Adrian Dantley Finally Honored

(Boulder-CO) In what has been too long of a wait, Adrian Dantley will finally get some of the recognition he so desperately deserves. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the former NBA scoring champion will have his number “4” retired to the rafters of the Utah Jazz’s EnergySolutions Arena after years of controversy in basketball circles.

Adrian Dantley will be the sixth player to have his number retired by the Jazz, joining Pete Maravich (No. 7), Darrell "Dr. Dunkenstein" Griffith (No. 35), Mark Eaton (No. 53), Jeff Hornacek (No. 14), Karl Malone (No. 32) and John Stockton (No. 12). He will also be joining former coach, GM, and now team president Frank Layden who has the number “1” hanging in his honor.

This occasion is a small step for the Denver Nuggets assistant coach in what should be a march to Springfield, Massachusetts. Adrian Dantley will be honored in person on April 11th when the Nuggets travel to Utah to face the Jazz. I dedicated an installment of Historical Glimpses to Dantley and feel that his career should be without a doubt enshrined forever into the Hall of Fame. One step at I time, I guess, but after all this time it is now fitting to let bygones be bygones. Frank Layden is making the right move by doing this. Kudos to him, and congratulations to Adrian Dantley. One of the best small forwards to ever play the game!