What A.D.'s peers said about his game:
John Stockton on Dantley
"He's the best I ever saw at using his body; setting up guys so he could get an open shot. A.D. wasn't real big, but he could always get his shot."
John Stockton, Salt Lake Tribune, Nov. 14, 1999
"His ability to catch the ball is unmatched by anybody in the league. His confidence is another thing."
John Stockton, Deseret News, Feb. 9, 1986
Wilt Chamberlain on Dantley
"I've always said the only player who could score regularly from that position (close to the basket in an NBA traffic jam) were Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and myself. Now there are three. I can't figure out how a 6-foot-5-inches can score inside like that. Elgin Baylor didn't do that. Elgin had great hands. He'd score off the break, or drive. But he'd never do like Dantley, stay inside and grab balls, go up two or three times and score. That's incredible, especially with all those leapers around. Scoring under the basket, if someone's guarding you, that's gotta be the toughest shot in basketball."
Wilt Chamberlain, LA Times, Feb. 23, 1982
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Dantley
"He was my favorite player to watch."
Darrell Griffith on Dantley
"He's one of the most unselfish players I've ever seen. He's extremely strong and utilizes his strength so well. He's intense. But he's also unselfish."
Darrell Griffith, Spectrum, Oct. 21, 1981
Dantley on Dantley
"When it comes to my job, I'm very serious about it. I have a lot of pride. I'm very goal-oriented, and I don't let anything get in the way of that."
Adrian Dantley, Deseret News, Feb. 9, 1986
Frank Layden on Dantley
"We love him. He's our piranha. He'll eat you alive. He would score in a raging storm at sea."
Frank Layden, Salt Lake Tribune, 1984
"All good players who have had a brush with playing on a bad team know they could contribute more if they were playing for a better team, but A.D. could play with any team in the league and make it better."
Frank Layden, Deseret News, Dec. 15, 1983
Jazz Assistant Coach Dave Fredman On Dantley
"He's probably the most dedicated athlete I've ever come across. He works at it."
David Fredman, Deseret News, Sept. 5, 1985
Former Jazz Coach Tom Nissalke on Dantley
"You couldn't ask for an easier guy to coach."
Tom Nissalke, Deseret News, Oct. 27, 1999
Dallas Coach Dick Motta on Stopping A.D.
"How do you stop Adrian Dantley?" asked Dick Motta, former coach of the Dallas Mavericks following a Jazz victory in November of 1980. "Get a gun."
Dick Motta, New York Times, November 11, 1980
What the press said about his game:
"The world is lucky he didn't go into picking pockets or lifting jewels. He's a master of figuring out how to go through defenses."
"His forte is points on the move - 6-5 against the world. And this is where Adrian Dantley's mystique comes in. Talk about guys they ought to nickname Magic. Time and again he'll charge into an opposing front line that looks like a mix between the Pittsburgh Steelers' front line and the Berlin Wall and 1-2 seconds later he's backpedaling on defense without a scratch on him and the scorekeeper has lit up two more points."
".A lot of people will shout 'How'd he do it?' like some audience watching Kreskin, followed by 'do it again.'"
"more than likely he'll be remembered as the 6-5 forward who could always score around the skyscrapers. Cousy was the guy with the flashy passes, West was the best in the clutch, Walton could always hit the open man and A.D. could score over (or under) absolutely anything."
Deseret News, Oct. 10, 1980.
"Footwork is quickly associated with Fred Astaire. And Muhammed Ali and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. But Adrian Dantley?"
Dave Blackwell, Deseret News, Dec. 15, 1983
"Adrian Dantley: the man who couldn't be stopped. Go ahead name a time. One time. A 6-foot-5 forward, a sort of dinosaur of his age (these days 6-5 guards are called too short) and nobody could stop him. Least of all himself. More than any player in the history of the Jazz franchise, he brought professionalism to the arena. When they tipped it up, he was there to play."
Lee Benson, Deseret News, Aug. 23, 1986
"Even as the size of pro basketball players continues to increase, Dantley, at 6-foot-5, continues to be as team-mate Mark Eaton calls him, "the premier low-post player." Even as a generation of so-called skywalkers have attracted the public's attention with spectacular flights, Dantley stays on the ground and offers what is still the single most nature-defying act in pro basketball. Going inside while giving away as much as a half foot, at 6-foot-5 he is the most prolific scorer of his time. "
Lex Hemphill, Salt Lake Tribune
"Even though people have said he's too slow, too fat, too small and too offensive minded, he is now the most effective point producer in the game. He shoots field goals at a .582 clip. George Gervin and Larry Bird can score, sure, but they take 10 more shots a game."
Spectrum, Oct. 21, 1981
"Living low is a compliment in hoops. A stump among trees, Dantley will take anyone to the basket. Moses Malone or Bobby Jones; Wilt and Russell in their prime. Lots of players hunger for points; Dantley starves. He'll leap and lean, spring up and down as many times as it takes to score over, under or around much larger defenders. And usually sinks the foul shot that follows his mugging."
Washington Post, Feb. 23, 1982
"Yo, Adrian. Yo, Adrian Dantley. Welcome to the Motor City. Plant yourself on the blocks, spread those arms, call for the ball and use that all-world derriere like a battering ram. Pump, double-pump, lean, spin, head fake, pirouette, shoot, score, go to the foul line. Since Dantley's arrival from Utah in a preseason trade, Detroit has had a butt up on everyone else in the Central, the NBA's best division. How Dantley weaves his magic spell inside is one of the NBA's great mysteries. He's listed at 6'5" but appears at least an inch or two shorter."
Sports Illustrated, March 2, 1987
Dantley Versus Former 7-Foot-7-Inch NBA Center Manute Bol
"Dantley also scored a few baskets against (Manute) Bol on his own. This suggests that, at about 6-feet-4-inches, he might be able to find a way to outmaneuver the Washington Monument if it were between him and the basket."
Los Angeles Times, Dec. 20, 1985
Dantley on Playing in SLC
"Of all the teams I've been on, I had the best time in Utah. Utah was my favorite place to play. It suited my style of living, and that's where it all started. That's where I really blossomed as a player."
Adrian Dantley, Deseret News, Oct. 27, 1999
"This is really where it started for me. The people were nice. Of all the places I ever played, this is my favorite. For me and my family, it was great. It's too bad I didn't end my career here."
Adrian Dantley, Salt Lake Tribune, Nov. 14, 1999
Dantley and the Early Days of the Jazz in Utah
"The Jazz were bad when they first came to Utah. They would have been pathetic if A.D. hadn't been around."
Loren Jorgensen, Deseret News, April 4, 1999
"In a tough first year, Adrian was the shinning light. He gives us great hope for the future."
Frank Layden, Deseret News, Oct. 10, 1980
"It goes without saying, A.D. is most valuable to the Jazz. They don't call him 'The Franchise" but they should. If not for him a year ago, Al Hirt would have been playing taps by mid January."
Deseret News, Oct. 10, 1980
How did A.D. help develop the next generation of NBA stars?
How did A.D. help develop the next generation of NBA stars? The following are accounts of how he influenced the careers of some of the NBA's all-time greats.
"I remember how he would get himself prepared to play; I took a lot of that myself. And his knowledge of the game. He could tell me about every player I was going to play. That helped a young guy like me."
Karl Malone, Salt Lake Tribune, Nov. 14, 1999
"Adrian was my idol. He was my guy on the team."
Joe Dumars, Sports Illustrated, June 26, 1989
"I was this quiet guy from Louisiana, and A.D. showed me the ropes and reassured me, told me that I didn't have to change my personality to get along in the NBA. That's what I try to tell Grant (Hill)."
Joe Dumars, Sports Illustrated, April 24, 1985
"A.D. taught me everything - how to eat, how to pack. We called room service one afternoon and I ordered a burger, fries and milk shake. He ordered soup, half a sandwich, water and juice. I was dying by the end of the game. He was just rolling along. I learned about eating, real quick."
John Salley, Sports Illustrated, Nov. 6, 1989
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