Elvin Hayes Bio

Elvin Hayes

- Devin Gray

"The Big E"

San Diego/Houston Rockets, Baltimore/Washington Bullets – 16 Years, 1303 games

6’9” – 235 lb – 21.0 pts – 12.5 reb – 1.8 ast – 2.0 blk – .452 fg%

SLAM #130 “The New Top 50” June 2009 Ranking: 23

“Book of Basketball”- Bill Simmons’ Ranking: 49

The only players to score more career NBA points than Elvin Hayes' 27,313 were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone, Moses Malone, Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Jordan. Big E sits in good company. He was recently surpassed by Kobe Bryant on February 27, 2011 and now sits seventh place all-time, a testament to his skills and dedication to basketball.

     Elvin Hayes is fifth in games played, and third in total minutes in an iron man career where he missed only nine games in sixteen professional seasons. Standing 6'9", 235 pounds, a turnaround jumper and aggressive defense were his trademark style. As a rookie for the Rockets in 1968-69 he was an athletic force and led the league in scoring with 28.4 ppg, ranked fourth in rebounding with 17.1 rpg, averaged 45.1 minutes per game (out of 48, a rookie record) and started at center for the West in the NBA All-Star Game, but did not win rookie of the year. Wes Unseld won both ROY and MVP that season. Throughout his career he made 12 All-Star teams (his first 12), six All-NBA teams (3 first-team selections), and the all-defensive second team twice. He was never considered clutch and had a penchant for disappearing in the fourth quarter. It was his stubborn nature that kept him playing and placed him in the record books amassing many points over exactly 50,000 minutes (he planned it that way).

 

     Big E had a Jeckyl and Hyde personality and his never-ending desire for singularity, and demand for respect distanced him from teammates and coaches. After attending the University of Houston, he was drafted first overall by the San Diego Rockets who moved to Houston after three years. Elvin was where he wanted to be, but he and coaches Alex Hannum and Tex Winter never saw eye to eye. Although statistically dominant and consistent, the Rockets were at best a mediocre team and missed the playoffs three straight years. Elvin was always blamed for this and his critics ran him out of town. Soon, Elvin was traded to the Baltimore Bullets. With the relocated Washington Bullets, Elvin found his first (and only) NBA championship, ten years into his professional career in 1978. He ended his career back in Houston over his final three seasons. 

   Youtube clip, one minute summary of his career