Syracuse, N.Y. — Former Syracuse Nationals legend Dolph Schayes died Thursday morning at the age of 87, said his son, Danny.

The NBA star and Central New York icon was diagnosed with terminal cancer six months ago.

A 6-foot-8 forward out of the Bronx, Schayes famously led New York University to the NCAA Final Four as a 16-year-old freshman center. He then helped the Nats to their only NBA title back in 1955.

He played virtually his entire 16-season professional career — excepting 24 games with the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1963-'64 campaign — with the Syracuse franchise, scoring more than 19,000 points and grabbing more than 11,000 rebounds along the way. Only one of his 15 Nats teams failed to qualify for the postseason playoffs.

Schayes' playing career, which spanned from 1949 to 1964, included more than 1,000 regular-season and playoff games and landed him in 12 All-Star Games, onto the NBA's All-Time 50th Anniversary Team and into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

In addition to his playing career, Schayes also coached both the Philadelphia 76ers (and Wilt Chamberlain) and the Buffalo Braves.

Danny Schayes, who played at both Jamesville-DeWitt High School and Syracuse University, followed his father into the NBA, playing 18 seasons for a variety of teams.

Funeral arrangements for Dolph Schayes are pending.