On the second day of Christmas the Utah Jazz gave to me... Dantley Hall of Fame
A year after getting his number retired by the Jazz, Adrian Dantley finally got his call to the HOF. Here's a copy from my old post about getting his number retired,
- Of his 23,177 points, only 21 of those came from from three-pointers. I know he was more of a forward-guard, and I didn’t expect him to be a Jeff Hornacek, but that number surprised me.
- From ‘79-’86, he was arguably one of the best scorers in the game, including leading the league in scoring twice and averaging 30+ points a game for four years in a row. And even after he was traded to Detroit and playing behind Thomas & Dumars, he still average 20 points for 3 years.
- A good chunk of his points came from the free-throw line where he shot almost 82%. His 6,832 FTM accounted for nearly 30% of his total points.
He was arguably the best pure scorer in the game during his prime, and his prime lasted a long time.
He was traded four times in his first four years. Looking at his number from those first years, you have to wonder what the GMs were thinking. You don't have a need for a guy that can score 20+ a game, shoot 50%, and >80% from the free throw line? Had he stayed in LA, he probably would have been in the HOF already.
He was Utah's first bonafide star. He not only led them in scoring but led them to their first playoff series.
So the voters finally got this one right. But you have to wonder what took them so long.
The Jazz will have two likely HOF entries next year in John Stockton and Jerry Sloan. It's great to see Dantley go in first as he was the first face of the franchise.