Fans nowadays often talk about LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant but don’t seem to know that much about the early days. Besides Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell, it’s not usual to see names like Elvin Hayes popping up in a conversation.
Elvin Hayes was a deadly scorer and a dominant rebounder. He had some of the most memorable careers in both college and the NBA and was a stalwart name in the world of basketball during the 70s and early 80s.
That’s why today, we’re going to talk about one of the all-time greatest players in league history. One of the first truly revolutionary power forwards, and one of the main ones responsible for the only NBA title in Washington Wizards history. Read more to learn about Elvin Hayes’ bio.
Elvin Hayes – Early Years
Elvin Ernest Hayes had a bit of a time growing up in Rayville, Louisiana. Son of cotton mill laborers Christopher and Savannah Hayes, he didn’t even own a pair of shoes, let alone thought he would go on to have a legendary NBA career.
“When I was in elementary school, I went out for Little League, but I didn’t own any shoes. In fact, I didn’t own shoes from fifth to ninth grade and had to go barefoot. When I first started playing basketball, I wore two-left footed tennis shoes I pulled out of the trash and taped to my feet,” Hayes once told the New York Times.
Elvin Hayes – High School Career
Hayes was more attracted to basketball and was often getting in trouble during his days at Britton High School. It wasn’t until coach John Calvin decided to give this lanky, tall kid a chance and convinced him to join the team.
While not pretty good at first, Hayes had all the physical tools and a relentless work ethic. He developed his signature turnaround jumper and it all changed for him, averaging 35 points per game to lead his school to 54 straight wins.
Elvin Hayes – Height, Weight, And Measurements
Elvin Hayes was perfectly suited to play both power forward and center. He was one of the tallest players in all of pro basketball, standing at 6’9” and a 7’2” wingspan. He was listed at 235 pounds and boasted a strange combination of physicality with smooth footwork.
Elvin Hayes – Shining In College
Following his breakout in high school, Hayes was heavily scouted by several major programs. Eventually, he decided to attend the University of Houston, spending four years and finding immediate success and fame around local fans.
Elvin Hayes – The Game Of The Century
Hayes had one of the greatest careers in college basketball history. In just his second season, he led the Houston Cougars to the Western Regional semi-finals of the 1966 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. However, his biggest college moment would come a couple of years later against the UCLA Bruins.
The Bruins, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and legendary coach John Wooden, were riding a historical 47-game winning streak before stumbling upon Houston’s Hayes in front of a record audience of 52,693 people at the Houston Astrodome.
Hayes led Houston to a 71-69 win and got the best of Lew Alcindor by limiting him to just 15 points, torching him for 39 points and 15 rebounds. However, UCLA got the best of them in the semi-final game, limiting to just 10 points thanks to Wooden’s “triangle and two” zone defense. He had to watch the Bruins play the championship game and couldn’t win a title in college.
Even so, Hayes led his team in scoring average in all four years he was in college and was eventually initiated into the Alpha Nu Omega Chapter of the Iota Phi Theta fraternity, where he would meet future Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy.
Elvin Hayes – San Diego Rockets And Relocation To Houston
Unsurprisingly, the Big E drew a lot of attention thanks to that incredible college career, which is why he was taken with the first-overall pick in both the NBA and ABA draft in 1968. He was drafted by the San Diego Rockets and Houston Mavericks, respectively.
He eventually decided to play for the San Diego Rockets and join the NBA, making an immediate impact and becoming the first player not named Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain to lead the league in rebounding in just his third season in the NBA. Then, just 3 years after entering the NBA, the Rockets relocated to Houston.
Hayes played in front of his college crowd again and coming back to the Houston Astrodome sure did wonders for him, as Hayes led Houston with a career-high 3.3 assists to go along with 25.2 points and 14.6 rebounds. However, the joy wouldn’t last long, as he was traded after just one year in Houston.
Why did the Houston Rockets trade Elvin Hayes?
Hayes wasn’t exactly appreciated by the media. He was putting up huge numbers but the Rockets struggled to make the playoffs, so he was often in the spotlight. On top of that, he didn’t seem to get along with new Houston Rockets coach Tex Winter, so the franchise decided to cut him loose and trade him to the Baltimore Bullets for Jack Marin and future considerations. That would be a massive mistake.
Elvin Hayes – A legend In The Capital
Hayes became an instant stalwart as soon as he left the Rockets. Now with the Baltimore Bullets – which later became the Capital Bullets and Washington Bullets, he got his first All-NBA First Team nod and had the best moments in his NBA career.
Elvin Hayes – Dominating With Wes Unseld
Bullets coach Gene Shue drew some criticism for pairing up Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld and some Washington Bullets fans thought they didn’t need Hayes as they already had one of the best big men in the Association.
Shue shifted Hayes to the power forward position to put together one of the most dominant frontcourt duos in NBA history. Together, they made the Bullets the team to beat during the regular season and led them to three NBA Finals.
Elvin Hayes – NBA Finals And Becoming A Champion
However, the Bullets often struggled to go the distance when it mattered the most. First, they lost to the Golden State Warriors in the 1975 NBA Finals and couldn’t reach that stage for the next 3 seasons.
The Bullets championship season came in 1978 when they beat the Seattle Supersonics in seven games. Up to this day, that’s still the only NBA title the Washington Bullets/Wizards franchise has. They reached the Finals again next season but fell to the same Sonics team.
Elvin Hayes – Second Stint In Houston
Three years after winning the NBA championship, Hayes began to decline and was looking forward to putting an end to his legendary professional career. He was looking for a prime location to retire, preferably Houston, and was granted his wish while being traded by a couple of second-round draft choices. Hayes played for 3 more years before retiring in 1984.
Elvin Hayes – Career Milestones And Accolades
Elvin Hayes had one of the most successful professional careers in NBA history. He won 1 NBA championship, was a 12-time All-Star, made the All-Rookie team, 2 NBA All-Defensive second team, 3 All-NBA first team, 3 All-NBA second team, and led the league in rebounding twice. Hayes was also the scoring champion in 1969 and had his number 11 jersey retired by the Washington Wizards.
When it comes to his days as a college player, Hayes excelled with 2 Consensus first-team All-American selections, was the Sporting News Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year, UPI Player of the Year, and had his number 44 retired by the Houston Cougars. Also, he has the most rebounds in NCAA tournament history (222), per Sports Reference LLC.
If that wasn’t enough, he also holds the NBA Finals record for most offensive rebounds in a game with 11, set in 1979 against the Seattle Supersonics. He’s the all-time leading scorer in Wizards history and at the time of his retirement, he held the record for the most regular-season minutes played in NBA history with 50,000.
Elvin Hayes – Induction To The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame
Following an illustrious professional career in both college basketball and the NBA, Elvis Hayes was finally inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990, just six years after his retirement. However, he boycotted them and refused to return until they also inducted his college coach Guy Lewis. He was also inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame, which honors San Diego’s all-time greatest athletes.
Elvin Hayes – NBA’s 50th And 75th Anniversary Teams
On top of the aforementioned accolades, Hayes’ incredible playing career was honored by the National Basketball Association not once but twice. He’s a part of both the 50th-anniversary team and the 75th-anniversary team.
Elvin Hayes – Personal Life
Following his retirement from professional basketball, he made a somewhat surprising move. He chose to return to the University of Houston to complete the remaining credits of his undergraduate degree. Hayes himself admitted that this was the hardest challenge he’d ever undertaken, even tougher than his 16 years on the court!
Hayes also fulfilled a childhood dream in 2007 when he became a sheriff’s deputy in Liberty County, Texas. And, if that wasn’t enough, he took on a role as a radio analyst for the Houston Cougars games in 2010. Then, there was this remarkable moment in 2022 when his #44 jersey was retired by the Houston Rockets, an incredible honor.
On a more personal note, Hayes embraced Catholicism in the 1970s and shares a beautiful family life with his wife Erna Livingston. The couple is blessed with four children: Erica, Erna Elisse, and Elvin Hayes Jr. All in all, Hayes’ life paints a picture of a man who is not just an athlete, but also a dedicated student, public servant, family man, and a person of faith.
Elvin Hayes – Net Worth
Elvin Hayes is a former NBA star who has an estimated net worth of $6 million. He accumulated his wealth through his basketball career and various other investments. Hayes is considered one of the best power forwards to have ever played in the NBA and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.
What happened to Elvin Hayes?
Elvin Hayes is still alive. As a matter of fact, he continues to be pretty close to his alma mater, serving as a radio analyst for the Houston Cougars. He recently turned 76 years old and is often spotted at the campus during Cougars games.
What was Elvin Hayes good at?
In an era when most big men weren’t exactly good shooters, the Big E was a smooth scorer with a deadly turnaround jumper. Besides his physicality and ability to dominate the offensive glass, Elvin Hayes was one of the few frontcourts who could consistently knock down shots from outside the restricted area.
How Much Money Did Elvin Hayes Make In The NBA?
Elvin Hayes was one of the highest earners in the league during his prime. In fact, he was one of the few subsidized players. The NBA was struggling to keep up with the ABA, so it established a salary pool in which all teams agreed to pay for a portion of the salary of the first-round choices.
Other NBA teams paid over $100,000 of Hayes’ $302,000 salary when he first entered the league. His total career earnings are undisclosed but he’s got a net worth of $15 million.
