Elvin Hayes Signed HOF leather basketball - JSA Authenticated -Rockets / Bullets

Description

Elvin Hayes Signed HOF leather basketball - JSA Authenticated - Houston Rockets / Washington Bullets.  HOF Class of 1990.
Elvin Hayes is an American retired professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma-mater Houston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, and an inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Hayes played in the NBA for sixteen seasons with the San Diego Rockets, Houston Rockets, Baltimore Bullets, and Washington Bullets. He solidified his legacy by leading the Washington Bullets to the NBA Finals three times and winning an NBA championship with the Bullets in 1978. Elvin finished his career as one of the top scorers and rebounders in league history.
Awards and Honors:
- In 1966-67 and 1967-68, Hayes was chosen to the NCAA All-America First Team following his outstanding play for the Cougars. In 1967-68, he was also named the NCAA AP College Basketball Player of the Year.
- Elvin and Finals MVP Wes Unseld led the Washington Bullets to the NBA Championship in 1978. They defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, who featured Fred Brown, Dennis Johnson, Gus Williams, and Jack Sikma, in seven games.
- Between 1969 and 1980, Hayes was selected to the NBA All-Star team twelve consecutive times.
- Elvin was recognized with a number of NBA All-League honors. In 1968-69 he was selected All-Rookie First Team and led the NBA in scoring with an average of 28.4 points per game. Hayes also made the All-NBA First Team three times, the All-NBA Second Team three times, and the All-Defensive Second Team twice.
- Hayes was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, joining fellow University of Houston players Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Points of Interest:
- As a senior, Elvin led Britton High School to a Louisiana state basketball title in 1963-64. He averaged 35 points during the season and scored 45 points with 20 rebounds in the championship game.
- On January 20, 1968 Hayes faced off with Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) in what has been called The Game of the Century. Alcindor’s UCLA Bruins were riding a 47-game winning streak and the game was the first nationally televised regular-season college basketball game in history. With 52,693 packed into the Houston Astrodome, Elvin scored 39 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead Houston to a 71-69 victory in a game that lived up to all of the hype.
- Elvin was the first overall selection, by the San Diego Rockets, in the first round of the 1968 NBA Draft. The Rockets later moved to Houston. The second player selected in that draft class was his future teammate Unseld.
- Hayes was an iron-man who missed only nine games during his sixteen-year NBA career.
- Elvin led the NBA in rebounding in 1969-70 with 16.9 rebounds per game and again in 1973-74 with 18.1 rpg. He finished his professional career with averages of 21.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.