- Dolph Schayes was one of the first stars of the NBA
- Schayes’ team made the playoffs in every year he played
- Schayes played in the playoffs all but his last year when he was benched
As news flows around the NBA world, stating how James Harden has never missed the playoffs in his career, which has been 14 years. We take a look at one of the original stars, Dolph Schayes, to find he made the playoffs in his first 14 years, just to be benched for the postseason in year 15.
What may shock you is to find out who benched Schayes. It was himself, as Schayes held an important role in his 15th season.
Dolph Schayes: One Of The Original NBA Stars
Dolph Schayes was one of the first stars in NBA history. Schayes was selected fourth in the 1948 BAA Draft by the New York Knicks.
The BAA, which was the Basketball Association of America, famously absorbed rival basketball league, the National Basketball League or NBL, in 1949. On August 3, 1949, the league officially changed its name to the National Basketball Association or NBA.
Schayes may have been drafted by the Knicks, but he never played a game for New York. At the same time Schayes was drafted in the BAA, he was also drafted in the NBL Draft by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks proceeded to trade the draft rights of Schayes to the Syracuse Nationals, who offered a contract of $7,500. This was worth 50% more than what New York had offered.
Schayes, of course, chose to play with the Syracuse Nationals, and he stayed with the team for the remainder of his career. This includes when the franchise became the Philadelphia 76ers.
In Schayes’ 15-year career, his team made the playoffs each year. Schayes played in the playoffs every year except his final year, and that’s because the coach benched him.
What makes this even wilder is the fact that Schayes was the 76ers player-coach at the time, meaning he benched himself, ending his streak of playing in the postseason. During the 1963-64 season, Schayes was 35 years old and a shell of himself on the basketball court.
For the first time during the season, he played less than 56 games, only appearing in 24. Schayes knew his time as a dominant player was over. The 76ers had other great players on the team, like Hal Greer, Red Kerr, and Chet Walker.
Schayes normally played either the center position or power forward. With Kerr playing center and averaging 16.8 points and 12.7 rebounds per game, Schayes knew he could take a back seat that season.
So, by the time the playoffs arrived, Schayes humbly benched himself, giving more time for the other stars on the team. In the postseason where Schayes sat, his 76ers lost 3-2 in the Eastern Division Semifinals to the Cincinnati Royals.
Even though things didn’t quite turn out the way Schayes and his 76ers wanted them to, Schayes did bring the franchise a title in the 1954-55 season. That year, Schayes was 26 years old and in his prime, averaging 18.5 points and 12.3 rebounds per game.
In the playoffs, Schayes did play, and he played well. He averaged 19.0 points and 12.8 in the postseason, and in the NBA Finals, Schayes continued his stellar play.
Schayes averaged 19.0 points and 11.9 rebounds per game to lead his Syracuse Nationals to a 4-3 series victory over the Fort Wayne Pistons.
There was no Finals MVP award at the time, but you better believe if there were, Schayes would’ve won it.
So, as James Harden attempts to make the playoffs for the 15th consecutive year this season, remember the players who paved the way, like Dolph Schayes, one of the NBA’s first stars.
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