Scoring isn't everything. Dantley couldn't defend or playmake and he was a huge ball stopper because of his isolations. There's a reason he was almost never on a good team, no one wanted him.
@@ucj7369 76 gold medal winner Dantley was missing piece that took Pistons to next level reaching 87 ECF and 88 finals.If not for bs foul call in game 6 of 88 finals Pistons would've won and Dantley would've definitely been finals MVP averaging 21ppg 5rpg 57%fg in series...Rebounds and steals being defensive stats and Dantley career 5.7rpg 1spg average made him good enough defender.
@@Rob77793eleven how is rebounding a defensive stat? and that pistons team which he was on for 2 years traded him because he was a ball hog. Chuck Daly told him to switch up his playstyle to help the team, and he refused.
Unique player and highly underrated. One thing that is most noticeable about his game is that he was always in control. Never seen that guy in a rush but yet had an excellent first step and solid overall quickness. The bottom line is fundamentally he was as good an offensive player as the NBA has ever seen. He could post you, drive you, hit a spot 17-20 footer, get to the line, had an array of mid-range shots, tremendous touch, and great strength. A phenomenal player and the original Mr.Fundamental.
Dantley had one of the quickest first steps of any forward ever and blew by defenders. One thing you notice is how much space the man guarding him gave for precisely that reason. His quickness also allowed him to maneuver around defenders that were taller than him in the low post. Adrian could score on anybody.
Wilt once said, AD was the third best all time "down low" circa 1983. Either you foul him or he makes the shot. Then he's deadly from free throw line as well.
Yes, yes and yes. AD and Kiki Vandeweghe gave a clinic in their primes on how to score and take what the defense gave them. Neither was fast, great leapers, but SUPER crafty and deadly.
Your words showed a lot of of basketball intelligence many people don't realize that great ratings are given to basketball players many times because an entertainment value and not that basic fundamental basketball value that's why you heard for many years the Spurs being boring and Tim Duncan especially being boring that's the stupidest comment anybody can make about basketball because what are you playing basketball for but to win the game put in points in the basket and stopping the other opponent but Michael Jordan was giving a lot more credit anyways due simply because his game was very entertaining and very beautiful but that's a guy that couldn't beat magic bird or Isaiah in their Prime and yet they talk about him more than them for entertainment value Jordan was one of the greatest I agree but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the same amount of rings as Jordan they don't talk about that Duncan could have had seven rings Oscar Robinson was great fundamental they don't talk about him because people are immature when it comes basketball knowledge
Looking at his stats he's gotta be one of the most underrated guys in NBA history.. His stats r absolutely elite.. A complete scorer who can pass & rebound a lil too.. He was consistently up with guys like George Gervin, Dr J, Dominique, Bird, Jordan, Alex English in scoring..
He was a bad defender. That's why I will take a guy like Marques Johnson, who's going to give me 20 or 21 on 55 percent shooting, and play good defense over him.
I spent countless hours as a youngster trying to perfect AD's free-throw routine, stutter-step, and turn-around jumper. The man was so smooth. Happy to see the Jazz retire his number in '07.
It is a shame that he is not brought up at all when NBA greats are talked about. He was just an incredible player and defines what the word efficient. He just went out there and did his job and did it well.
Adrian was not spectacular. He's just one of the most fundamentally sound ball players ever. I would have loved to seen him play with Duncan and Robinson of the Spurs. Every single game would be a clinic on how to do all the basics of basketball. He was just so efficient in everything he did. I love this guy. :-)
During his NBA playing days the Dematha product came to speak at a summer basketball camp I was at as a kid and his honesty has always stuck with me. We all were asking him to dunk and he said, "these knees are worth a million dollars, so I save them for work." During his talk he said, "Coaches try to sell you on being unselfish, playing defense and rebounding. That is well and good but if you can score 20+ points a game, your going to play over the other guys no matter what you do otherwise." After that I focused on scoring, still worked hard on everything else, but scoring was my specialty and god damn if he wasn't right!
Very true. I recall a hockey coach saying "I can always find someone to check, I can't always find someone to score 40 goals." Scorers are indispensable, defensive players, not so much.
Bout my scrilla he never defended James Worthy. And nobody on the Lakers could come close to stopping AD. Dantley was double teamed more than all of the NBA centers
Dantley could score and that’s it. He was selfish, ball dominant player who you couldn’t win with. That’s why the Lakers dumped him when Magic there and that’s why the Pistons dumped him right before they won it all.
@Chris Gatewood I didn't want to believe that about him, but the trade was necessary since he was a post player that was too slow for the offense the team wanted to run.
Adrian dantley didn't contribute anything to winning. He can't pass, can't defend, can't make the right plays. All he does is be a ball stopper and shoot mid range shots. He's not even a top 100 player
Not tall, not fast, not athletic, no long range shot but an extraordinary scorer. Exceptional footwork, touch and agility. Missing this kind of player now.
That’s yet another reason he reminds me of Alex English. He didn’t shoot many 3s, but was nearly automatic from midrange. That’s something sorely missing from today’s game.
great strength and balance, impeccable footwork, explosive first step, keeps his defender off balance, inside and outside game, scores easily in the post against taller defenders, elite in FT attempts and %, make what he does on offense look easy.
Yeah, he did make it look easy. His dribble seemed high and slow. And it always looked like he took his time when shooting. Yet somehow they couldn't steal it off him or block him. He made many defenders look flat-footed and silly. His moves were basketball's equivalent of a pitcher's Eephus pitch.
Its criminal they left him off the NBA 75 list. Quick 1st step, great at body positioning, slo-mo set shot, and had a nice baby skyhook to get the shot over taller players. The most efficient scorer for his height in NBA history
As a Detroit fan it was sad when they won in 89 without AD. He was one of the players that built that team up to a championship level. In hindsight it was the right move because the Pistons won but it just didn’t feel quite right without Dantley having a chance to raise the trophy.
I agree…they brought in Aguirre who was Zeke’s childhood friend. Aguirre fitted a ball movement offense, Dantley was all iso ball with 4 teammates standing around watching him. Chuck Daly wanted ball movement and Aguirre’s ability to shoot the 3 ball and ability in the open court was a perfect fit. Neither were great defenders but they didn’t have to be, they were acquired to score…but the bottom line to Dantley’s exit was his stubborness to admit it was Isaiah’s team and the icy relationship they had as a result. They woulda won the Championship the next 2 years with Dantley regardless. It was tough for me, he was such a fun player to watch and virtually unstoppable in the low post one on one. It was probably even tougher for him to be sitting home watching the Pistons win back to back not being apart of it. He still speaks about it today and the resentment towards Zeke is still there but in hindsight he just shoulda kept his mouth shut and played.
Adrian Dantley was weird. Pretty slow, couldn’t jump, but just off the chart basketball IQ, an arsenal of fakes, and found 100 ways to drop 50 on a team.
One of the greatest pure scorers of all time. He wasn't super athletic, but he had great body control, tremendous hands, beautiful touch, and big time smarts. Plus, he was almost always being played against guys bigger than him, even when he was in the post. Yet, he still scored on them. Look at how bad he wore out AC Green in this video.
Bruh wtf was this guy. A guard, forward, tweener? Driving down low and easy lays against bigger players?! Melo triple stance into the middy jumper?! Sheesh la weesh
Jokic kinda plays like dantley, now that I'm watching it. Adrian could change his pace off of a slower approach to the basket and make you pay with floaters and layups
I don't think so. And Wilt Chamberlain agrees with Simmons. Wilt said "I have never seen a 6'5 guy score inside like that, Elgin didn't do it. No one has." Though solid, he wasn't a tank like Barkley, an incredible, athletic leaper like Jordan. He was crafty, patient, cunning like no other decent, not great athlete at his size. And he did it year after year!
Who was better: Dantley or Alex English? They are the only two players since the MVP was introduced who won a scoring title, and couldn’t finish top 5 in an MVP vote at any point in their career.
@@fortynights1513 dantley obviously, both players were pretty much only scorers who werent great at anything else, but dantley was slightly better on defense, a better rebounder and way more efficient
Watching highlights like this make me wonder why old heads thing this era is better and don't come with the "physicality" argument cause ain't nothing physical in this video
E Appleby .....Come on brother Appleby.....This is one player in a 11 minute highlight package...... Their is millions of millions of minutes in the 80s that was recorded and not recorded..... Some of the roughest games in the 80s living in Detroit were not nationally televised games.... They were local broadcasts.... And the brutality was serious at times! But I want to give out a shout out to an even more physical decade then the 80s..... The 70s! I have watched some games....and them brothers DIDN'T HOLD THEM UP! QUITE NASTY AT TIMES.
"Questionable freethrows"? Dantley went to the hoop to score but also knew how to draw the foul AND he was good from the freethrow line; show me a coach who doesn't love that? Look at 0:39: Kevin McHale was not a bad defender, here he was afraid to concede the foul. Despite 2 rings and all that, I'm still convinced it was a mistake for the Pistons to trade Dantley. No disrespect to Mark Aguirre, but how could you trade the teacher? Never flashy, but he always delivered.
AD is always a personal fave of mine. I will note he averaged 30 points a game for 4 years while averaging less than 20 shots a game!! His signature moment was Game 1 of the 1988 NBA finals on the road against the Lakers where Dantley scored 34 points on 14-of-16 shooting from the field, mostly with the taller AC Green and James Worthy guarding him. He abused those guys. People always saying he was ball dominant, but he only averaged 20 shots a game only once in his career.
Yo it's crazy the NBA doesn't give this star his shine. N he put in work against the best the NBA had to offer. Six four n couldn't be f...ked with. Recognize greatness
Dantley seemed to always know where the basket was even after spinning or coming out of a crowd. And that's something you can't see physically in a player. People ask of a prospect: "How tall is he?" But never: "How is his spatial perception?"
This reminds me of Mark Aguirre and his highlights, not one dunk in 11 minutes!...Lol Adrian Dantley was definitely not a above the rim kind of player but nevertheless he was a great player and deserved to be in the hall of fame.
Kelvin Houston he was conscious of saving wear and tear on his knees. During his NBA playing days he came to speak at a summer basketball camp I was at as a kid and his honesty has always stuck with me. We all were asking him to dunk and he said, "these knees are worth a million dollars, so I save them for work." He said he only dunked when he had to, 2 points is 2 points.
Does he need to be in Above the Rim player? I hope that's not what you're saying and that's basketball immaturity I caught your comments and had to bring that out cuz a lot of people think that and that's why some players are overrated like Michael Jordan and underrated like Adrian Dantley and overrated does not mean they're not good it's just that put higher than they need to be
Always in enjoyed watching AD from N. Dame to Pros wish they added Buffalo Brave Highlights when he came rookie of year , playing w/ Macadoo , Ernie D , Randy Smith he got shredded and made them all pay true Hall of Famer
Wow his game looks like a lot of current players today. Nice fundamental moves and footwork. He was even doing step backs and fadeaways and that one dribble pull up is deadly!!!
I always marveled at he was able to score routinely over 7 footers finished his career number 10 all time scorer in league history one of a few players to average 30 ppg at least one season in college and NBA in college at Notre Dame Dantley started as a Freshman helped the Irish stopped UCLA'S 88 game winning streak .
Its weird that out of all his highlights there are in this video almost none of them are "and 1". Dantley was the master of drawing shooting fouls. For a guy who was listed at 6-5 with limited athletic ability the guy could put points on the board efficiently while putting his defender in foul trouble.
Dantley like Alex English made scoring look so easy that it's laughable. Kareem said Adrian Dantley was one of his favorite players because night after night he though undersized would dominate the game.
I see people saying he's underrated, I would argue he is overrated. If you read Thinking Basketball by Ben Taylor he shows that Dantley actually contributed negative value to his team even during his best years due to his poor defense, limited creation, and his tendency to be a possession killer. His teams were better without him, which is why he was traded so much. Great individual stats, but those stats don't tell the whole story.
there's a kernel of truth here, but pistons teammates credited him with raising them to legit contender status. 41st in pro history in career VORP too, which is at least a passable stat. being a black hole ain't so bad when you're such an efficient scorer
Dantley was a very efficient scorer, not just someone who took a lot of shots. Utah's core players from Dantley's prime, Green, Eaton, Griffith, and Bailey, did not improve once he left. Stockton was already becoming a really good point guard without a lot of minutes in Dantley's last season. I'm not sure if Karl Malone would have fit well with Dantley. Utah was worse in 1983 when Dantley was injured. Detroit had improved with Dantley before they traded him.
Idk it was always that way with him it was wierd... idk wtf was going on... it always looked that way with him... it used to drive me crazy.. I think he must have lulled people to sleep.. and Scottie pippen said he was so strong it was just unbelievable..
I know your comment is old, but I thought I’d respond nonetheless to simply say the reason is, AD was STRONG 💪🏽 . It doesn’t look like it, but he was as strong as Charles Oakley, and solid like Ron Artest. Nooooo one wanted to D him up close and risk getting an elbow, lol
Not the worst, but VERY close (still have both trading future draft picks for mileage-heavy Steve Nash and shipping out a prime Caron Butler for Kwame "Mr. Small Hands" Brown battling for that distinction, heh) . They still had Jamaal Wilkes who was more versatile offensively and didn't really need the ball most of the time to be effective by comparison, but yeah trading Dantley for busted goods in Spencer Haywood was definitely not one of the Lakers' shining moments (lol).
@@thespaceram2879 cool. what are you trying to convince me of? i know d wade was better lol. my only point is he is underrated and more people should know him. why do you keep responding with things that are beside the point?
I like how in the old school NBA, you had to score in multiple ways.But Dantley had to post, use his jumper, hookshots, and incorporate moves to get baskets. I don't blame players nowadays to jack up jumpers because if you face the basket you get automatic space cuz of no hand checks and softer calls and the scrubbier players shoot better.
Basketball is better to watch now. Players have more skills, stronger, quicker. Hand checking is not defense and take no skill smh. Players such as kawhi have great on ball defense without hand checking. That really take skill
Wane Walker it’s not better now.. n there is no proof the r more skilled.. or stronger . The height is identical the vertical is identical ... imo the players in 80s n 90s were far better these guys today can’t even run a proper 2 on 1 fastbreak it’s pathetic.. they miss so many open layups it’s disgusting.. a flop fest 3 jacking fest wow!! Where they cry all game
Wane Walker Hand checking is no skill but try scoring with physical defense vs someone like today can’t touch you... that takes waaay more skill!!! Wake up dummy.. if they allow a little physical play today u see these player lose it n fall apart... look what happens to curry in finals he alway plays shitty
I miss the 80's their were so many different types of players , today's players play the same ,a dunk or a 3 pointer it's really boring most of the time.
only player in nba history to average 30ppg 55%fg for 4 straight seasons..greatly underrated by many but one of the best to ever do it.
Jarrel Ely
Mo was about 6 ft and AD was a forward.
Facts
Scoring isn't everything. Dantley couldn't defend or playmake and he was a huge ball stopper because of his isolations. There's a reason he was almost never on a good team, no one wanted him.
@@ucj7369 76 gold medal winner Dantley was missing piece that took Pistons to next level reaching 87 ECF and 88 finals.If not for bs foul call in game 6 of 88 finals Pistons would've won and Dantley would've definitely been finals MVP averaging 21ppg 5rpg 57%fg in series...Rebounds and steals being defensive stats and Dantley career 5.7rpg 1spg average made him good enough defender.
@@Rob77793eleven how is rebounding a defensive stat? and that pistons team which he was on for 2 years traded him because he was a ball hog. Chuck Daly told him to switch up his playstyle to help the team, and he refused.
Unique player and highly underrated. One thing that is most noticeable about his game is that he was always in control. Never seen that guy in a rush but yet had an excellent first step and solid overall quickness. The bottom line is fundamentally he was as good an offensive player as the NBA has ever seen. He could post you, drive you, hit a spot 17-20 footer, get to the line, had an array of mid-range shots, tremendous touch, and great strength. A phenomenal player and the original Mr.Fundamental.
SOOOO accurately stated, Liam. He was all of that.
Dantley had one of the quickest first steps of any forward ever and blew by defenders. One thing you notice is how much space the man guarding him gave for precisely that reason. His quickness also allowed him to maneuver around defenders that were taller than him in the low post. Adrian could score on anybody.
and found time to average 3.0 apg for career.
Wilt once said, AD was the third best all time "down low" circa 1983. Either you foul him or he makes the shot. Then he's deadly from free throw line as well.
then i need to be assigned to guard him.
Just looked at his stats. It is disturbing how underrated this man is.
Ajeje Brazov some dude haven’t won shit either and people still talk about them I like Bernard but wtf they won ?
Ajeje Brazov
He made the Pistons contenders, per joe Dumars
Him and Moses Malone are toe, the two most underrated players ever.
@@texas2547 yup. He was a beast for a long time. It's weird that he doesn't get more recognition
@@texas2547 I would add Mark Aguirre to the list too.
Never given the due he deserves. Very overlooked by the media and pundits. A great player. Much more to basketball than dunking.
Yes, yes and yes. AD and Kiki Vandeweghe gave a clinic in their primes on how to score and take what the defense gave them. Neither was fast, great leapers, but SUPER crafty and deadly.
Your words showed a lot of of basketball intelligence many people don't realize that great ratings are given to basketball players many times because an entertainment value and not that basic fundamental basketball value that's why you heard for many years the Spurs being boring and Tim Duncan especially being boring that's the stupidest comment anybody can make about basketball because what are you playing basketball for but to win the game put in points in the basket and stopping the other opponent but Michael Jordan was giving a lot more credit anyways due simply because his game was very entertaining and very beautiful but that's a guy that couldn't beat magic bird or Isaiah in their Prime and yet they talk about him more than them for entertainment value Jordan was one of the greatest I agree but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the same amount of rings as Jordan they don't talk about that Duncan could have had seven rings Oscar Robinson was great fundamental they don't talk about him because people are immature when it comes basketball knowledge
Looking at his stats he's gotta be one of the most underrated guys in NBA history.. His stats r absolutely elite.. A complete scorer who can pass & rebound a lil too.. He was consistently up with guys like George Gervin, Dr J, Dominique, Bird, Jordan, Alex English in scoring..
N . successful
He couldn’t guard his position
He was a bad defender. That's why I will take a guy like Marques Johnson, who's going to give me 20 or 21 on 55 percent shooting, and play good defense over him.
Allen Wilson
I didn’t say that weird shit. You got creative on that one.
more efficient than all of 'em. his efficiency was what made him particularly special as a scorer. nothing wasted
I spent countless hours as a youngster trying to perfect AD's free-throw routine, stutter-step, and turn-around jumper. The man was so smooth. Happy to see the Jazz retire his number in '07.
It is a shame that he is not brought up at all when NBA greats are talked about. He was just an incredible player and defines what the word efficient. He just went out there and did his job and did it well.
Crazy.. He actually became a crossing guard here in MD.😊💪🏼
Adrian was not spectacular. He's just one of the most fundamentally sound ball players ever. I would have loved to seen him play with Duncan and Robinson of the Spurs. Every single game would be a clinic on how to do all the basics of basketball. He was just so efficient in everything he did. I love this guy. :-)
@@texas2547 I didn't say the results weren't spectacular.
80's had some of the greatest overlooked players ever.. Dantley, Aguirre, English, Davis, and King could all light it up with the best of them.
During his NBA playing days the Dematha product came to speak at a summer basketball camp I was at as a kid and his honesty has always stuck with me. We all were asking him to dunk and he said, "these knees are worth a million dollars, so I save them for work." During his talk he said, "Coaches try to sell you on being unselfish, playing defense and rebounding. That is well and good but if you can score 20+ points a game, your going to play over the other guys no matter what you do otherwise." After that I focused on scoring, still worked hard on everything else, but scoring was my specialty and god damn if he wasn't right!
Very true. I recall a hockey coach saying "I can always find someone to check, I can't always find someone to score 40 goals." Scorers are indispensable, defensive players, not so much.
Kevin Huang
After James Worthy blistered him in the finals
Bout my scrilla he never defended James Worthy. And nobody on the Lakers could come close to stopping AD. Dantley was double teamed more than all of the NBA centers
Dantley could score and that’s it. He was selfish, ball dominant player who you couldn’t win with. That’s why the Lakers dumped him when Magic there and that’s why the Pistons dumped him right before they won it all.
@Chris Gatewood I didn't want to believe that about him, but the trade was necessary since he was a post player that was too slow for the offense the team wanted to run.
Adrian and Alex most underrated players ever.
Jarrel Ely
AD vs Mark Aguirre for Isiah’s heart.
Adrian dantley didn't contribute anything to winning. He can't pass, can't defend, can't make the right plays. All he does is be a ball stopper and shoot mid range shots. He's not even a top 100 player
Gervin was underrated too! The iceman & adrain dantley we’re scoring machines of their era!!!!🏀🏀👈🏀👈🙌🙌🏀🤟😎🤙🤙🏀
@@ucj7369 #41 all time in VORP, which takes all that into account except intangibles
Nope. Moses Malone and Dennis Johnson.
Not tall, not fast, not athletic, no long range shot but an extraordinary scorer. Exceptional footwork, touch and agility. Missing this kind of player now.
He had a good shot. He just never got off the ground when he shot it
@SkyH23 He means by NBA standards
That’s yet another reason he reminds me of Alex English. He didn’t shoot many 3s, but was nearly automatic from midrange. That’s something sorely missing from today’s game.
He looks very quick and strong to me. I guarantee that if you saw him play up close, you would realize just how athletic he was.
Jimmy Butler plays a bit like him.
Still my most favorite player of all times..Adrian Dantley
This man taught me how to play the post as a guard. Helped me more than any Coach I ever had.
Averaged 30 ppg in 4 seasons with less than 30% usage rate.
Underrated monster.
great strength and balance, impeccable footwork, explosive first step, keeps his defender off balance, inside and outside game, scores easily in the post against taller defenders, elite in FT attempts and %, make what he does on offense look easy.
Yeah, he did make it look easy. His dribble seemed high and slow. And it always looked like he took his time when shooting. Yet somehow they couldn't steal it off him or block him. He made many defenders look flat-footed and silly. His moves were basketball's equivalent of a pitcher's Eephus pitch.
Its criminal they left him off the NBA 75 list. Quick 1st step, great at body positioning, slo-mo set shot, and had a nice baby skyhook to get the shot over taller players. The most efficient scorer for his height in NBA history
As a Detroit fan it was sad when they won in 89 without AD. He was one of the players that built that team up to a championship level. In hindsight it was the right move because the Pistons won but it just didn’t feel quite right without Dantley having a chance to raise the trophy.
I didn’t like Dantley (hated the Pistons even more) yet I felt he got a raw deal
When he got traded. That had to be a real slap in the face for him
Gotta love the 80s! The best below the rim players ever! And they say today's players are more skilled..... please 😄
I agree…they brought in Aguirre who was Zeke’s childhood friend. Aguirre fitted a ball movement offense, Dantley was all iso ball with 4 teammates standing around watching him. Chuck Daly wanted ball movement and Aguirre’s ability to shoot the 3 ball and ability in the open court was a perfect fit. Neither were great defenders but they didn’t have to be, they were acquired to score…but the bottom line to Dantley’s exit was his stubborness to admit it was Isaiah’s team and the icy relationship they had as a result. They woulda won the Championship the next 2 years with Dantley regardless. It was tough for me, he was such a fun player to watch and virtually unstoppable in the low post one on one. It was probably even tougher for him to be sitting home watching the Pistons win back to back not being apart of it. He still speaks about it today and the resentment towards Zeke is still there but in hindsight he just shoulda kept his mouth shut and played.
such an awesome player !
Adrian Dantley was weird.
Pretty slow, couldn’t jump, but just off the chart basketball IQ, an arsenal of fakes, and found 100 ways to drop 50 on a team.
This like all of your work was awesome
Jxmy High roller anyone?
He scored 30+ points in 314 games. Adrian Dantley needs to be mentioned in more conversations about the greatest scorers this game has ever seen
One of the greatest pure scorers of all time. He wasn't super athletic, but he had great body control, tremendous hands, beautiful touch, and big time smarts. Plus, he was almost always being played against guys bigger than him, even when he was in the post. Yet, he still scored on them. Look at how bad he wore out AC Green in this video.
Bruh wtf was this guy. A guard, forward, tweener? Driving down low and easy lays against bigger players?! Melo triple stance into the middy jumper?! Sheesh la weesh
Lol, he was a bad mug...killer in the post and I'm not sure he could even touch the rim lololol.
Jokic kinda plays like dantley, now that I'm watching it. Adrian could change his pace off of a slower approach to the basket and make you pay with floaters and layups
The smoothest basketball scorer ever. Easy points , no dunks , no nothing . So what? Period .
I could watch highlights of himall day.what an arsenal
It is insane that Dantley is never mentioned with the best scorers ever. He was.
Great highlight package. Thank you.
Averaged 31 on 56% shooting. in 80-81. Most underrated player of all time. You don't even hear about this guy. Chris Mullin is also very underrated.
Most underrated player of all time is Moses Malone but nice try
I'm young and I just learned about this dude and I'm looking at his stats just seeing how underrated he is
I don't think so. And Wilt Chamberlain agrees with Simmons. Wilt said "I have never seen a 6'5 guy score inside like that, Elgin didn't do it. No one has." Though solid, he wasn't a tank like Barkley, an incredible, athletic leaper like Jordan. He was crafty, patient, cunning like no other decent, not great athlete at his size. And he did it year after year!
For some reason I just decided to search up Adrian Dantley highlights
Very good upload, thanks.
I'm really late to respond, but thanks for the compliment!
Good compilation man. Visited your youtube channel cause of RealGM ;)
Thanks for watching and enjoying the video. I'm going to guess that you like the basketball videos more than my football videos?
The greatest scorer you never heard of.
Who was better: Dantley or Alex English?
They are the only two players since the MVP was introduced who won a scoring title, and couldn’t finish top 5 in an MVP vote at any point in their career.
@@fortynights1513 dantley obviously, both players were pretty much only scorers who werent great at anything else, but dantley was slightly better on defense, a better rebounder and way more efficient
7:25 ooh damn, one of those rare super authoritative rebounds, love those, by Malone that time.
this guy was carmelo before carmelo lol
Watching highlights like this make me wonder why old heads thing this era is better and don't come with the "physicality" argument cause ain't nothing physical in this video
E Appleby .....Come on brother Appleby.....This is one player in a 11 minute highlight package...... Their is millions of millions of minutes in the 80s that was recorded and not recorded..... Some of the roughest games in the 80s living in Detroit were not nationally televised games.... They were local broadcasts.... And the brutality was serious at times! But I want to give out a shout out to an even more physical decade then the 80s..... The 70s! I have watched some games....and them brothers DIDN'T HOLD THEM UP! QUITE NASTY AT TIMES.
"Questionable freethrows"? Dantley went to the hoop to score but also knew how to draw the foul AND he was good from the freethrow line; show me a coach who doesn't love that? Look at 0:39: Kevin McHale was not a bad defender, here he was afraid to concede the foul.
Despite 2 rings and all that, I'm still convinced it was a mistake for the Pistons to trade Dantley. No disrespect to Mark Aguirre, but how could you trade the teacher? Never flashy, but he always delivered.
Adrian would also get more shots at the free throw line. Your highligts failed to show this.
Smooth scoring machine! Hurts that he was 2 minutes away from a ring in 1988! Present Pistons could use this!
AD is always a personal fave of mine. I will note he averaged 30 points a game for 4 years while averaging less than 20 shots a game!! His signature moment was Game 1 of the 1988 NBA finals on the road against the Lakers where Dantley scored 34 points on 14-of-16 shooting from the field, mostly with the taller AC Green and James Worthy guarding him. He abused those guys. People always saying he was ball dominant, but he only averaged 20 shots a game only once in his career.
Yo it's crazy the NBA doesn't give this star his shine. N he put in work against the best the NBA had to offer. Six four n couldn't be f...ked with. Recognize greatness
He reminds me a lot of Alex English. They were both prolific and efficient scorers, didn’t play with a lot of flash and are severely underrated.
Dantley seemed to always know where the basket was even after spinning or coming out of a crowd. And that's something you can't see physically in a player. People ask of a prospect: "How tall is he?" But never: "How is his spatial perception?"
This man was born to score the basketball. That's all I've got to say.
This reminds me of Mark Aguirre and his highlights, not one dunk in 11 minutes!...Lol Adrian Dantley was definitely not a above the rim kind of player but nevertheless he was a great player and deserved to be in the hall of fame.
Aguirre had decent hops and dunked a lot more than AD.
Especially in his early years.
Kelvin Houston he was conscious of saving wear and tear on his knees. During his NBA playing days he came to speak at a summer basketball camp I was at as a kid and his honesty has always stuck with me. We all were asking him to dunk and he said, "these knees are worth a million dollars, so I save them for work." He said he only dunked when he had to, 2 points is 2 points.
NOOOO doubt about it. Deadly, efficient, consistent. He did what he had to do to get his shot off and was tough to figure out.
Does he need to be in Above the Rim player? I hope that's not what you're saying and that's basketball immaturity I caught your comments and had to bring that out cuz a lot of people think that and that's why some players are overrated like Michael Jordan and underrated like Adrian Dantley and overrated does not mean they're not good it's just that put higher than they need to be
Bob Ryan from the BS podcast brought me.
Why is this man so forgotten ? He never gets mentioned, never gets any praise. That Guy Put Up better Numbers than Kobe.
because his prime was in utah and he never won a title
The original AD.
He was a super scorer
This man averaged 30 points during his time with the jazz. HE'S NEVER TALKED ABOUT!!!
I will note he averaged 30 on less than 20 shots a game 3 times!!
Who's here after Kenny on TNT?
Top ten all time post player. At 6'4" and could barely jump! Absolute craftsman.
One of my favorite players when he was in college and in the nba.Most underrated player in NBA history!
The greatest player nobody remembers? Dantley was fantastic!
His body is build like a power forward, and most players who guard him are power forwards, but has a deceiving speed of a guard...
Always in enjoyed watching AD from N. Dame to Pros wish they added Buffalo Brave Highlights when he came rookie of year , playing w/ Macadoo , Ernie D , Randy Smith he got shredded and made them all pay true Hall of Famer
this that 80s tough defense? really?
I loved his game, his jumper was smooth
Wow his game looks like a lot of current players today. Nice fundamental moves and footwork. He was even doing step backs and fadeaways and that one dribble pull up is deadly!!!
Dantley was a bad man.He was no joke.
I always marveled at he was able to score routinely over 7 footers finished his career number 10 all time scorer in league history one of a few players to average 30 ppg at least one season in college and NBA in college at Notre Dame Dantley started as a Freshman helped the Irish stopped UCLA'S 88 game winning streak .
Original Melo
Him and Alex English was sooo Fluid with movements. almost Robotic
I definitely can see some of derozans game in him.
What a scorer!
Its weird that out of all his highlights there are in this video almost none of them are "and 1".
Dantley was the master of drawing shooting fouls. For a guy who was listed at 6-5 with limited athletic ability the guy could put points on the board efficiently while putting his defender in foul trouble.
Could watch AD highlights all day long.
Adrian dantley was awesome!! & underrated!’ Too. He was scoring machine!!!!🏀🏀🏀👈🙌
Dantley like Alex English made scoring look so easy that it's laughable. Kareem said Adrian Dantley was one of his favorite players because night after night he though undersized would dominate the game.
dantley career TS% 61.7, english a pedestrian 55.0
unique player: undersized, not quick, not athletic, strong, SKILLED, array of moves, quick first step, fun to watch, scoring machine.
One of thr best post up players
Very smart!
I see people saying he's underrated, I would argue he is overrated. If you read Thinking Basketball by Ben Taylor he shows that Dantley actually contributed negative value to his team even during his best years due to his poor defense, limited creation, and his tendency to be a possession killer. His teams were better without him, which is why he was traded so much. Great individual stats, but those stats don't tell the whole story.
there's a kernel of truth here, but pistons teammates credited him with raising them to legit contender status. 41st in pro history in career VORP too, which is at least a passable stat. being a black hole ain't so bad when you're such an efficient scorer
Dantley was a very efficient scorer, not just someone who took a lot of shots.
Utah's core players from Dantley's prime, Green, Eaton, Griffith, and Bailey, did not improve once he left.
Stockton was already becoming a really good point guard without a lot of minutes in Dantley's last season. I'm not sure if Karl Malone would have fit well with Dantley.
Utah was worse in 1983 when Dantley was injured. Detroit had improved with Dantley before they traded him.
Why is nobody trying to actually guard him?
Does look like they aren’t even guarding him. Strange...
Idk it was always that way with him it was wierd... idk wtf was going on... it always looked that way with him... it used to drive me crazy.. I think he must have lulled people to sleep.. and Scottie pippen said he was so strong it was just unbelievable..
I know your comment is old, but I thought I’d respond nonetheless to simply say the reason is, AD was STRONG 💪🏽 . It doesn’t look like it, but he was as strong as Charles Oakley, and solid like Ron Artest. Nooooo one wanted to D him up close and risk getting an elbow, lol
I wanted him to be in the 75 all-time list... smh
That fadaway tho!!!!
It was. He was a VERY underrated mid range jump shooter. Not a 3 pt shooter, but 18 feet and in, deadly.
this dude was a machine
Trading him was the worse mistake in Lakers history.
Not the worst, but VERY close (still have both trading future draft picks for mileage-heavy Steve Nash and shipping out a prime Caron Butler for Kwame "Mr. Small Hands" Brown battling for that distinction, heh) . They still had Jamaal Wilkes who was more versatile offensively and didn't really need the ball most of the time to be effective by comparison, but yeah trading Dantley for busted goods in Spencer Haywood was definitely not one of the Lakers' shining moments (lol).
but do they draft james worthy if dantley is around? you may be right, but only because the list of lakers mistakes is decidedly small
Certified bucket getter!
This guy refs my rec games
Gonzaga Basketball has Adrian Dantley written all over
Very few Jazz fans look into the rafters and know how good AD was. Glad he and the Miller's eventually got that jersey where it belongs.
In today's NBA, he would be a power forward. He will kill these dudes today. NBA players today are allergic to the low post.
he has more career points than d wade.. just to put into perspective how underrated he is
That is because D Wade got hurt often and missed games. D Wade is also a scoring machine and a great defender.
@@thespaceram2879 ya i know d wade is better. was just providing some perspective, most ppl havent heard of adrian dantley.
Dantley point total 23177 Wade point total 23165 The difference of points is not by much.
@@thespaceram2879 cool. what are you trying to convince me of? i know d wade was better lol. my only point is he is underrated and more people should know him. why do you keep responding with things that are beside the point?
I like how in the old school NBA, you had to score in multiple ways.But Dantley had to post, use his jumper, hookshots, and incorporate moves to get baskets. I don't blame players nowadays to jack up jumpers because if you face the basket you get automatic space cuz of no hand checks and softer calls and the scrubbier players shoot better.
Basketball is better to watch now. Players have more skills, stronger, quicker. Hand checking is not defense and take no skill smh. Players such as kawhi have great on ball defense without hand checking. That really take skill
Wane Walker it’s not better now.. n there is no proof the r more skilled.. or stronger . The height is identical the vertical is identical ... imo the players in 80s n 90s were far better these guys today can’t even run a proper 2 on 1 fastbreak it’s pathetic.. they miss so many open layups it’s disgusting.. a flop fest 3 jacking fest wow!! Where they cry all game
Wane Walker Hand checking is no skill but try scoring with physical defense vs someone like today can’t touch you... that takes waaay more skill!!! Wake up dummy.. if they allow a little physical play today u see these player lose it n fall apart... look what happens to curry in finals he alway plays shitty
The original step back
kinda reminds me of shai in the lane
great video, thank you!
My god the pistons have a super team
What song is in the intro with the piano keys?
Should of been top 75 all time
Similar to Bernard king sensational scorer ..
miles more efficient than bernard
What’s the piano at the beginning
He was a ball stopper but he was a deadly scorer. He is comparable to Carmello Anthony.
Yeah A.D. just shot about 12 percentage points better.
I miss the 80's their were so many different types of players , today's players play the same ,a dunk or a 3 pointer it's really boring most of the time.