Adrian Dantley

Adrian Delano Dantley (born February 28 1956 in Washington, D.C.) is a former basketball small forward who played 15 seasons in the NBA. He was known as an excellent and precise scorer, averaging 24.3 points per game through his career while shooting .540 from the floor and .818 from the free throw line. He led the league in scoring twice (in 1981 and 1984) and was selected to 6 All-Star Games.

Related Topics:
February 28 - 1956 - Washington, D.C. - Basketball - Small forward - NBA - Free throw - 1981 - 1984

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Perhaps even more impressively, most of his points were scored in the paint, although Dantley stood only 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), and did not have tremendous speed, overpowering physical strength, nor leaping ability, but he did possess great marksmanship and tenacity.

Related Topics:
Speed - Strength - Marksmanship

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Despite all his achievements, Dantley has yet to be elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Most analysts cite four factors in an attempt to explain this disdain:

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• Dantley never won an NBA title. Ironically, while with the Detroit Pistons he was traded for Mark Aguirre, literally months before the Pistons won the title in June 1989.
• Dantley had some attitude issues and was sometimes considered to be a rebellious player.
• Dantley played for a total of seven NBA franchises and could not be easily identified wih one team in particular (which may be unfair since he played for 6 years with the Utah Jazz).
• Dantley was a scoring forward in an era (the 1980s) when this kind of player was abundant (James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins, Bernard King, Alex English...)

For years, many supporters of the Jazz have asked owner Larry Miller to retire the number 4 that Dantley wore in Utah, as he is generally considered as the first all-star of the franchise. So far, Miller has yet to formally retire Dantley's number; however, the number can now be considered unofficially retired, as the Jazz did not allow Carlos Boozer to wear that number, which he had worn while with the Duke University.

Related Topics:
Larry Miller - Carlos Boozer - Duke University

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