50 Greatest Basketball Players Ever - 31 to 40 on our Best NBA Players list

#36 Elvin Hayes

Elvin Hayes in action against the Golden State Warriors, 1975 NBA Finals

Career per-game stats: 21 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 2.0 blocks

Shooting splits: 45.2% from the field, 67% shooting on free throws

Accolades: NBA Champion (1978), 3-time All-NBA First Team selection (1975, 1977, 1979), 3-time All-NBA Second Team selection (1973, 1974, 1976), 2-time All-Defensive Second Team selection (1974, 1975), 12-time All-Star (1969-1980)

Records: 10th all-time in total points scored, NBA; Scoring title (1969), Rebounding title (1970, 1974), only player to play 15 seasons without missing more than 2 regular season games

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 (tied with Michael Jordan), 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 - barely a few weeks into his professional career.

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.

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, 1976 and 1978) 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.

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. His final season was marked with some controversy; Hayes understandably did not play extensive minutes for much of the season due to his age and the team not being very good, but down the stretch, he suddenly received extended minutes (he played all 48 minutes in one home loss).

Speculation abounded that Houston was giving Hayes more playing time to ensure that the team would keep losing and have a better shot at getting the #1 draft pick (the Rockets did get that pick and used it to select Hakeem Olajuwon). Hayes finished his career with exactly 50,000 minutes played. Hayes had a career scoring average of 21.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. He ranks fourth in NBA history in total rebounds, behind Chamberlain, Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

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 remarked, "I played 16 years of pro basketball, but this is the hardest thing I've ever done."

The Big E's durability is the stuff of legends. The NBA regular season comprises of 82 games, and never in a single season out of the 16 that he played in the league did he miss more than 2 games. He played all 82 games 8 times, 81 games 7 times and 80 games once.