Danny Schayes - Biography

Daniel Leslie "Danny" Schayes (born May 10, 1959) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the NBA from 1981 until 1999. At 6'11" and 235 pounds, he played at center. He is the son of Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes.

Early life

Schayes was born to a Jewish family of Romanian descent in Syracuse, New York his father's parents were born in Romania and immigrated to the United States. He is an alum of Jamesville-Dewitt High School. Schayes scored 1,012 points in his high school career, and led his team to the Onondaga League North title in 1977. He ended the year as a player on the gold medal-winning U.S. basketball team coached by his father at the 1977 Maccabiah Games (in Tel Aviv, Israel, before beginning his college career.

Schayes had an outstanding senior year at Syracuse University, in which he averaged nearly 12 points and compiled 284 rebounds for SU. He was named to the 1981 All-Big East first team, and was both an All-American, and an Academic All-American. He still holds the Carrier Dome record for rebounds in a game, with 23 in a game against Georgetown.

Professional career

He was selected with the 13th overall pick by the Utah Jazz in the 1981 NBA Draft out of Syracuse University.

After a career with the Jazz, he played for a number of 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. He averaged 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in his career. Schayes also had a spell with the Minnesota Timberwolves after signing as a free agent prior to the start of the 1999–00 season. However, he made no appearances for them due to his injuries, and was waived.

Halls of Fame and awards

He was inducted into the Jamesville-Dewitt High School athletic Hall of Fame. He was honored by the High School in 1989 when the school retired his uniform number "55."

In 2000, the Post Standard named Schayes the "Best male athlete to hail from CNY," and he was also named to the Syracuse University All-Century Basketball team.

He was inducted into the Syracuse Hall of Fame.

Schayes, who is Jewish, is a member of the New York Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Schayes is married to Wendy Lucero-Schayes, a former Olympic diver. He currently runs No Limits Investing in Phoenix, Arizona.

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

See also

• List of select Jewish basketball players

External links

• Basketball stats
• Player Profile at NBA.com
• Orangehoops.org with a Schayes' profile
• Jews in Sports bio