30: Dolph Schayes-NBA

Dolph Schayes played in the NBA for 15 years, and when he retired he was the league’s all-time leading scorer and all-time leading rebounder. Yet, many basketball fans don’t recall Schayes at all, or mistake him for his son, Danny, who spent 20-years in the NBA. Why do so many not recall Dolph? Perhaps it’s because he spent 14 of his 15 years playing for a team that no longer exists, the Syracuse Nationals. And, Syracuse was good. In fact, the Nats made the playoffs every year Dolph was there and won the NBA Championship in 1954-55. But, putting fannies in the seats was always an issue for this team and after the 1962-63 season they moved t Philadelphia and became the 76’ers. That first year in Philly was not easy and Dolph actually served as the team’s player/coach. After an unsuccessful first season, Dolph retired as a player to solely concentrate on coaching, and while he won 129 games and lost just 111, after three years he was let go. Dolph resurfaced years later as the coach of the Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers), but only made it through one full year. Joining SFH to talk about Dolph Schayes is Dolph Grundman, author of the book, “Dolph Schayes and The Rise of Professional Basketball.” Schayes’s contributions to the game are many, and Grundman discusses, in detail, just how good Schayes was and what he meant to the game.

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