Salt Lake City – Adrian Dantley’s day in the sun was as much about burying old hatchets and an owner admitting a mistake as much as it was a celebration.
Dantley, a Nuggets assistant coach, is better known as one of the NBA’s greatest players. And his work in seven seasons in Utah stands above the rest.
Dantley’s No. 4 jersey was retired Wednesday in a halftime ceremony that capped off a day’s worth of activities. A luncheon on a sixth-floor suite at Energy Solutions Arena kicked it off, followed by a news conference.
“I’m just blessed and humbled,” Dantley said. “Utah was the best place for (me). I loved it here. I had a great time here. … I’m always going to be a Utah guy.”
Dantley’s jersey hangs alongside players Pete Maravich, Darrell Griffith, Mark Eaton, Jeff Hornacek, John Stockton, Karl Malone and coach Frank Layden.
With Utah, Dantley was a six-time all-star and finished as the franchise leader in scoring average and field-goal percentage. He is 18th on the all-time scoring list with 23,177 points.
“I think A.D. for some reason is on the bottom of the totem pole of great players that hasn’t got the recognition I think he deserves,” Nuggets coach George Karl said.
“This is the beginning. He’ll get this, I think he’ll get the Hall (of Fame) thing. It’s about time for him to get that recognition of the game and the game thanking him for an incredible career.”
But it took owner Larry Miller time to think of Dantley in that fashion. For years, he didn’t want to honor Dantley because of a perceived rift between Dantley and Layden, as well as his belief that Dantley didn’t do a significant-enough portion of his work with the Jazz.
“I’ve been the stick-in-the-mud and frankly, A.D. deserved better than that,” Miller said.
“Letting time grant me a better perspective and hopefully more wisdom, it was clear to me four or five years ago that it was when (not if) it would happen.”
Playoff tickets on sale
Single-game Nuggets playoff tickets for the three potential first-round home games will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Prices start at $12 and tickets will be limited to eight per household.
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster, the Pepsi Center box office, online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-4NBATIX or 719-520-9090.
Footnotes
A San Antonio Spurs scout was at the game, preparing for the possible first-round playoff series between the Nuggets and Spurs. …
Nuggets forward Nene will participate in the league’s “Basketball Without Borders” project July 31-Aug. 3, teaching the game to kids in São Paulo, Brazil, along with friend, Phoenix guard Leandro Barbosa, and Utah center Rafael Araujo, among others.
