Danny Schayes

Daniel Leslie Schayes (born May 10, 1959) is a retired American professional basketball player who played for Syracuse University and played 18 seasons in the NBA, from 1981 until 1999. At 6' 11" and 235 pounds, he played at center. He is the son of the late Dolph Schayes, who was selected for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 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, also a retired American professional basketball player.

Danny Schayes
Schayes in 1993
Personal information
Born (1959-05-10) May 10, 1959
Syracuse, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolJamesville-DeWitt
(DeWitt, New York)
CollegeSyracuse (1977–1981)
NBA draft1981 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career1981–1999
PositionCenter
Number24, 34, 10, 26
Career history
19811983Utah Jazz
19831990Denver Nuggets
19901994Milwaukee Bucks
1994Los Angeles Lakers
1994–1995Phoenix Suns
1995–1996Miami Heat
19961999Orlando Magic
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points8,780 (7.7 ppg)
Rebounds5,671 (5.0 rpg)
Blocks/Assists840 (0.7 bpg)/1299 (1.1 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life

Schayes was born to a Jewish family in Syracuse, New York, the son of Naomi Eva (née Gross) and Dolph Schayes, who played professional basketball and was inducted in the Hall of Fame.[1] His father's parents were born in Romania, and immigrated to the United States.[2]

Schayes grew up in Jamesville, New York.[3] He is an alum of Jamesville-Dewitt High School, where he scored 1,012 points for the basketball team. The team won the Onondaga League North title in 1977.[4]

Schayes played on the US basketball team that won a gold medal at the 1977 Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv, Israel; he also played for Team USA at the 1981 Maccabiah Games, which won a gold medal. He served as Head Coach of Team USA in basketball at the 2013 Maccabiah Games, which won another gold medal.[5][6]

College

During his senior year at Syracuse University, the first year in which he started for the team,[3] Schayes averaged nearly 14.6 points and 8.3 rebounds a game, and compiled 284 rebounds.[3] He was named to the 1981 All-Big East first team and was both an All-American and an Academic All-American. He holds the record at the Carrier Dome for rebounds in a game (23).[5]

Professional career

He was selected in the first round[3] with the 13th overall pick by the Utah Jazz in the 1981 NBA Draft out of Syracuse University. Schayes was the second center to be drafted that year, with Steve Johnson of Oregon State being the first.[3]

After spending two seasons with the Jazz, he played for several different teams, notably with the Denver Nuggets, 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. Schayes was briefly a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves after signing as a free agent before the start of the 1999–00 season. However, he made no appearances for them due to his injuries, and was waived.[7] He had an 18-year career in the NBA, in which he averaged 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 1,138 games.[3]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1981-82 Utah 822019.8.481.000.7575.21.80.60.97.9
1982-83 Utah 505032.8.449.000.8059.03.30.81.412.4
1982-83 Denver 32020.2.472.000.7105.81.30.50.99.2
1983-84 Denver 821517.3.493.000.7905.31.10.40.77.1
1984-85 Denver 5609.7.465.000.8142.60.70.40.43.6
1985-86 Denver 801320.7.502.000.7775.51.00.50.88.2
1986-87 Denver 764120.5.519.000.7795.01.10.31.08.5
1987-88 Denver 817426.7.540.000.8368.21.30.81.113.9
1988-89 Denver 766425.2.522.333.8266.61.40.61.112.8
1989-90 Denver 532222.5.494.000.8526.51.20.80.810.4
1990-91 Milwaukee 823827.2.499.000.8356.51.20.70.710.8
1991-92 Milwaukee 43416.9.417.000.7713.90.80.40.45.6
1992-93 Milwaukee 70716.1.399.000.8183.61.10.50.54.6
1993-94 Milwaukee 23610.0.304.000.9552.00.20.20.32.1
1993-94 L.A. Lakers 13010.2.368.000.8002.60.60.40.22.8
1994-95 Phoenix 692711.9.508.1000.7253.01.30.30.54.4
1995-96 Miami 32612.5.340.000.8042.80.30.30.53.2
1996-97 Orlando 45612.0.392.000.7502.80.30.30.43.0
1997-98 Orlando 743317.2.418.000.8073.30.60.50.45.5
1998-99 Orlando 1917.5.379.000.7500.70.20.10.11.5
Career 113842719.3.481.133.8065.01.10.50.77.7

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1983 Denver 8020.4.488.000.10005.01.80.30.67.1
1984 Denver 5016.2.611.000.7504.80.80.80.65.6
1985 Denver 9013.1.423.000.7003.31.30.30.34.0
1986 Denver 10629.5.535.000.8008.20.90.41.711.6
1987 Denver 3025.0.706.000.6675.70.70.30.710.0
1988 Denver 111128.5.625.000.8437.21.60.30.916.4
1989 Denver 2018.0.143.000.7505.50.50.50.54.0
1991 Milwaukee 3323.7.391.000.9094.01.01.00.39.3
1995 Phoenix 10014.6.379.000.8752.00.80.30.32.9
1996 Miami 208.5.750.000.5002.00.00.00.03.5
1997 Orlando 5218.4.391.000.5002.41.00.40.24.4
1999 Orlando 108.0.000.000.0000.00.00.00.00.0
Career 692220.5.518.000.8234.81.10.40.77.8

Halls of Fame and awards

In 1989, he was inducted into the Jamesville-Dewitt High School athletic Hall of Fame. and the school retired his jersey number.[4] 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.[4] Schayes is also a member of the New York Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[5]

Personal life

Schayes is married to Wendy Lucero-Schayes, a former Olympic diver.[8][9] He currently runs No Limits Investing in Phoenix, Arizona, where he now lives.[10][11][12]

Schayes was part of a promotional campaign put on by the Anti-Defamation League that depicts him slam dunking and says, "If you believe in America, prejudice is foul play!"[13]

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 in Omaha, Nebraska.

See also

References

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