Rockets Legend Elvin Hayes Considered Among NBA’s Best Defenders
Houston Rockets legend Elvin Hayes is one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Hayes was particularly strong on the defensive end of the floor, prompting HoopsHype to name him as one of the 20 greatest defensive power forwards of all-time.
“One of the most tenacious players in league history, Hall of Fame power forward Elvin Hayes spent 16 seasons in the NBA and missed just nine games in that entire stretch. Hayes was an elite shot-blocker (as well as rebounder and scorer), so much so that he still ranks Top 25 in blocks all-time despite the fact the NBA wasn’t even counting blocks over the first five seasons of his career,” HoopsHype writes.
With 1,771 official career blocks, if we just multiply Hayes’ career average for blocks (2.0) by all the games he played in which blocks weren’t counted (409), the legendary center would actually be closer to the Top 12 all-time in blocked shots at 2,589. And that’s with us estimating very conservatively, as over the final three seasons of Hayes’ career, he significantly lowered his career block average by blocking just 213 shots over his final 244 games.”
Hayes was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1968 NBA Draft by the San Diego Rockets, and he was part of the team that moved to Houston in 1971. He was traded to the Baltimore Bullets in 1972, where he played until 1981.
Hayes came back to Houston for the final part of his career in 1981, where he played three seasons before retiring in 1984.
