When Kristaps Porzingis, a mammoth young forward for the Knicks, sets up outside for a deep shot instead of pounding the ball inside, people have a tendency to compare him to Dirk Nowitzki, another player who mastered a position called the “stretch four.” But Porzingis, Nowitzki and all the other big men who aspire to be outside gunners owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the man who perfected the position long ago: Dolph Schayes.
Perhaps the first New York City playground legend, Schayes was also one of the first superstars of the N.B.A., and with his death on Thursday at age 87, basketball lost not only one of its greatest players but also one of its best storytellers.