Daniel Leslie Schayes (born May 10, 1959) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played for Syracuse University and played 18 seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), from 1981 until

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. 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 The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

. 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

player.

Early life

Schayes was born into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

, the son of Naomi Eva (née Gross) and Dolph Schayes, who played professional basketball and was inducted in the Hall of Fame. His father's parents were born in Romania, and immigrated to the United States. Schayes grew up in DeWitt, New York.''Slices of Orange: Great Games and Performers in Syracuse University Sports ...'' - Sal Maiorana, Scott Pitoniak
/ref> 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. 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.

College

During his senior year at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, the first year in which he started for the team, Schayes averaged nearly 14.6 points and 8.3 rebounds a game, and compiled 284 rebounds. He was named to the 1981 All- Big East first team and was both an All-American and an

Academic All-American An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the ...

. He holds the record at the Carrier Dome for rebounds in a game (23).

Professional career

He was selected in the first round with the 13th overall pick by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

in the

1981 NBA draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 NBA season, 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the NBA ...

out of

. Schayes was the second center to be drafted that year, with Steve Johnson of Oregon State being the first. After spending two seasons with the Jazz, he played for several different teams, notably with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, 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. He had an 18-year career in the NBA, in which he averaged 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 1,138 games.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1981-82 , align="left" ,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 82 , , 20 , , 19.8 , , .481 , , .000 , , .757 , , 5.2 , , 1.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.9 , , 7.9 , - , align="left" , 1982-83 , align="left" ,

, 50 , , 50 , , 32.8 , , .449, , .000, , .805, , 9.0 , , 3.3 , , 0.8 , , 1.4 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , 1982-83 , align="left" ,

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 32 , , 0, , 20.2 , , .472 , , .000, , .710, , 5.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 0.9 , , 9.2 , - , align="left" , 1983-84 , align="left" ,

, 82, , 15 , , 17.3 , , .493 , , .000 , , .790 , , 5.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 0.7 , , 7.1 , - , align="left" , 1984-85 , align="left" ,

, 56, , 0 , , 9.7 , , .465 , , .000 , , .814 , , 2.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" , 1985-86 , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 13 , , 20.7 , , .502 , , .000 , , .777 , , 5.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.8 , , 8.2 , - , align="left" , 1986-87 , align="left" ,

, 76 , , 41 , , 20.5 , , .519 , , .000 , , .779 , , 5.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 1.0 , , 8.5 , - , align="left" , 1987-88 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 74 , , 26.7 , , .540 , , .000 , , .836 , , 8.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.8 , , 1.1 , , 13.9 , - , align="left" , 1988-89 , align="left" ,

, 76 , , 64 , , 25.2 , , .522 , , .333 , , .826 , , 6.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 1.1 , , 12.8 , - , align="left" , 1989-90 , align="left" ,

, 53 , , 22 , , 22.5 , , .494 , , .000 , , .852 , , 6.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.8, , 10.4 , - , align="left" , 1990-91 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 82, , 38 , , 27.2 , , .499 , , .000 , , .835 , , 6.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 10.8 , - , align="left" , 1991-92 , align="left" ,

, 43 , , 4 , , 16.9 , , .417 , , .000 , , .771 , , 3.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" , 1992-93 , align="left" ,

, 70, , 7 , , 16.1 , , .399 , , .000 , , .818 , , 3.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , 1993-94 , align="left" ,

, 23 , , 6 , , 10.0 , , .304 , , .000 , , .955 , , 2.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 2.1 , - , align="left" , 1993-94 , align="left" , L.A. Lakers , 13 , , 0 , , 10.2 , , .368 , , .000 , , .800 , , 2.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , 1994-95 , align="left" , Phoenix , 69 , , 27 , , 11.9 , , .508 , , 1.000 , , .725 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 4.4 , - , align="left" , 1995-96 , align="left" ,

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 32 , , 6 , , 12.5 , , .340 , , .000 , , .804 , , 2.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" , 1996-97 , align="left" , Orlando , 45 , , 6 , , 12.0 , , .392 , , .000 , , .750 , , 2.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , 1997-98 , align="left" , Orlando , 74 , , 33 , , 17.2 , , .418 , , .000 , , .807 , , 3.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , 1998-99 , align="left" , Orlando , 19 , , 1 , , 7.5 , , .379 , , .000 , , .750 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 1.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1138, , 427 , , 19.3 , , .481 , , .133 , , .806 , , 5.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.7 , , 7.7 , -

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , 0 , , 20.4 , , .488 , , .000 , , .1000 , , 5.0 , , 1.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1984 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 16.2 , , .611 , , .000 , , .750 , , 4.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1985 , style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 13.1 , , .423 , , .000 , , .700 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1986 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 6 , , 29.5 , , .535 , , .000 , , .800 , , 8.2 , , 0.9 , , 0.4 , , 1.7 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 25.0 , , .706 , , .000 , , .667 , , 5.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 11 , , 28.5 , , .625 , , .000 , , .843 , , 7.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 0.9 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1989 , style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 18.0 , , .143 , , .000 , , .750 , , 5.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1991 , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 23.7 , , .391 , , .000 , , .909 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1995 , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 10 , , 0 , , 14.6 , , .379 , , .000 , , .875 , , 2.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1996 , style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 8.5 , , .750 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1997 , style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 5 , , 2 , , 18.4 , , .391 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 1 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, 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. 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. Schayes is also 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 Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, where he now lives. Schayes was part of a promotional campaign put on by the Anti-Defamation League that depicts him

slam dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as a dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with on ...

ing and says, "If you believe in America, prejudice is foul play!"">"CNN contributor jumps to conclusions and is left eating crow"
/ref> 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 Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

References

External links

Basketball statsPlayer Profile at NBA.comJews in Sports bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schayes, Danny 1959 births Living people American men's basketball players American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Basketball players from Syracuse, New York Centers (basketball) Denver Nuggets players Jewish American basketball players Los Angeles Lakers players Maccabiah Games basketball players for the United States Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games medalists in basketball Competitors at the 1977 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1981 Maccabiah Games Miami Heat players Milwaukee Bucks players Orlando Magic players Sportspeople from DeWitt, New York Phoenix Suns players Syracuse Orange men's basketball players Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players 21st-century American Jews Jews from New York (state)