Early years

A quiet, introverted youth, Hayes first picked up a basketball in eighth grade, by accident. He was wrongly blamed for playing a classroom prank and was sent to the principal's office. But another teacher, Reverend Calvin, saw Hayes and said he was welcome in his class. Although the youngster showed no inclination for any sports, Calvin thought he would benefit by playing basketball and put him on the school team. Hayes was so clumsy, however, that he evoked laughter with his awkward attempts at shooting and dribbling.

But young Hayes was determined to improve, and during the summers he practiced long hours. As a 6'5" ninth grader he was a benchwarmer on the junior varsity squad at Britton High School when he became determined to crack the starting lineup. "I was too weak to shoot the turnaround then," Hayes recalled, "so all summer long I shot with a small rubber ball at a basket in my yard. My development was almost overnight."

In Hayes's senior year, 1963-64, he led Britton to the state championship, averaging 35 points during the regular season. In the championship game he picked up 45 points and 20 rebounds.

College life in Houston

Hayes and Don Chaney were the University of Houston's first African American basketball players in 1966.

In 1966, Hayes led the Cougars into the Western Regional semi-finals of the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament before losing to the Pac-8 champion Oregon State Beavers.

In 1967, he led the Cougars to the Final Four of the 1967 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. He would attempt 31 field goals, and score 25 points and 24 rebounds in a semi-final loss to the eventual champion UCLA Bruins featuring Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). His rebounding total is second to Bill Russell's Final Four record of 27.

On January 20, 1968, the Big E and the Houston Cougars faced Lew 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". That game helped Hayes earn The Sporting News College Basketball Player of the Year.

One month later, he grabbed a career-high 37 rebounds in a game against Centenary on February 10.

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. He was held to 10 points, losing to Alcindor and the Bruins 101-69 in the semi-final game.

Hayes led Houston in scoring (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.

With his departure from college Hayes was selected as the first overall selection in the 1968 NBA draft by the San Diego Rockets and by the Houston Mavericks in the 1968 ABA draft.

While a student at Houston, Hayes was initiated into the Alpha Nu Omega Chapter of the Iota Phi Theta Fraternity.

NBA career

San Diego/Houston Rockets

Hayes joined the NBA with the San Diego Rockets in 1968 and in his rookie year, he scored a career-high 54 points against the Detroit Pistons on November 11 of that year. As a rookie, Hayes led 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.

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. In 1971, the Rockets moved to Houston, enabling Hayes to play in the city of his college triumphs.

Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets

Hayes was acquired by the Baltimore Bullets from the Rockets for Jack Marin on June 23, 1972. He teamed with Hall-Of-Famer Wes Unseld to form a fierce and dominating frontcourt combination. The 18.1 rebounds per game Hayes averaged in 1974 is the third highest rebounding average of any NBA player since Wilt Chamberlain retired in 1973.

Hayes and Unseld later led the Washington Bullets to three NBA Finals (1975, 1978 and 1979), and an NBA title over the Seattle SuperSonics in 1978. During the Bullets' championship season (1978), he averaged 21.8 points and 12.1 rebounds per game in 21 playoff games. Hayes set an NBA Finals record for most offensive rebounds in a game (11), in a May 27, 1979 game against the SuperSonics. The Chicago Bulls' Dennis Rodman would tie this record twice, both games coming in the 1996 NBA Finals, also against the SuperSonics.

Return to Rockets

Desiring to finish his playing career in Texas and preferably Houston, Hayes was sent back to the Rockets for second-round draft picks in 1981 (Charles Davis) and 1983 (Sidney Lowe) on June 8, 1981. The "Big E" closed out his career with the Rockets in 1984. Hayes had a career scoring average of 21.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. He played at least 80 games in every season. He ranks fourth in NBA history in total rebounds, behind Chamberlain, Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

After basketball

Shortly after finishing his career in the NBA, Hayes returned to the University of Houston to finish the last thirty credit hours of his undergraduate degree. When interviewed about the experience, Hayes mentioned, "I played 16 years of pro basketball, but this is the hardest thing I've ever done."

For a while he owned a car dealership in Crosby, Texas. In November 2007, Hayes became a City of Liberty Police Reserve Officer, fulfilling a childhood dream. On November 22, 2010, it was announced that he would serve as an analyst for radio broadcasts of Houston Cougars games on Houston's KBME. Hayes is currently a reserve police officer with the City of Jersey Village, a suburb of Houston.

Stats and honors

In his career with the San Diego/Houston Rockets and the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets, Hayes played 1,303 games over 16 seasons, registering 27,313 points (ninth all-time) and 16,279 rebounds (fourth all-time). He is the all-time leading scorer for the Washington Bullets/Wizards. Hayes never missed more than two games in any of his 16 seasons in the NBA. In addition to his 1968 scoring title, he led the NBA in rebounding in 1970 and 1974. Hayes played in twelve straight NBA All-Star Games from 1969 to 1980.

Hayes was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team during the 1996-97 NBA season and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990. He boycotted the Hall of Fame beginning in 1990 and refused to return until Guy Lewis, his coach at the University of Houston, was admitted. Lewis was admitted to the Hall of Fame in 2013, and Hayes was there for the first time since his induction in 1990.

In 2003, Hayes was also inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.

Career highs

Top scoring games

Points	Opponent	Date
54	vs. Detroit Pistons	000000001968-11-13-0000November 13, 1968
50	vs. Seattle SuperSonics	000000001970-11-20-0000November 20, 1970
49	vs. Seattle SuperSonics	000000001970-01-30-0000January 30, 1970
48	at Cincinnati Royals	000000001970-11-25-0000November 25, 1970
47	at Golden State Warriors	000000001977-03-13-0000March 13, 1977

Top shot-blocking efforts

Unofficially recorded

Blocks	Opponent	Date
13	vs. Phoenix Suns	000000001968-12-28-0000December 28, 1968
13	vs. Milwaukee Bucks	000000001971-03-19-0000March 19, 1971
13	vs. Phoenix Suns	000000001971-03-21-0000March 21, 1971
11	Golden State Warriors	000000001972-12-16-0000December 16, 1972
11	at Detroit Pistons	000000001978-03-03-0000March 3, 1978
10	at Cincinnati Royals	000000001969-02-12-0000February 12, 1969
10	vs. San Francisco Warriors	000000001970-01-08-0000January 8, 1970
10	vs. San Francisco Warriors	000000001970-02-14-0000February 14, 1970
9	vs. Phoenix Suns	000000001977-03-06-0000March 6, 1977
8	vs. Kansas City Kings	000000001976-03-18-0000March 18, 1976
8	at Phoenix Suns	000000001976-11-25-0000November 25, 1976
8	vs. Chicago Bulls	000000001979-11-14-0000November 14, 1979
8	vs. San Antonio Spurs	000000001980-02-22-0000February 22, 1980
8	vs. Atlanta Hawks	000000001980-03-28-0000March 28, 1980
8	vs. Detroit Pistons	000000001980-12-05-0000December 5, 1980

Regular season

Stat	High	Opponent	Date
Field goal percentage
Field goals made	20	vs. Detroit Pistons	000000001968-11-13-0000November 13, 1968
Field goals made	20	vs. Kansas City Kings	000000001976-12-15-0000December 15, 1976
Field goals made	20	at Golden State Warriors	000000001977-03-13-0000March 13, 1977
Field goal attempts	45	vs. Detroit Pistons	000000001968-11-13-0000November 13, 1968
Free throws made, none missed	—
Free throw attempts, none made	0—8	vs. Portland Trail Blazers	000000001972-03-26-0000March 26, 1972
Free throws made	17	vs. Golden State Warriors	000000001978-02-26-0000February 26, 1978
Free throw attempts	23	at Cincinnati Royals	000000001971-01-30-0000January 30, 1971
Rebounds	35	at New York Knicks	000000001971-01-19-0000January 19, 1971
Rebounds	32	at Atlanta Hawks	000000001973-11-17-0000November 17, 1973
Rebounds	30	vs. Los Angeles Lakers	000000001970-12-05-0000December 5, 1970
Offensive rebounds	11	vs. Phoenix Suns	000000001979-01-05-0000January 5, 1979
Defensive rebounds	28	at Atlanta Hawks	000000001973-11-17-0000November 17, 1973
Assists	11	at Cleveland Cavaliers	000000001971-12-01-0000December 1, 1971
Assists	11	vs. San Antonio Spurs	000000001984-04-13-0000April 13, 1984
Steals

Playoffs

Stat	High	Opponent	Date
Points	46	vs. Buffalo Braves	000000001975-04-20-0000April 20, 1975
Field goal percentage
Field goals made	19	at New York Knicks	000000001974-03-29-0000March 29, 1974
Field goals made	19	vs. Buffalo Braves	000000001975-04-20-0000April 20, 1975
Field goal attempts	34
Free throws made, none missed	—
Free throws made, one missed	—
Free throws made	12
Free throw attempts	16
Rebounds	23
Offensive rebounds	11	at San Antonio Spurs	000000001978-04-16-0000April 16, 1978
Offensive rebounds	11	at Seattle SuperSonics	000000001979-05-27-0000May 27, 1979
Defensive rebounds	19	at Cleveland Cavaliers	000000001977-04-15-0000April 15, 1977
Assists	6
Steals	6	vs. Atlanta Hawks	000000001979-04-24-0000April 24, 1979
Blocked shots	8	vs. Cleveland Cavaliers	000000001976-04-26-0000April 26, 1976

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Led the league

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1968-69	San Diego Rockets	82	-	45.1	.447	-	.626	17.1	1.4	-	-	28.4
1969-70	San Diego Rockets	82	-	44.7	.452	-	.688	16.9	2.0	-	-	27.5
1970-71	San Diego Rockets	82	-	44.3	.428	-	.672	16.6	2.3	-	-	28.7
1971-72	Houston Rockets	82	-	42.2	.434	-	.649	14.6	3.3	-	-	25.2
1972-73	Baltimore Bullets	81	-	41.3	.444	-	.671	14.5	1.6	-	-	21.2
1973-74	Capital Bullets	81	-	44.5	.423	-	.721	18.1	2.0	1.1	3.0	21.4
1974-75	Washington Bullets	82	-	42.3	.443	-	.766	12.2	2.5	1.9	2.3	23.0
1975-76	Washington Bullets	80	-	37.2	.470	-	.628	11.0	1.5	1.3	2.5	19.8
1976-77	Washington Bullets	82	-	41.0	.501	-	.687	12.5	1.9	1.1	2.7	23.7
1977-78	Washington Bullets	81	-	40.1	.451	-	.634	13.3	1.8	1.2	2.0	19.7
1978-79	Washington Bullets	82	-	37.9	.487	-	.654	12.1	1.7	.9	2.3	21.8
1979-80	Washington Bullets	81	-	39.3	.454	.231	.699	11.1	1.5	.8	2.3	23.0
1980-81	Washington Bullets	81	-	36.2	.451	.000	.617	9.7	1.2	.8	2.1	17.8
1981-82	Houston Rockets	82	82	37.0	.472	.000	.664	9.1	1.8	.8	1.3	16.1
1982-83	Houston Rockets	81	43	28.4	.476	.500	.683	7.6	2.0	.6	1.0	12.9
1983-84	Houston Rockets	81	4	12.3	.406	.000	.652	3.2	.9	.2	.3	5.0
Career		1303	?	38.4	.452	.147	.670	12.5	1.8	1.0	2.0	21.0
All-Star		12	4	22.0	.403	0	.647	7.7	1.4	.4	.5	10.5

[ Source: Wikipedia ]