Hot Take: Adrian Dantley is a top 5 all-time scorer

[Im Still Ballin]

My top 5 would look something like this:


1. MJ - (Best combination of offensive volume, efficiency, and diversity in regular season and playoffs)
2a. Curry - (Faces the most defensive attention, and also has the furthest average shot distance)
2b. KD - (Fantastic combination of offensive volume, efficiency, and diversity)
4. Dantley - (Fantastic combination of offensive volume, efficiency, and diversity)
5. Harden - (Fantastic combination of offensive volume and efficiency, but lacks diversity and playoff performance)

I'm not sure if Curry or KD is better at scoring. Curry has a bigger weapon in his three-point shot, but KD has more offensive diversity. It's important to note that this is scoring, not overall offense. If it was, Curry would probably be number one on this list due to his gravity.

Wilt and Shaq lose out due to free throws, which do matter.

Dantley has Harden's free-throw drawing ability, but also has a more diverse and efficient scoring game outside of it. He's got one of the best post-up games ever, and his mid-range is automatic. Has a lighting-quick first step that makes his triple-threat GOATed.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2VNWvoSDqc

[Im Still Ballin]

Honourable Mentions:

- LeBron
- Kobe
- Kawhi
- Gervin
- Kareem
- Baylor
- Jerry West
- Dirk
- Barkley

[Im Still Ballin]

My criteria would be a combination of:

- Scoring volume
- Scoring efficiency
- Scoring diversity
- Scoring distance
- Defensive attention faced

[Im Still Ballin]

Jordan: 32.5ppg on 60.2% TS ('88-'92)

Dantley: 30.0ppg on 63.6% TS ('80-'84)

Lebron: 27.5ppg on 61.8% TS ('10-'14)

Durant: 28.3ppg on 64.0% TS ('13-'17)

Harden: 31.6ppg on 61.2% TS ('16-'20)

Curry: 27.2ppg on 64.9% TS ('16-'20)

[TheGoatest]

He is definitely a perfect example of a player who is one of the greatest scorers ever, yet barely a top 100 player ever.
And he illustrates perfectly the difference between one-dimensional scorers like Dantley, jordon, etc. and great all-round players like LeBron.

[Im Still Ballin]

Before Basketball-Reference changed its BPM formula, Dantley led the league in OBPM 5 out of his 7 years in Utah.

https://web.archive.org/web/20170507193655/https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/dantlad01.html

[John8204]

Here's my criteria....NBA 75 years old....so we're talking 15 year spans

1. (46-61) - George Mikan HM Bob Pettitt, Paul Arizin
2. (62-77) - Wilt Chamberlain HM Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson
3. (78-92) - Michael Jordan HM Larry Bird, George Gervin
4. (93-08) - Kobe Bryan HM Dirk Nowitzki, Allen Iverson
5.(08-22) - Lebron James HM Seth Curry, Kevin Durant

[Kblaze8855]

I remember Adrian and I never thought he was better than Bernard King, Bird, or Gervin far as scoring. The numbers don’t always match up because what he did was hard to stop but he couldn’t do as many things in as many situations. Kinda like how one on one in the post Barkley could probably score all he wanted and if you made him do nothing else he would probably be a 30ppg guy who shot 55-60%…but on a worse team since he’d have to monopolize the ball and slow it down so much nobody else got going.

Left to play a total game that fit in with others and required multiple means of attack and dealing with different looks? Bird kills Dantley. He’s always gonna shoot worse due to the shot selection difference of playing team ball where they go through others who also played in his sweet spots. He spent time setting them up, fighting to rebound, and playing 2 man games which are statistically less efficient than getting to your spot to attack personally 30 times but results in better and more engaged teammates.

Adrian is unstoppable at what he does like a lot of people have been. But a lot of them weren’t afforded the opportunity to do it as much back then. Even teams with unbalanced star power generally shared the ball so much it wasn’t one guy getting it over and over and over in his spot unless it was a center.

If all you did was give Bernard King the ball foul line in, on the baseline, with room to work he’d score in 2 seconds or draw a foul 60% of the time. And he could run his ass off too and score in transition.

On teams that worked to give them their desired look at the same rate I don’t know that Adrian out scores any of them. The shooting numbers throw it off. You assume 20 shots is 20 shots but it isn’t always the case. 20 shots with 16 designed to get you the look you like vs 20 shots working hard to play as a well functioning team and playing off inferior guys to keep them involved might hurt efficiency but it helps basketball teams.

Bird is a little hurt by that in the numbers. He once dropped 50 on the Mavs with 55% shooting and apologized to the team because he was the worst player in the floor in his eyes. He didn’t let everyone get going and they lost a game they should have won. He and Walton talked about it and agreed he cost them the game.

That started a 14 game win streak and they only lost 5 more games that season…including the playoffs with them winning the title.

Bird could have had a lot more 50 point games he just didn’t feel that’s how you should play. And you can’t tell he was doing it in the stats because he might actually take worse shots playing more unselfish ball…..

Its odd but it’s true. The most statistically efficient scoring isn’t always best for the team.

[HylianNightmare]

Gervin>>

[ClipperRevival]

I remember Adrian and I never thought he was better than Bernard King, Bird, or Gervin far as scoring. The numbers don’t always match up because what he did was hard to stop but he couldn’t do as many things in as many situations. Kinda like how one on one in the post Barkley could probably score all he wanted and if you made him do nothing else he would probably be a 30ppg guy who shot 55-60%…but on a worse team since he’d have to monopolize the ball and slow it down so much nobody else got going.

Left to play a total game that fit in with others and required multiple means of attack and dealing with different looks? Bird kills Dantley. He’s always gonna shoot worse due to the shot selection difference of playing team ball where they go through others who also played in his sweet spots. He spent time setting them up, fighting to rebound, and playing 2 man games which are statistically less efficient than getting to your spot to attack personally 30 times but results in better and more engaged teammates.

Adrian is unstoppable at what he does like a lot of people have been. But a lot of them weren’t afforded the opportunity to do it as much back then. Even teams with unbalanced star power generally shared the ball so much it wasn’t one guy getting it over and over and over in his spot unless it was a center.

If all you did was give Bernard King the ball foul line in, on the baseline, with room to work he’d score in 2 seconds or draw a foul 60% of the time. And he could run his ass off too and score in transition.

On teams that worked to give them their desired look at the same rate I don’t know that Adrian out scores any of them. The shooting numbers throw it off. You assume 20 shots is 20 shots but it isn’t always the case. 20 shots with 16 designed to get you the look you like vs 20 shots working hard to play as a well functioning team and playing off inferior guys to keep them involved might hurt efficiency but it helps basketball teams.

Bird is a little hurt by that in the numbers. He once dropped 50 on the Mavs with 55% shooting and apologized to the team because he was the worst player in the floor in his eyes. He didn’t let everyone get going and they lost a game they should have won. He and Walton talked about it and agreed he cost them the game.

That started a 14 game win streak and they only lost 5 more games that season…including the playoffs with them winning the title.

Bird could have had a lot more 50 point games he just didn’t feel that’s how you should play. And you can’t tell he was doing it in the stats because he might actually take worse shots playing more unselfish ball…..

Its odd but it’s true. The most statistically efficient scoring isn’t always best for the team.

Yup.

There's no doubt AD's numbers don't lie, he's a GOAT tier scorer based purely on #s. But they didn't call him a black hole for a reason. He had the skills/talent/efficiency to get his points at a GOAT tier level but he didn't make his teammates better. So if we are going just off numbers/skills/efficiency he had a GOAT tier peak as a scorer but in terms of elevating his teams? Nope.

But still, in the grand scheme of NBA history, he is without a doubt one of THE most underrated players EVER. His peak scoring numbers are eye popping and few even know this.

[BarberSchool]

Hot take ?

That take is a cold stale constipated fart bruh.

Do not pass go.