Top 50 Utah Jazz Players Countdown: #4 Adrian Dantley
Oct 18, 2023, 11:39 AM
Utah Jazz forward Adrian Dantley (Credit: Don Grayston, Deseret News)
(Credit: Don Grayston, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – The countdown for KSL Sports 50 greatest Utah Jazz players has reached the top five. Coming in at number four is scoring dynamo Adrian Dantley.
Leading up to the tip-off of the 50th season in Jazz history, Jake Scott and Ben Anderson have been counting down the top 50 players in franchise history as voted on by the fans and media.
Here’s a look at Adrian Dantley’s high-scoring career with the Jazz.
Jazz 50: Rank No. 4 – Adrian Dantley
In what proved to be their first major addition to the roster after moving the team from New Orleans to Utah, the Jazz acquired Adrian Dantley from the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade for forward Spencer Haywood.
While Haywood would be out of the league within three seasons, Dantley went on to become one of the premier scorers of the 80s.
During his first season in Utah, Dantley averaged 25.6 points per game and was named to the Western Conference All-Star team, a spot he’d earn in six of his next seven seasons with the Jazz.
After missing the postseason in each of their first nine years as a franchise, Dantley helped turn the Jazz into a perennial winner.
The Jazz finished with a record of .500 or better in each of his final three seasons with the roster, making the playoffs each year and winning two postseason series.
Dantley is one of only two players in Jazz history to lead the NBA in scoring, having done so in both 1981 and 1984, and left the team with averages of 29.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 461 career games.
The dynamic low post threat also delivered in the playoffs where he averaged 28.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 21 appearances.
Dantley still owns the record for the highest scoring average in a Jazz uniform and is one of four players to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame having played the majority of their career with the franchise.
The forward ranks among the franchise’s top ten leaders in minutes played (eighth), field goals (fourth), free throws (third), offensive rebounds (ninth), assists (tenth), points (third), triple-doubles (fifth), minutes per game (second), PER (first), true shooting percentage (second), offensive rating (fourth), and win shares (fourth).
Follow the rest of the Jazz 50 countdown with Jake and Ben Monday through Friday at 11:30 leading up to the opening day of the regular season. You can see the full list here.
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
