Top Ten Lakers You Can’t Believe Were Lakers
By Fern Rea
9. Adrian Dantley – 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons
Rick Meyer/LAT
Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley is best known as the scoring machine for the Utah Jazz where he played for 7 seasons. In Dantley’s 7 seasons with the Jazz, he led the league twice in scoring and was named to the All Star team 6 times.
Many Lakers fans will remember Dantley as part of the Bad Boy Detroit Piston teams that battled the Lakers in the late 80s.
What many might not remember is that the Dantley was part of the Lakers prior to him blowing up as the Hall of Fame player that he would eventually become. Lakers had acquired Dantley in trade from the Indiana Pacers during the 1977-78 season. Dantley, in his 2nd NBA season and just 21 years old, played well with the Lakers, averaging 19.4 and 17.3 points per game in his 2 seasons with the Lakers respectively. Dantley was traded to the Utah Jazz following the 1978-79 season for Spencer Haywood. The rest is Hall of Fame history.