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma-mater

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education instr ...

. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and an inductee in 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 ...

. Known for both his offensive and defensive prowess, Hayes is often regarded as one of the best power forwards in NBA history. Hayes is also known for his longevity, being third all-time in NBA minutes played (at 50,000), and missing only nine games during his 16 season career.NBA Legends Profile: Elvin Hayes
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High school career

In Hayes' senior year at Britton High School, he led his team to the state championship, after averaging 35 points a game during the regular season. In the championship game victory, Hayes scored 45 points and grabbed 20 rebounds.

College career

In 1966, Hayes led the

into the Western Regional semifinals of the

1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 22 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national men's basketball champion of the NCAA University Division, now Division I. It began on March ...

before the Cougars lost to the

Pac-8 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

champion Oregon State Beavers. In 1967, Hayes led the Cougars to the Final Four of the

1967 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1967 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 11, and ended two weeks l ...

. He would attempt 31 field goals, score 25 points, and get 24 rebounds in a 73–58 semifinal loss to the eventual champion UCLA Bruins featuring Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Hayes' rebounding total is second to Bill Russell's Final Four record of 27.2007–2008 UCLA Men's Basketball Media Guide – PDF copy available at www.uclabruins.com. pg. 61 Post Season Scoring Recaps On January 20, 1968, Hayes and the

faced Alcindor and the UCLA Bruins in the first-ever nationally-televised regular-season college basketball game. In front of a record crowd of 52,693 fans at the Houston Astrodome, Hayes scored 39 points and had 15 rebounds while limiting Alcindor to just 15 points as Houston beat UCLA 71–69 to snap the Bruins' 47-game winning streak in what has been called the " Game of the Century". That game helped Hayes earn '' The Sporting News'' College Basketball Player of the Year. In the rematch to the "Game of the Century", Hayes faced Alcindor and UCLA in the 1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. UCLA coach

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

had the Bruins play a "triangle and two" zone defense with Alcindor playing behind Hayes and

Lynn Shackleford Lynn Shackelford (born August 27, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. A graduate of John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California, Shackelford earned 7 varsity letters in 3 years in basketball, baseball and golf. He ...

fronting him. Hayes was held to 10 points, losing to Alcindor and the Bruins 101–69 in the semi-final game. Elvin Hayes during celebration after Houston's win over UCLA in 1968 Game of the Century

Elvin Hayes during celebration after Houston's win over UCLA in 1968 Game of the Century

Hayes led Houston in scoring in each of three seasons (1966: 27.2 points per game, 1967: 28.4, and 1968: 36.8). For his college career, Hayes averaged 31.0 points per game and 17.2 rebounds per game. He has the most rebounds in NCAA tournament history at 222. While a student at Houston, Hayes was initiated into the Alpha Nu Omega Chapter of the

Iota Phi Theta Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded on September 19, 1963, at Morgan State University (then Morgan State College) in Baltimore, Maryland, and is currently the 5th largest Black Greek Le ...

fraternity alongside fellow future Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy. With his departure from college, Hayes was selected as the first overall selection in both the 1968 NBA draft and 1968 ABA draft. He was taken by the San Diego Rockets and the Houston Mavericks, respectively.

NBA career

San Diego/Houston Rockets

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. 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. He scored a career-high 54 points against the Detroit Pistons on November 11, 1968. In Hayes' second season, he led the NBA in rebounding, becoming the first player other than Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain to lead the category since 1957 (Chamberlain was injured during much of the season). In Hayes' third season, 1970–71, he scored a career-best 28.7 points per game. In 1971, the Rockets moved to Houston, enabling Hayes to play in the city of his college triumphs.

Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets

After a series of conflicts with Houston coach Tex Winter, Hayes was traded away to the Baltimore Bullets for Jack Marin and undisclosed considerations on June 23, 1972. In the 1974 NBA Playoffs, during the franchise's only year called the Capital Bullets, Hayes averaged postseason career-bests of 25.9 points and 15.9 rebounds per game in a Bullets 4–3 first round series loss to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. Hayes, along with co-star Wes Unseld, led the Washington Bullets to three NBA Finals appearances (

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

), and an NBA title over the Seattle SuperSonics in 1978. On March 3, 1978, Hayes set a career-high of 11 blocks in a single game, while also scoring 22 points and grabbing 27 rebounds, in a 124–108 win over the Detroit Pistons. During the Bullets' championship run that postseason, while aided by the addition of Bob Dandridge, Hayes averaged 21.8 points and 12.1 rebounds per game in 21 playoff games, as Washington won their only NBA title to date. Hayes set an

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

record for most offensive rebounds in a game (11), the following year, in a May 27, 1979 game against the SuperSonics. The Chicago Bulls' Dennis Rodman would tie this record twice, both games coming in the

1996 NBA Finals The 1996 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1995–96 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics (64–18) played the Eastern Con ...

, also against the SuperSonics.

Return to Rockets

Desiring to finish his playing career in Texas and preferably Houston, Hayes was sent back to the Rockets for second-round draft picks in

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 ...

( Charles Davis) and

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 Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

( Sidney Lowe) on June 8, 1981.

After basketball

Shortly after finishing his career in the NBA, Hayes returned to the University of Houston to finish the last 30 credit hours of his undergraduate degree. When interviewed about the experience, Hayes mentioned, "I played 16 years of pro basketball, but this is the hardest thing I've ever done." In November 2007, Hayes became a Liberty County, Texas,

sheriff's deputy A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

, fulfilling a childhood dream. On November 22, 2010, it was announced that he would serve as an analyst for radio broadcasts of

games on Houston's KBME. Hayes had his #44 jersey retired by the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

on November 18, 2022.

Personal life

Hayes converted to Catholicism in the 1970s.

Stats and honors

In his career with the San Diego/Houston Rockets and the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets, Hayes played 1,303 games over 16 seasons, registering 27,313 points (eleventh all-time) and 16,279 rebounds (fourth all-time). He is the all-time leading scorer for the Washington Bullets/Wizards. Hayes never missed more than two games in any of his 16 seasons in the NBA. In addition to his 1968 scoring title, he led the NBA in rebounding in 1970 and 1974. Hayes played in 12 straight NBA All-Star Games from 1969 to 1980. He retired holding the NBA record for total regular-season minutes played, with exactly 50,000. Hayes was elected to the

in 1990. He was named one of the

50 Greatest Players in NBA History The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...

in 1996 and voted to the

NBA 75th Anniversary Team The NBA 75th Anniversary Team, also referred to as the NBA 75, was chosen in 2021 to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the fourth and most recent anniversary team in the league. S ...

in 2021. He boycotted the Hall of Fame beginning in 1990 and refused to return until Guy Lewis, his coach at the University of Houston, was admitted. In 2003, Hayes was inducted into the

Breitbard Hall of Fame The San Diego Hall of Champions was an American multi-sport museum in San Diego, California until its closure in June 2017. The Hall of Champions housed the Breitbard Hall of Fame - San Diego's sports hall of fame - which is now located at Petco P ...

, which honors San Diego's finest athletes.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", San Diego , 82 , , , , 45.1 , , .447 , , , , .626 , , 17.1 , , 1.4 , , , , , , style="background:#cfecec;", 28.4* , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", San Diego , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , , , style="background:#cfecec;", 44.7* , , .452 , , , , .688 , , bgcolor="CFECEC" , 16.9* , , 2.0 , , , , , , 27.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", San Diego , 82 , , , , 44.3 , , .428 , , , , .672 , , 16.6 , , 2.3 , , , , , , 28.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Houston , 82 , , , , 42.2 , , .434 , , , , .649 , , 14.6 , , 3.3 , , , , , , 25.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, 81 , , , , 32.1 , , .444 , , , , .671 , , 14.1 , , 1.6 , , , , , , 21.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

, 81 , , , , style="background:#cfecec;", 44.5* , , .423 , , , , .721 , , bgcolor="CFECEC" , 18.1* , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , 3.0 , , 21.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 82 , , , , 42.3 , , .443 , , , , .766 , , 12.2 , , 2.5 , , 1.9 , , 2.3 , , 23.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 80 , , , , 37.2 , , .470 , , , , .628 , , 11.0 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , 2.5 , , 19.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 82 , , , , 41.0 , , .501 , , , , .687 , , 12.5 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , 2.7 , , 23.7 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 81 , , , , 40.1 , , .451 , , , , .634 , , 13.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , 2.0 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 82 , , , , 37.9 , , .487 , , , , .654 , , 12.1 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , 2.3 , , 21.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 81 , , , , 39.3 , , .454 , , .231 , , .699 , , 11.1 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , 2.3 , , 23.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 81 , , , , 36.2 , , .451 , , .000 , , .617 , , 9.7 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 2.1 , , 17.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Houston , 82 , , 82 , , 37.0 , , .472 , , .000 , , .664 , , 9.1 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , 1.3 , , 16.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Houston , 81 , , 43 , , 28.4 , , .476 , , .500 , , .683 , , 7.6 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Houston , 81 , , 4 , , 12.3 , , .406 , , .000 , , .652 , , 3.2 , , .9 , , .2 , , .3 , , 5.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 1,303 , , 129 , , 38.4 , , .452 , , .147 , , .670 , , 12.5 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 21.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, All-Star , 12 , , 4 , , 22.0 , , .403 , , , , .647 , , 7.7 , , 1.4 , , – , , – , , 10.5

Playoffs

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

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, style="text-align:left;", San Diego , 6, , , , 46.3, , .526, , , , .660, , 13.8, , .8, , , , , , 25.8 , - , style="text-align:left;,

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

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

, 5, , , , 45.6, , .505, , , , .697, , 11.4, , 1.0, , , , , , 25.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

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

, 7, , , , 46.1, , .531, , , , .707, , 15.9, , 3.0, , 0.7, , 2.1, , 25.9 , - , style="text-align:left;,

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 17, , , , 44.2, , .468, , , , .677, , 10.9, , 2.2, , 1.5, , 2.3, , 25.5 , - , style="text-align:left;,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 7, , , , 43.6, , .443, , , , .582, , 12.6, , 1.4, , .7, , 4.0, , 20.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 9, , , , 45.0, , .563, , , , .695, , 13.6, , 1.9, , 1.1, , 2.4, , 21.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

† , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 21, , , , 41.3, , .491, , , , , .594, , 13.3, , 2.0, , 1.5, , 2.5, , 21.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 19, , , , 41.4, , .429, , , , .669, , 14.0, , 5.0, , .9, , 2.7, , 22.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 2, , , , 46.0, , .390, , , , .800, , 11.0, , 3.0, , .0, , 2.0, , 20.0 , - , style="text-align:left;,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, style="text-align:left;", Houston , 3, , , , 41.3, , .340, , , , .533, , 10.0, , 1.0, , .7, , 3.3, , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 96 , , , , 43.3 , , .464 , , , , .652 , , 13.0 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , 2.6 , , 22.9

References

External links

NBA.com biographyClutchFans.net Profile
– Houston Rocket Fan Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Elvin 1945 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) players Basketball players from Louisiana Capital Bullets players Centers (basketball) Houston Cougars men's basketball players Houston Mavericks draft picks Houston Rockets players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association players with retired numbers National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees People from Rayville, Louisiana Power forwards (basketball) San Diego Rockets draft picks San Diego Rockets players Washington Bullets players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople African-American Catholics