Danny Schayes

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Danny Schayes
Schayes in 1993
Personal information
Born (1959-05-10) May 10, 1959 (age 64)
Syracuse, New York, U.S.
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: 1st round, 13th overall pick
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 Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Representing  United States
Basketball
Maccabiah Games
Gold medal – first place 1977 Maccabiah Basketball
Gold medal – first place 1981 Maccabiah Basketball

Daniel Leslie Schayes (born May 10, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played for Syracuse University and played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (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.

Early life

Schayes was born into 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 DeWitt, 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 82 20 19.8 .481 .000 .757 5.2 1.8 0.6 0.9 7.9
1982-83 Utah 50 50 32.8 .449 .000 .805 9.0 3.3 0.8 1.4 12.4
1982-83 Denver 32 0 20.2 .472 .000 .710 5.8 1.3 0.5 0.9 9.2
1983-84 Denver 82 15 17.3 .493 .000 .790 5.3 1.1 0.4 0.7 7.1
1984-85 Denver 56 0 9.7 .465 .000 .814 2.6 0.7 0.4 0.4 3.6
1985-86 Denver 80 13 20.7 .502 .000 .777 5.5 1.0 0.5 0.8 8.2
1986-87 Denver 76 41 20.5 .519 .000 .779 5.0 1.1 0.3 1.0 8.5
1987-88 Denver 81 74 26.7 .540 .000 .836 8.2 1.3 0.8 1.1 13.9
1988-89 Denver 76 64 25.2 .522 .333 .826 6.6 1.4 0.6 1.1 12.8
1989-90 Denver 53 22 22.5 .494 .000 .852 6.5 1.2 0.8 0.8 10.4
1990-91 Milwaukee 82 38 27.2 .499 .000 .835 6.5 1.2 0.7 0.7 10.8
1991-92 Milwaukee 43 4 16.9 .417 .000 .771 3.9 0.8 0.4 0.4 5.6
1992-93 Milwaukee 70 7 16.1 .399 .000 .818 3.6 1.1 0.5 0.5 4.6
1993-94 Milwaukee 23 6 10.0 .304 .000 .955 2.0 0.2 0.2 0.3 2.1
1993-94 L.A. Lakers 13 0 10.2 .368 .000 .800 2.6 0.6 0.4 0.2 2.8
1994-95 Phoenix 69 27 11.9 .508 1.000 .725 3.0 1.3 0.3 0.5 4.4
1995-96 Miami 32 6 12.5 .340 .000 .804 2.8 0.3 0.3 0.5 3.2
1996-97 Orlando 45 6 12.0 .392 .000 .750 2.8 0.3 0.3 0.4 3.0
1997-98 Orlando 74 33 17.2 .418 .000 .807 3.3 0.6 0.5 0.4 5.5
1998-99 Orlando 19 1 7.5 .379 .000 .750 0.7 0.2 0.1 0.1 1.5
Career 1138 427 19.3 .481 .133 .806 5.0 1.1 0.5 0.7 7.7

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1983 Denver 8 0 20.4 .488 .000 .1000 5.0 1.8 0.3 0.6 7.1
1984 Denver 5 0 16.2 .611 .000 .750 4.8 0.8 0.8 0.6 5.6
1985 Denver 9 0 13.1 .423 .000 .700 3.3 1.3 0.3 0.3 4.0
1986 Denver 10 6 29.5 .535 .000 .800 8.2 0.9 0.4 1.7 11.6
1987 Denver 3 0 25.0 .706 .000 .667 5.7 0.7 0.3 0.7 10.0
1988 Denver 11 11 28.5 .625 .000 .843 7.2 1.6 0.3 0.9 16.4
1989 Denver 2 0 18.0 .143 .000 .750 5.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 4.0
1991 Milwaukee 3 3 23.7 .391 .000 .909 4.0 1.0 1.0 0.3 9.3
1995 Phoenix 10 0 14.6 .379 .000 .875 2.0 0.8 0.3 0.3 2.9
1996 Miami 2 0 8.5 .750 .000 .500 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.5
1997 Orlando 5 2 18.4 .391 .000 .500 2.4 1.0 0.4 0.2 4.4
1999 Orlando 1 0 8.0 .000 .000 .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
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 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

  1. ^ Markoe, A. (2001). The Scribner encyclopedia of American lives Sports figures. Vol. 2. C. Scribner's Sons. ISBN 9780684312248. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  2. ^ Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. Page 338. ISBN 0-684-31225-5
  3. ^ a b c d e f Slices of Orange: Great Games and Performers in Syracuse University Sports ... - Sal Maiorana, Scott Pitoniak
  4. ^ a b c "Dan Schayes". Syracusehalloffame.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "Schayes, Danny". Jews in Sports. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  6. ^ "Danny Schayes Appointed As A Member of the Basketball Staff For The 2018 International Maccabi Youth Games" – Maccabi USA
  7. ^ "Timberwolves: Roster 1999–2000". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  8. ^ Swimming World and Junior Swimmer – Google Books
  9. ^ "Schayes Jersey Retirement Highlights Sixers Jewish Heritage Night" - Jewish Exponent
  10. ^ Write Like this: Teaching Real-world Writing Through Modeling & Mentor Texts - Kelly Gallagher
  11. ^ "Life Of Reilly"
  12. ^ Schayes Jersey Retirement Highlights Sixers Jewish Heritage Night – Jewish Exponent
  13. ^ "CNN contributor jumps to conclusions and is left eating crow"

External links