Schayes was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1972, and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
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“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dolph Schayes, a pioneer and iconic member of the Philadelphia 76ers organization and one of the greatest players ever to play the game of basketball”, Philadelphia 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil said in a statement.
Dolph Schayes has passed away at the age of 87.
Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes, a 12-time All-Star who refined the big man’s role in the infancy of the National Basketball Association, has died.
In his 16-year career, all played with the Syracuse franchise (which later became the Philadelphia 76ers), the 6-foot-8 forward notched 18,438 points and 11,256 rebounds (per basketball-reference.com).
Schayes had been battling terminal cancer for the past six months. The ’45 NCAA Tournament championship bout between his New York University Violets and the Oklahoma A&M Aggies.
As a matter of fact, he was recently reminded of that game, as two seasons ago a Syracuse-Miami game ended with the exact same score.
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Schayes, the fourth selection of the 1948 NBA Draft, sparked the Nationals to their lone NBA title in 1955, defeating the Fort Wayne Pistons four games to three in the best-of-seven NBA Finals. He didn’t put up the impressive numbers that his father did, but he did manage to play in more games (1,132). His accolades were added to in 1997, as he was named one of the 50 Greatest NBA Players in history as part of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary.
