Don May was born in Dayton, Ohio, one of seven children of Edward S. May and Stella (Streit) May,[1] and attended Belmont High School, where he played alongside another future college All-American and NBA player, Bill Hosket.

[7] In his junior year of 1966–67, May increased his averages to 22.2 points and 16.7 rebounds per game as the Flyers went 25-6[8][9] and May was named consensus second-team All-American.

[10] The Flyers advanced to the NCAA tournament Final Four where, led by May's 34 points and 15 rebounds, they upset fourth-ranked North Carolina 76–62.

In the NCAA title game, the Flyers lost 79-64 to UCLA and future hall-of-famer sophomore Lew Alcindor despite May's 21 points and 17 rebounds.

May played seven seasons (1968–1975) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the New York Knicks, Buffalo Braves, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Kansas City-Omaha Kings.