Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17, 1945), nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma mater Houston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and an inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Known for both his offensive and defensive prowess, Hayes is often regarded as one of the best power forwards in NBA history.
Hayes, a high school champion in basketball, was recruited to play for the Houston Cougars; Hayes and Don Chaney were the first African American basketball players for the program. Hayes went to the Final Four twice in his college career while averaging over thirty points a game. His 222 rebounds in the NCAA tournament is still the most by a player in history. Drafted by both the NBA and the ABA, Hayes picked the San Diego Rockets in 1968, averaging over 28 points per game that currently ranks as the last time a rookie has led the NBA in scoring average. In his first four seasons, he averaged 25 points per game each time but conflicts with coaching led to his trade to the Baltimore Bullets in 1972. In his nine seasons with the team in Baltimore and Washington, Hayes and his durable presence aided the team to three NBA Finals appearances (1975, 1978, 1979). In the playoff run for 1978, Hayes had the most points for all players in the playoffs and averaged over 21 points and 12 rebounds per game; in the Finals against Seattle, he had more points than every player and had the second most rebounds as the Bullets won Game 7 for their only championship. His 11 offensive rebounds in Game 3 of the 1979 NBA Finals is an NBA Finals record that has been tied but never surpassed. Hayes was traded back to the Rockets in 1981, where he played his final three seasons.
Among the individual accolades achieved by Hayes are 12 NBA All-Star Game selections, three All-NBA First Team and All-NBA Second Team honors each, two NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors, one NBA scoring title, and two NBA rebounding titles. Hayes is also known for his longevity, being seventh in NBA minutes played (at exactly 50,000), and missing only nine games during his 16-season career. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
In Hayes' senior year at Britton High School, he led his team to the state championship, after averaging 35 points a game during the regular season. In the championship game victory, Hayes scored 45 points and grabbed 20 rebounds.
In 1964, the University of Houston's administration informed Houston's basketball Coach, Guy Lewis, that he could recruit African American players. Lewis, who never heard of Elvin Hayes, learned about him from Isaac Morehead, an African American coach at nearby Texas Southern University. Morehead worried Hayes, who is from Rayville, Louisiana, might choose either Grambling State University or Southern University, both in Texas Southern's conference. Lewis dispatched his assistant coach, Harvey Pate to Rayville who returned with the assessment that Hayes was the best high school player he had ever seen. Subsequently, Lewis recruited Hayes and Don Chaney who was from Baton Rouge, Louisiana as the University of Houston's first African American basketball players.
In 1966, Hayes led the Houston Cougars into the Western Regional semifinals of the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament before the Cougars lost to the Pac-8 champion Oregon State Beavers.
In 1967, Hayes led the Cougars to the Final Four of the 1967 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. He would attempt 31 field goals, score 25 points, and get 24 rebounds in a 73–58 semifinal loss to the eventual champion UCLA Bruins featuring Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Hayes' rebounding total is second to Bill Russell's Final Four record of 27.
On January 20, 1968, Hayes and the Houston Cougars faced Alcindor and the UCLA Bruins in the first-ever nationally televised regular-season college basketball game. In front of a record 52,693 fans at the Houston Astrodome, Hayes scored 39 points and had 15 rebounds while limiting Alcindor to just 15 points as Houston beat UCLA 71–69 to snap the Bruins' 47-game winning streak in what has been called the "Game of the Century". Alcindor had played the game with a serious eye injury, but later attributed the loss to "poor play against a better team". That game helped Hayes earn The Sporting News College Basketball Player of the Year.
In the rematch to the "Game of the Century", Hayes faced Alcindor and UCLA in the 1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. UCLA coach John Wooden had the Bruins play a "triangle and two" zone defense with Alcindor playing behind Hayes and Lynn Shackleford fronting him. Hayes was held to 10 points, losing to Alcindor and the Bruins 101–69 in the semi-final.
Hayes led Houston in scoring in each of three seasons (1966: 27.2 points per game, 1967: 28.4, and 1968: 36.8). For his college career, Hayes averaged 31.0 points per game and 17.2 rebounds per game. He has the most rebounds in NCAA tournament history at 222. While a student at Houston, Hayes was initiated into Alpha Nu Omega chapter of Iota Phi Theta fraternity alongside fellow future Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy.
With his departure from college, Hayes was the first overall selection in both the 1968 NBA draft and 1968 ABA draft. He was taken by the San Diego Rockets and Houston Mavericks, respectively.
San Diego / Houston Rockets (1968–1972)
Hayes joined the NBA with the San Diego Rockets in 1968 and went on to lead the NBA in scoring with 28.4 points per game, averaged 17.1 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. Hayes' scoring average is the fifth best all-time for a rookie, and he remains the last rookie to lead the NBA in scoring average. He scored a career-high 54 points against the Detroit Pistons on November 11, 1968.
In Hayes' second season, he led the NBA in rebounding, becoming the first player other than Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain to lead the category since 1957 (Chamberlain was injured during much of the season). In Hayes' third season, 1970–71, he scored a career-best 28.7 points per game. The Rockets had some inner turmoil because of perceived jealousy,
with forward Don Kojis asking for a trade rather than play for owner Bob Breitbard again. Newcomer coach Alex Hannum once labeled Hayes as "spoiled".
In 1971, the Rockets moved to Houston, enabling Hayes to play in the city of his college triumphs. However, the one season with Tex Winter as coach did not end well, as his attempts at making him a passing center did not result in success.
Baltimore / Capital / Washington Bullets (1972–1981)
After a series of conflicts with Houston coach Tex Winter, Hayes was traded to the Baltimore Bullets for Jack Marin and undisclosed considerations on June 23, 1972.