He is one of the heroes of the Rockets' 22-game winning streak, he is less than 2 meters tall, but he can be tough on the inside "Big Shark" O'Neal, he is an NBA draft, but he can "replace" Yao Ming and become the main center of the Rockets, he is the former captain of the Rockets, known as "Haiye" Hayes.
He used to be an all-rounder
Hayes, whose full name is Chuck Hayes, was born in California, USA, in November 1983. Hayes's father was a sports enthusiast himself, so he took Hayes to a lot of sports when he was a child, and Hayes has always enjoyed it, and at the same time, he also cultivated Hayes's tenacity and unyielding character.
Hayes's father didn't have any requirements for Hayes in terms of sports, so Hayes liked a lot of sports, such as baseball and football, which Hayes was very happy to participate in, and it was not until he grew up that Hayes began to get into basketball. Due to his late introduction to basketball and the lack of professional training, Hayes's basketball skills are relatively lacking, but Hayes's strong body and quick reflexes allow him to establish himself on the basketball court.
By the time he was in high school, Hayes had grown into a basketball player who was both offensive and defensive, and he also entered the varsity team, and in his sophomore year of high school, Hayes was able to average 26 points, 19 rebounds and 7 assists per game.
Throughout his high school career, Hayes had numerous highlight-reel games, including one in which Hayes shocked the school with a record 31 rebounds at less than 190 and set a record for the California High School Basketball League. Since then, Hayes's fame has spread throughout California, and many universities have extended olive branches to the geek.
Among many universities, Hayes finally chose the University of Kentucky, a basketball powerhouse. During his freshman year, Hayes secured a starting position in the final games of the season through active on-court play. By his sophomore year, Hayes was the team's king in free-throw percentage and rebounding and helped the team win the SEC Championship. In his junior season, Hayes' performance improved to the next level, especially in the SEC Championship finals, Hayes scored 23 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists to help the team win the SEC Championship for two consecutive years.
During his four years in college, Hayes never missed a game with the team, and helped the team reach the SEC Championship finals three times, winning the championship twice, and for a time, Hayes became a star in the American college basketball league, and Hayes was full of confidence in his basketball career.
lost the draft, but became Yao Ming's most important substitute
Hayes, who played in college, also participated in a training camp and won the MVP before the draft, but in the draft, Hayes did not hear any team call him by name, Hayes was undrafted, he had thought that his rank might not be too high, but he never thought that he would be undrafted, and the huge gap made him a little difficult to accept for a while.
However, there was good news soon after, the Rockets signed a short contract with Hayes before the start of the 05-06 season, but Hayes was sent to the Development League after playing a few preseason games for the Rockets.
The deported Hayes did not give up on himself, believing that one day he would definitely be able to return to the league. Opportunity will not fail everyone who is prepared, and with the excellent performance of the Development League, coupled with the injury problems of the Rockets, Hayes was quickly recalled by the Rockets.
In his first season with the Rockets, Hayes was very active on the court, although his size of less than 2 meters limited his offense, but his thick lower body made his defense difficult to shake, and throughout the season, Hayes was among the best in the league in defensive efficiency and was one of the most reliable defenders of the Rockets.
In the 06-07 season, Hayes played an increasingly important role in the Rockets, he became Yao Ming's first backup, and during Yao Ming's off-court break, Hayes could always use his height of 1.98 meters to make up for the 2.26 meter defense, ensuring that you had Yao Ming's rest time. The conscientious work made the fans of the Rockets gradually like him, and affectionately called him "Lord Hai".
In the summer of '07, Hayes finally signed a four-year long-term contract with the Rockets and finally became a true NBA player.
07-08 season, the Rockets ushered in their own spring, in the regular season, due to Yao Ming's injury, Hayes's playing time increased dramatically, although Hayes and Yao Ming on the offensive end There is still a big gap, but on the defensive end, Hayes often uses his strong body to make the opponent's star big center complain, even a super center like Howard is difficult to taste the sweetness on Hayes's head, with the help of Hayes, the Rockets have achieved the league's fourth-longest 22 consecutive wins this season, and the Rockets have also become the most talked about team by fans that season.
After 09 years, Yao Ming's injuries gradually increased, often unable to play a few games throughout the season, and Hayes was also kicked off the shelf and became the starting center of the Rockets, and he also became the shortest starting center in NBA history. In his starting days, Hayes not only never disappointed fans on defense and rebounding, but also gradually regained his college feel on offense.
On December 10, 2009, the Rockets won a difficult game against the Cavaliers, but the gold content of this victory was high, they defeated the team with James and O'Neal, although Hayes only had 5 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in the whole game, but Hayes did a very good job of limiting O'Neal. After the game, Hayes said in an interview: "I know the outside world says I can't guard O'Neal, but I'm just not afraid of him, the current Rockets are good offensively and defensively, and we are in very good shape."
Strange free throw shooting has become a major landscape in the NBA
Tiptoeing, hip lifting, leaning forward, Hayes used his fingers to pull the basketball out after the three actions were done, such a three-stage shooting action, not only made fans laugh, but even the opponent would watch Hayes's free throws with a smile on his face. As the king of free throw shooting percentage in high school, Hayes' 62% free throw percentage in the league can't help but make people wonder what Hayes has been through over the years and why his free throw action has become so strange.
But fortunately, Rockets fans don't blame Hayes for his poor free-throw shooting, Hayes has become an iconic figure for the Rockets, and he has worked hard enough on the court that no one will criticize him for his free throws anymore.
epilogue
Hayes spent his happiest years in the NBA with the Rockets, and later moved to teams such as the Kings, Raptors and Clippers, without too bright performances, and the exposure was far less than in the Rockets, and in 2016, Hayes, who had been in the league for 11 years, announced his retirement.
As the shortest center in history, Hayes is indeed difficult to play in the NBA, which is full of tall people, but if Hayes is in the current small-ball era, I believe he will definitely become an excellent interior player.