Behind the Bucks Pass
Fansided

Milwaukee Bucks: The franchise’s forgotten Hall of Famers

By Adam McGee

SPRINGFIELD, MA - SEPTEMBER 8: Inductee Gary Payton speaks during the 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony on September 8, 2013 at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
SPRINGFIELD, MA - SEPTEMBER 8: Inductee Gary Payton speaks during the 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony on September 8, 2013 at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LANDOVER, MD – CIRCA 1991: (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – CIRCA 1991: (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Adrian Dantley

Selected sixth overall, one spot after the Bucks’ pick, in the 1976 NBA Draft, Adrian Dantley did eventually end up in Milwaukee, albeit much later than many fans would have liked.

Dantley entered the NBA as a two-time All-American, and the US Basketball Writers Association’s Player of the Year, meaning the table was set for an illustrious professional career already.

Averaging over 20 points per game with the Buffalo Braves as a rookie, Dantley immediately lived up to that promise by picking up Rookie of the Year honors and continued to build on that fast start over a 15-year career which left little doubt over his place among the all-time great scorers.

Of course, the prime of Dantley’s career arrived in his time with the Utah Jazz, where he twice finished as the NBA’s scoring leader (1981, 1984) and also made six All-Star appearances.

Even beyond his time in Utah, Dantley remained effective in the latter years of his career as he continued to score in volume in both Detroit and Dallas, before taking in one final stop with the Bucks.

With Milwaukee, Dantley logged the only season of his career in which he averaged less than 14 points per game with a mark of 5.7 points per game, although calling it a season is being somewhat generous. Having suffered a broken leg in the 1989-90 season with Dallas and then claiming to be blackballed when he failed to find a new team, Dantley returned for 10 more games with the Bucks in April of 1991 to cap off his career.

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