Category profile
- Dominance
- 84
- Peak
- 90
- Longevity
- 92
- Honours
- 86
- Statistics
- 92
Career timeline · Points per game
| Season | Points per game | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 28.4 | |
| 1969 | 27.5 | |
| 1970 | 28.7 | |
| 1971 | 25.2 | |
| 1972 | 21.2 | |
| 1973 | 21.4 | |
| 1974 | 23 | |
| 1975 | 19.8 | |
| 1976 | 18.6 | |
| 1977 | 19.7 | |
| 1978 | 21.8 | |
| 1979 | 23.4 | |
| 1980 | 17.8 | |
| 1981 | 16.1 | |
| 1982 | 12.4 | |
| 1983 | 9.9 |
Data sources
- NBA
- Basketball Reference
- Naismith Hall of Fame
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Elvin Hayes ranks #22 in Basketball
Elvin Hayes ranks 22nd among Basketball athletes on GOAT Rank and 114th of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 88.4 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 84, Peak 90, Longevity 92, Honours 86, Statistics 92. Those categories are normalised against the full Basketball reference universe of 402 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1968–1984 with 16 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1970, which sets the Peak component at 90. Longevity is the defining strength of the profile at 92 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes nba titles 1, all-star selections 12, career points 27313, career rebounds 16279.
Immediately ahead sits Denny Crum on 88.5, a gap of 0.1 points. Directly behind is Dikembe Mutombo on 88.4. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Elvin Hayes GOAT Score explained
- Dominance84/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Hayes stood above the field while competing. Scored 84/100 against the full Basketball cohort.
- Peak90/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1970. Scored 90/100.
- Longevity92/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 16 years of competition and 16 recorded seasons. Scored 92/100.
- Honours86/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
- Statistics92/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 92/100.
Top Hayes comparisons
Elvin Hayes — frequently asked
- Is Elvin Hayes the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Elvin Hayes ranks 22nd in Basketball with a GOAT Score of 88.4, behind LeBron James on 95.6.
- What is Elvin Hayes's GOAT Score?
- 88.4 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 84 (25%), Peak 90 (20%), Longevity 92 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 92 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Elvin Hayes rank all time?
- 114th of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 22nd within Basketball.
- Elvin Hayes vs Denny Crum: who ranks higher?
- Denny Crum, on 88.5 against Elvin Hayes's 88.4 — a margin of 0.1 points.