Elvin Hayes, nicknamed "Big E," was synonymous with the NBA's powerful big forwards in the 1970s, a scoring spree known for his one-trick turn-back jumper, who won the scoring crown with an average of 28.4 points per game in his rookie season.
Peak three seasons averaged 28 + 17, 27,000 points + 16,000 rebounds club, 12 All-Stars, a total of 50,000 minutes in his career, 16 seasons in his career, including 12 high-quality seasons, only 9 games in 16 years, can be called the "Iron Man" in the history of the NBA.
You can think of Hayes as The Carl Malone of the '70s, and maybe you'll be even more impressed.
Hayes's scoring ability is outstanding, in the 16 seasons of his career, 7 seasons of scoring per game ranked in the top 10 in the league, of which 15 seasons averaged all double-doubles, and 10 seasons averaged 20+ points per game, which is a remarkable achievement throughout the history of the NBA.
Hayes's signature action is his label turn back jump shot, a very high shot point, the feel is extremely soft, and the turn back he throws may be more than anyone in the history of the NBA, which can be said to be a model of fresh eating.
As early as his time at the University of Houston, Hayes was known throughout the United States. On January 20, 1968, in a game attended by 52,693 fans, Hayes led the University of Houston Lectra Jabbar (then known as Lou Alcindo) to lead the UCLA, which Hayes slashed 39 points to beat The then-day Jabbar, which became known as "the greatest college basketball game of all time".
Hayes shined even more after joining the NBA, winning the regular season scoring champion at the beginning of the rockets' rookie season (then called the San Diego Rockets), averaging 28.4 points + 17.1 rebounds per game, and scoring 54 points in a single game against the Pistons on November 14, 1968, setting a team record at the time.
Hayes at 2.06 meters is not outstanding in height, but his physical fitness is excellent, the bounce is explosive, and he is quite domineering under the basket. In addition to constantly using his one-trick, high-handed turn jump shot to wreak havoc on opponents, he is also quite threatening on the defensive end, whether it is rebounding or blocking is a cover, and the highest average rebound per game in a single season is 18.1, which seems to be horror-level data today.
"Big E" is undoubtedly one of the greatest powerful big forwards in basketball history, and later in his career, Hayes moved to the Washington Bullets to form a monster-level basketball double with the best short center of all time, "Big Weiss" Unseld.
In the 1977-78 season, the duo worked together to lead the Washington Bullets to the championship, and Hayes also received the only championship ring of his career.
After retiring, Hayes was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990 and was elected one of the top 50 superstars in NBA history in 1996.