Danny Schayes

Danny Schayes

Personal information
Born	(1959-05-10) May 10, 1959 Syracuse, New York
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school	Jamesville-DeWitt (DeWitt, New York)
College	Syracuse (1977–1981)
NBA draft	1981 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career	1981–1999
Position	Center
Number	24, 34, 10, 26
Career history
1981–1983	Utah Jazz
1983–1990	Denver Nuggets
1990–1994	Milwaukee Bucks
1994	Los Angeles Lakers
1994–1995	Phoenix Suns
1995–1996	Miami Heat
1996–1999	Orlando Magic
Career NBA statistics
Points	8,780 (7.7 ppg)
Rebounds	5,671 (5.0 rpg)
Assists	840 (0.7 bpg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Representing United States Basketball Maccabiah Games 1977 Maccabiah Basketball

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 in Syracuse, New York, the son of Naomi Eva (née Gross) and Dolph Schayes. His father's parents were born in Romania and immigrated to the United States. He is an alum of Jamesville-Dewitt High School, where he scored 1,012 points. The team won the Onondaga League North title in 1977. He played on the U.S. basketball team that won a gold medal at the 1977 Maccabiah Games (in Tel Aviv, Israel).

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

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

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, who is Jewish, 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.

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!"

While attending Syracuse University, Schayes co-founded the United Students Financial Board, which gathered more than two hundred members its inaugural year.

See also

• List of select Jewish basketball players
• List of oldest and youngest National Basketball Association players

External links

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