Dantley still managed to play in 60 games, averaging 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He proved them wrong, leading national powerhouse DeMatha to a combined 57-2 record and earning high school All-America honors. From witches to pirates, predators to gods, the House of Mouse likes to make issues as arduous as []. . Dave McKenna is a writer in Washington D.C. Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise. The Irish managed to snap an 88-game winning streak by UCLA Bruins, the legendary team coached by coaching guru John Wooden. I cant believe he said that, Aguirre said of Dantley. Born in Washington, D.C. in 1955, Adrian Dantley played forward at Notre . But there's still no reason to feel sorry for him. I never should have underestimated you, he later said to Dantley. . The 1985-1986 Boston Celtics. In Game One, Dantley led the Pistons to a shocking victory when he scored 34 points which set the pace for a dogfight over the seven-game series that ended with a Laker championship following the phantom call on Bill Laimbeer in the closing minute of Game Six. Larry Bird thinks he was lucky he didnt have to deal with that in Boston. Dantley was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2008. While in ninth grade, Dantley got a 99 on a history test; no other student scored above 80. The people there are awesome and they clearly don't get much walk in business however they know their product while intending in only buying one jersey I walked out with much more! He went about this lifesaving task with all the effort he'd put into stopping Isaiah Thomas from driving to the basket or David Falk from touching a paycheck. Rivers made both free throws, cutting the Lakers deficit to 113-110 and giving them a chance to send the game into overtime with a three-point basket. [27], Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders, List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders, List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season, List of National Basketball Association annual minutes leaders, "NBA Legend Dantley Celebrates B-Day With Extra Candle", "Dantley named assistant for Towson basketball", "Notre Dame's Adrian Dantley Honored As ACC Legend", "Lakers Get Dantley in Aftermath of Violent Brawl", "Dantley Career High 57 Points versus Bulls", "Dantley Playoff Career High 46 Points in WCSF", "Dantley is NBA's Comeback Player of Year", "Best true shooting percentage with more than 30 PPG", "Ex-Piston Adrian Dantley calls Isiah Thomas 'con man' on 105.1-FM show", "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Dantley Goes to Italy", "Dantley Makes Himself at Home in the Italian Game, Lifestyle", "Towson Mourns Loss of Legendary Basketball Coach Terry Truax", "Nuggets do not renew Dantley's contract", "Train with Adrian, a Basketball coach on CoachUp", "Berman: Dark horse Dantley making name for himself after earning scholarship", "Adrian Dantley Returned To The Site Of A Legendary Prep Hoops Debacle, This Time As A Kids' Rec League Ref", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adrian_Dantley&oldid=1134295941, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 23:57. Submit a Comment Cancel . Adrian Dantley had an extremely productive NBA career. So that makes me feel pretty good.". Your Account; Logout; Login; Create Account; Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Dantley still shares records for foul shots made in a quarter (14, playing for Detroit against Sacramento in 1986) and a game (28, while with Utah in 1984 against Houston). Adrian scored almost one-third of his career points in the NBA at . When "T-Mac" finally advanced to the NBA Finals, he was a 33-year-old benchwarmer on the Spurs. The Jazz made the playoffs in each of the next two years, and Dantley kept doing the things he did best. Jones (eight rings) is better than John Stockton (zippo), too. If any player deserved some championship bling, then it was the human hang glider, who ranked sixth in points (27.0) and 12th in rebounds per game (12.9) in postseason history. career marks that can only be equaled by two other players, Clippers to sign Xavier Moon to a two-way contract, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The Pistons took advantage of Byron Scotts and Magic Johnsons injuries and rolled to a comfortable 4-0 sweep of the Lakers. Dantley's departure from Detroit came a year after leading the Pistons in scoring during an NBA Finals loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and months before Detroit's Bad Boys would win a championship. Purchased a New Era Gruff Michigan Syaye hat, and I absolutely love it. the Nearest to me was Vintage. Guards are part-time employees, and they normally put in one hour a day, but they receive the same insurance and benefits package as full-timers. Dantley was elected to the hall of fame in 2008 after way too long a wait. Stopped by Wed morning 7/6 and had the pleasure of dealing directly with Lynne. An undersized power forward, Dantley consistently shot better than 50 percent from the field despite the fact that he did most of his damage in the paint against much taller players. Dantley's real-world job these days, though not as glamorous as his old one, has its benefits. I don't live nearby so the ability to have it shipped for $10 was well worth the cost. The trade led to unprecedented team success for Dantley and then more frustration. As soon as Hernandez finished with Thomas, Musburger came in. The small forward matchup was pivotal in the 108-105 clincher James Worthy went off for an epic 36/16/10 triple-double, while Dantley had 16 points and five rebounds. On April 2, 1991, after being out of basketball for most of the season, he signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he played 13 games (3 in the playoffs). When asked if Thomas should be the Pistons' new general manager, Dantley had a two-word reply. Turns out that NBA veterans aren't provided health insurance by the league, not even all-timers like Dantley. Answer (1 of 4): My guess is that Adrian Dantley was declining and Isiah Thomas. Chris Paul's team took a 3-2 lead against the Golden State Warriors, only to lose its the floor leader in the process. Michael Jordan broke more hearts than Billy Dee Williams, and this was one of his faves. But the Pistons ultimately fell to the Lakers in seven games. Dantley had a stellar collegiate career for the Fighting Irish. "The Human Highlight Film" never got as far as the conference finals with five teams. Thats the bottom line.. But the frenetic style didnt translate nearly as well for Steve Nash and the Suns in the postseason, where they advanced no further than the Western Conference finals. Their statistical averages from the 1988-89 season were pretty much the same except for the fact that Dantley was a much better free-throw shooter (Dantley 83.9% vs. Aguirre 73.8%) and quality foul shooting is an essential asset for any contending team. Dantley attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he played under Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten and assistant Terry Truax.[2]. Born Feb. 28, 1956. In two cracks against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the championship round, the all-time assists leader put up a 12.3/3.3/8.8 slash line. Would a healthy Paul have carried them to a league title? Too many times the inability to win the big one comes down to a bad bounce, a bad call, a bad matchup, bad health or just plain bad luck. Adrian Delano Dantley (A.D., Teach, The Teacher) Position: Small Forward Shoots: Right 6-5, 208lb (196cm, 94kg) . Although his present occupation is rather surprising since being fired following the 2010-2011 season after serving eight years as an assistant coach of the Denver Nuggets where he briefly was the acting head coach in 2010, Adrian Dantley has had more than one major surprise of his own. Anyone wanting to get a line on Adrian Dantley the basketball star need only look at his career statistics: 23,177 points, ninth on the NBA career scoring list at time of retirement; a .540 field-goal percentage, one of the highest ever recorded by an NBA non-center; and 30-plus points per game for four straight seasons. He was a consensus first-team All-American in 197475 and 197576. His hopes for settling in with Buffalo were dashed, however, when the Braves traded him with Mike Bantom to the Indiana Pacers after the season for Billy Knight. He topped the league in that category four more times during his career. The dominant offensive force was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. ", After Dantley's holdout in Utah ended with a big contract, Layden whined that the star player was getting the fans' sympathy: "Hell, don't feel sorry for Dantley. It stinks of the same corruption as when Magic Johnson fired Paul Westhead for not starting him instead of Norm Nixon!! Then, the 1974-75 and 1975-76 All-American got a unique chance to display his offensive potential on the global level by leading the 1976 U.S. Olympic basketball team to a gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Extremely satisfied with the wonderful personable service! From 1980-81 through 1985-86 he averaged between 26.6 and 30.7 points, including four straight seasons over 30. The season prior to the trade, Knight had a 26.6 ppg and 7.5 rpg averages but it was thought that Buffalo owner John Brown, who had owned the American Basketball Associations Kentucky Colonels, wanted more players from the now-defunct ABA on the Braves roster. No problem," Dantley said. . Jack Twyman, a six-time All-Star, averaged 20.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in the series. Dantley was selected by the Buffalo Braves sixth overall of the 1976 NBA Draft. Describing Dantley to theSalt Lake Tribune, Layden said: We love him. Joe Dumars called Dantley the best teammate he has ever played with and John Salley called him mentor. Salley publicly acknowledged not only that A.D.s role wasnt disruptive for the team as it was later shown but quite the contrary - he was a vital part of the team and thus deserved to stay. Feel sorry for the guy who carries a lunch pail.". On April 7, 2008, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Suddenly it was a team of stars: Dantley led the league in scoring, Rickey Green in steals, Mark Eaton in blocked shots, and Darrell Griffith in three-point shooting. A six-time NBA All-Star (1980-82, 1984-86), he was named NBA Comeback Player of the Year in 1984, the year he led the league in scoring (30.6). Adrian Dantley made his name famous long before even stepping onto the NBA hardwood. So he stood Dantley up and made him answer questions in front of the class. Adrian Dantley was one of the stars for the Bad Boy Pistons team in the late 80s. C onsidered one of the best small forwards in NBA history, Dantley played parts of two seasons in Los Angeles, treating fans to the skills that would eventually make him a six-time All-Star and a future basketball Hall of Fame inductee. Dantley enjoyed outstanding success at every level of basketball, including high school, college, Olympics, and the NBA. His voice trailed off. He played for Morgan Wootten at DeMatha Catholic High School. Adrian Dantley, traded that day to Dallas in a deal that brought Mark Aguirre to Detroit, was talking again about being hurt, and Thomas, one of Aguirres closest friends, was cast again as the bad guy. We're talking about the pre-1965 version with healthy knees. 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