[6] Schayes attended Creston Junior High School 79 and DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, New York, where he excelled in basketball, playing for the basketball team and led it to a borough championship.

[8] Schayes earned an aeronautical engineering degree, was an All-American in basketball and won the Haggerty Award in his final year.

[2][8][9] His NYU coach, Howard Cann, said of him: "He was in the gym practicing every spare minute.

[9][11] Schayes played one season in the NBL and was named the league's Rookie of the Year.

[13] Defenders who attempted to deny him the outside shot were confronted by his powerful drive to the basket.

[14] These two offensive weapons served him well, even as the NBA was transitioning from basketball's traditional set shot into a league of jump-shooters.

[citation needed] Early in Schayes' career, he broke his right arm and played almost an entire season in a cast.

Oddly, this injury became a seminal point in his development: he learned to shoot with his off-hand, making him especially difficult to guard.

He was one of the best—and the last—to use a two-handed set-shot with feet planted on the floor, before the game changed to one-handed jump shots.

[10] In 1961, he became the first player in NBA history to amass 30,000 career total PRA (Points + Rebounds + Assists).

[16] That season, he led the Sixers to the Eastern Division regular-season title, ending a nine-year reign by the Boston Celtics.

[8] He was succeeded by his predecessor with the Nats, Alex Hannum, who led the team to the best record in league history at the time and an NBA title.

[2][7] His granddaughters Abi, Carla, and Rachel Goettsch won silver medals for the United States volleyball team at the 2001 Maccabiah Games, and his grandson Mickey Ferri won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 2005 Maccabiah Games.

In 1970, Schayes was elected to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team as one of the top 12 retired players.