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Houston Rockets: 25 Best Players To Play For The Rockets

By Phil Watson

Apr 21, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; General view inside Toyota Center before game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 21, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; General view inside Toyota Center before game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Basketball: San Diego Rockets Elvin Hayes (11) in action against Cleveland Cavaliers Walt Wesley (44) at Cleveland Arena. Cleveland, OH 10/28/1970 CREDIT: George Long (Photo by George Long /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X15345 F6 )
Basketball: San Diego Rockets Elvin Hayes (11) in action against Cleveland Cavaliers Walt Wesley (44) at Cleveland Arena. Cleveland, OH 10/28/1970 CREDIT: George Long (Photo by George Long /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X15345 F6 ) /

C-PF. 1968-72, 1981-84. Elvin Hayes. 18. player. 169. <strong>How acquired:</strong> 1st overall pick from Houston, 1968 NBA Draft; Trade, Washington Bullets, June 8, 1981.

The San Diego Rockets won the coin flip for the first pick in the 1968 NBA Draft and zeroed in quickly on AP Player of the Year Elvin Hayes, who averaged nearly 37 points and 19 points a game as a senior at Houston.

Hayes was an All-Rookie selection in 1968-69 and a four-time All-Star with the Rockets, leading the NBA in scoring as a rookie in 1968-69 and in rebounding in 1969-70.

HOU_18_HAYES
HOU_18_HAYES /

He also paced the league in minutes per game in 1969-70, was third in scoring in both 1969-70 and 1970-71, was second in minutes per game in 1970-71 and third in 1968-69 and was third in rebounding in 1970-71.

With the team when it moved to Houston in 1971, Hayes was deemed a poor fit for then-coach Tex Winter’s offense and was traded in June 1972 to the Baltimore Bullets in exchange for Jack Marin.

Ouch.

He returned from the Bullets, by then in Washington, in June 1981 in exchange for second-round picks in 1981 and 1983.

Primarily a reserve in his second stint with the Rockets, he retired in April 1984.

In seven seasons in San Diego and Houston, Hayes averaged 20.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 36.3 minutes per game, shooting .445/2-for-11/.660.

With the Bullets in Baltimore, Capital and Washington, Hayes was an eight-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA selection and two-time All-Defensive pick, led the NBA in rebounding and minutes per game in 1973-74 and was part of Washington’s 1978 NBA title squad.

He finished third in the MVP voting in both 1974-75 and 1978-79–two seasons in which the Bullets reached the NBA Finals and lost–and was fifth in 1973-74.

Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990, Hayes is 18th in NBA history with 1,303 games, 14th with averages of 38.4 minutes and 12.5 rebounds per game, fifth with 50,000 minute, fourth with 16,279 rebounds, 24th with 1,771 blocked shots, 21st with an average of 2.0 blocks per game, ninth with 27,313 points and 40th with an average of 21.0 points per game.

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