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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 6:37 pm EDTNBA legend. Named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Elvin Hayes
Career at a glance
Elvin Hayes played 16 NBA regular seasons between 1968 and 1984, appearing in 1,303 games and averaging 21.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He played for 5 teams: San Diego (1968–71, 246 games), Houston (4 seasons between 1971 and 1984, 326 games), Baltimore (1972–73, 81 games), Capital (1973–74, 81 games), Washington (1974–81, 569 games). His best scoring season was 1970–71 with San Diego: 28.7 points per game over 82 games.
He rebounded best in 1973–74 at 18.1 per game. The season table marks him as the league leader in rebounding twice, scoring once. Championship season: 1977–78 (Washington).
In the playoffs he appeared in 10 postseason runs (96 games, 22.9 points per game). Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 27,300 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total). Among the 404 players with at least 200 NBA games profiled on whynba, Hayes ranks No. 14 in rebounds per game.
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Elvin Hayes
Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17, 1945), nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma materHouston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and an inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Known for both his offensive and defensive prowess, Hayes is often regarded as one of the best power forwards in NBA history.
Hayes, a high school champion in basketball, was recruited to play for the Houston Cougars; Hayes and Don Chaney were the first African American basketball players for the program. Hayes went to the Final Four twice in his college career while averaging over thirty points a game. His 222 rebounds in the NCAA tournament is still the most by a player in history. Drafted by both the NBA and the ABA, Hayes picked the San Diego Rockets in 1968, averaging over 28 points per game that currently ranks as the last time a rookie has led the NBA in scoring average. In his first four seasons, he averaged 25 points per game each time but conflicts with coaching led to his trade to the Baltimore Bullets in 1972. In his nine seasons with the team in Baltimore and Washington, Hayes and his durable presence aided the team to three NBA Finals appearances (1975, 1978, 1979). In the playoff run for 1978, Hayes had the most points for all players in the playoffs and averaged over 21 points and 12 rebounds per game; in the Finals against Seattle, he had more points than every player and had the second most rebounds as the Bullets won Game 7 for their only championship. His 11 offensive rebounds in Game 3 of the 1979 NBA Finals is an NBA Finals record that has been tied but never surpassed. Hayes was traded back to the Rockets in 1981, where he played his final three seasons.
Among the individual accolades achieved by Hayes are 12 NBA All-Star Game selections, three All-NBA First Team and All-NBA Second Team honors each, two NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors, one NBA scoring title, and two NBA rebounding titles. Hayes is also known for his longevity, being seventh in NBA minutes played (at exactly 50,000), and missing only nine games during his 16-season career. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
- Born
- November 17, 1945 (age 80) Rayville, Louisiana, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 9 in (206 cm)
- Listed weight
- 235 lb (107 kg)
- Position
- Power forward / center
- High school
- Eula D. Britton (Rayville, Louisiana)
- College
- Houston (1965–1968)
- NBA draft
- 1968: 1st round, 1st overall pick
- Playing career
- 1968–1984
Career highlights and awards
- NBA champion (1978)
- 12× NBA All-Star (1969–1980)
- 3× All-NBA First Team (1975, 1977, 1979)
- 3× All-NBA Second Team (1973, 1974, 1976)
- 2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1974, 1975)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1969)
- NBA scoring champion (1969)
- 2× NBA rebounding leader (1970, 1974)
- No. 11 retired by Washington Wizards
- No. 44 retired by Houston Rockets
- NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th)
- Associated Press Player of the Year (1968)
- UPI Player of the Year (1968)
- Sporting News Player of the Year (1968)
- 2× Consensus first-team All-American (1967, 1968)
- No. 44 retired by Houston Cougars
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968–69 | San Diego | 82 | — | 45.1 | .447 | — | .626 | 17.1 | 1.4 | — | — | 28.4* |
| 1969–70 | San Diego | 82* | — | 44.7* | .452 | — | .688 | 16.9* | 2.0 | — | — | 27.5 |
| 1970–71 | San Diego | 82 | — | 44.3 | .428 | — | .672 | 16.6 | 2.3 | — | — | 28.7 |
| 1971–72 | Houston | 82 | — | 42.2 | .434 | — | .649 | 14.6 | 3.3 | — | — | 25.2 |
| 1972–73 | Baltimore | 81 | — | 32.1 | .444 | — | .671 | 14.1 | 1.6 | — | — | 21.2 |
| 1973–74 | Capital | 81 | — | 44.5* | .423 | — | .721 | 18.1* | 2.0 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 21.4 |
| 1974–75 | Washington | 82 | — | 42.3 | .443 | — | .766 | 12.2 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 23.0 |
| 1975–76 | Washington | 80 | — | 37.2 | .470 | — | .628 | 11.0 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 19.8 |
| 1976–77 | Washington | 82 | — | 41.0 | .501 | — | .687 | 12.5 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 23.7 |
| 1977–78† | Washington | 81 | — | 40.1 | .451 | — | .634 | 13.3 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 19.7 |
| 1978–79 | Washington | 82 | — | 37.9 | .487 | — | .654 | 12.1 | 1.7 | .9 | 2.3 | 21.8 |
| 1979–80 | Washington | 81 | — | 39.3 | .454 | .231 | .699 | 11.1 | 1.6 | .8 | 2.3 | 23.0 |
| 1980–81 | Washington | 81 | — | 36.2 | .451 | .000 | .617 | 9.7 | 1.2 | .8 | 2.1 | 17.8 |
| 1981–82 | Houston | 82 | 82 | 37.0 | .472 | .000 | .664 | 9.1 | 1.8 | .8 | 1.3 | 16.1 |
| 1982–83 | Houston | 81 | 43 | 28.4 | .476 | .500 | .683 | 7.6 | 2.0 | .6 | 1.0 | 12.9 |
| 1983–84 | Houston | 81 | 4 | 12.3 | .406 | .000 | .652 | 3.2 | .9 | .2 | .3 | 5.0 |
| Career | 1,303 | 129 | 38.4 | .452 | .147 | .670 | 12.5 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 21.0 | |
| All-Star | 12 | 4 | 22.0 | .403 | — | .647 | 7.7 | 1.4 | – | – | 10.5 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | San Diego | 6 | — | 46.3 | .526 | — | .660 | 13.8 | .8 | — | — | 25.8 |
| 1973 | Baltimore | 5 | — | 45.6 | .505 | — | .697 | 11.4 | 1.0 | — | — | 25.8 |
| 1974 | Capital | 7 | — | 46.1 | .531 | — | .707 | 15.9 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 25.9 |
| 1975 | Washington | 17 | — | 44.2 | .468 | — | .677 | 10.9 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 25.5 |
| 1976 | Washington | 7 | — | 43.6 | .443 | — | .582 | 12.6 | 1.4 | .7 | 4.0 | 20.0 |
| 1977 | Washington | 9 | — | 45.0 | .563 | — | .695 | 13.6 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 21.0 |
| 1978† | Washington | 21 | — | 41.3 | .491 | — | .594 | 13.3 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 21.8 |
| 1979 | Washington | 19 | — | 41.4 | .429 | — | .669 | 14.0 | 5.0 | .9 | 2.7 | 22.5 |
| 1980 | Washington | 2 | — | 46.0 | .390 | — | .800 | 11.0 | 3.0 | .0 | 2.0 | 20.0 |
| 1982 | Houston | 3 | — | 41.3 | .340 | — | .533 | 10.0 | 1.0 | .7 | 3.3 | 14.0 |
| Career | 96 | — | 43.3 | .464 | — | .652 | 13.0 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 22.9 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 9″
- Weight
- 235 lb
- Position
- Power forward / center
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1968
- Draft pick
- Round 1 · Pick 1
Height, Weight, Position, Country, Draft year, Draft pick: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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