Danny Schayes

Daniel Leslie Schayes (born May 10, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played for Syracuse University and played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 1981 until 1999. At 6' 11" and 235 pounds, he played at center. He is the son of the late Dolph Schayes, who was selected for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Since his retirement from the NBA, Schayes has served as co-host of Centers of Attention, a sports talk show on ESPN Radio Syracuse in Syracuse, New York. His co-host is Etan Thomas, also a retired American professional basketball player. Early life Schayes was born into a Jewish family in Syracuse, New York, the son of Naomi Eva (née Gross) and Dolph Schayes, who played professional basketball and was inducted in the Hall of Fame. His father's parents were born in Romania, and immigrated to the United States. Schayes grew up in DeWitt, New York. He is an alum of Jamesville-Dewitt High School, where he scored 1,012 points for the basketball team. The team won the Onondaga League North title in 1977. Schayes played on the US basketball team that won a gold medal at the 1977 Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv, Israel; he also played for Team USA at the 1981 Maccabiah Games, which won a gold medal. He served as Head Coach of Team USA in basketball at the 2013 Maccabiah Games, which won another gold medal.