Top 5 Teams Adrian Dantley Has Performed Best Against
May 26, 2015 16:57:29 GMT -6
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Post by New York on May 26, 2015 16:57:29 GMT -6
Back in 2020 the Sydney Kings selected Adrian Dantley with the 5th Pick of the 7th Annual ABCA Rookie Draft. As soon as he stepped on the 6 foot 5 inch swingman was a threat to score the ball, rebound and pass the ball. Over his seven year career he has racked up 13,608 points which is more than anyone drafted since he was not named Dominique Wilkins. It's hard not to call Adrian Dantley a bonafide superstar at the SF and SG positions. There isn't a team that he hasn't put up 20 points on at least once in his career. But here's an interesting question, which team's has he done that to the most? Or better yet, which teams has he as a whole performed best against in his 562 regular season games? Throughout his career I have kept a log of every game he has played so in this article I want to look back at some of his performances and determine which teams Adrian Dantley has performed best against in his career.
RANDOM STATISTICS
So now that we've covered his best performances in individual stats, lets move on to looking at the teams he had the best performances against, his averages against those teams, and a recap of some of the games played against those teams.
*If you are viewing this article on a phone some of the images may appear too small for you to make out. But I will include a link to the entire spreadsheet so you can look through that if necessary*
(1) Berlin ALBA
(2) Boston Celtics
(3) Toronto Raptors
(4) Brazil Franca BC
(5) Mexico City Titans
So there you have it, the five teams that I believe Adrian Dantley has performed best against. If you want to see the numbers on the other teams he faced, here is the link to the spreadsheet:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gTDKJTCS7bU4Cx2aTNJHmduUMtCVMdsw8hmp6Z6lI7A/edit?usp=sharing
RANDOM STATISTICS
TEAM(S) THAT HE HAS PLAYED MOST: TITANS (21), BULLETS (21)
TEAM(S) THAT HE HAS PLAYED LEAST: KINGS (9)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES MOST PPG AGAINST: CELTICS (28.8)
TEAM THAT HE HAS MOST 20+ PTS GAMES AGAINST: 76ERS (17), MILANO (17)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES FEWEST PPG AGAINST: BOCA JUNIORS BC (21.2)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES HIGHEST FG% AGAINST: TITANS (54.3%)
TEAM WITH MOST 50+% SHOOTING GAMES AGAINST: MADRID (14), TITANS (14)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES HIGHEST 3P% AGAINST: ALBA (47.0%)
TEAM WITH MOST 40+% 3-POINT SHOOTING GAMES AGAINST: ISTANBUL/LAGOS (11)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES MOST RPG AGAINST: MILANO (7.9)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES MOST APG AGAINST: MOSCOW (4.4), FRANCA BC (4.4)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES MOST SPG AGAINST: TOWERS (2.0)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES FEWEST TPG AGAINST: TEHRAN (1.9)
TEAM(S) THAT HE HAS PLAYED LEAST: KINGS (9)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES MOST PPG AGAINST: CELTICS (28.8)
TEAM THAT HE HAS MOST 20+ PTS GAMES AGAINST: 76ERS (17), MILANO (17)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES FEWEST PPG AGAINST: BOCA JUNIORS BC (21.2)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES HIGHEST FG% AGAINST: TITANS (54.3%)
TEAM WITH MOST 50+% SHOOTING GAMES AGAINST: MADRID (14), TITANS (14)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES HIGHEST 3P% AGAINST: ALBA (47.0%)
TEAM WITH MOST 40+% 3-POINT SHOOTING GAMES AGAINST: ISTANBUL/LAGOS (11)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES MOST RPG AGAINST: MILANO (7.9)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES MOST APG AGAINST: MOSCOW (4.4), FRANCA BC (4.4)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES MOST SPG AGAINST: TOWERS (2.0)
TEAM THAT HE AVERAGES FEWEST TPG AGAINST: TEHRAN (1.9)
So now that we've covered his best performances in individual stats, lets move on to looking at the teams he had the best performances against, his averages against those teams, and a recap of some of the games played against those teams.
*If you are viewing this article on a phone some of the images may appear too small for you to make out. But I will include a link to the entire spreadsheet so you can look through that if necessary*
(1) Berlin ALBA
Career Record Against ALBA: 11-5
Players He Matched Up With: Ben Warley, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Oscar Robertson, Jamaal Wilkes, Willy Stevieners, Grant Hill, Eddie Jones, John Havlicek and Eric Beugnot
- After putting the numbers together it looks like the team that Adrian Dantley has performed best against was his former team, Berlin ALBA. He had some of his best scoring years with this team and it seems when he matches up against them he tries to recreate some of that magic. Throughout the years he has faced off with multiple forwards and guards on the ALBA roster and has truly had 1 bad game during that stretch. He has been able to drop 30+ points on them due to the fact that this team has had the most trouble of any slowing him down at the 3-point line. He only shots over 40% from long range against three teams and his 47 3P% is the highest against any team. This isn't the team he scores the most against, rebounds the most against, or passes the best against but he is in the top 5 in each of those categories when facing this team. He doesn't face this team until April of this season and only faces them twice but it'll be interesting to see how he does against them. He will likely be facing off against his 10th ALBA player when he faces them as he will likely be matchup up against the young Vince Carter. Will he notch his first 40 point game against them or will they slow him down after seeing this article and using it for motivation?
Players He Matched Up With: Ben Warley, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Oscar Robertson, Jamaal Wilkes, Willy Stevieners, Grant Hill, Eddie Jones, John Havlicek and Eric Beugnot
- After putting the numbers together it looks like the team that Adrian Dantley has performed best against was his former team, Berlin ALBA. He had some of his best scoring years with this team and it seems when he matches up against them he tries to recreate some of that magic. Throughout the years he has faced off with multiple forwards and guards on the ALBA roster and has truly had 1 bad game during that stretch. He has been able to drop 30+ points on them due to the fact that this team has had the most trouble of any slowing him down at the 3-point line. He only shots over 40% from long range against three teams and his 47 3P% is the highest against any team. This isn't the team he scores the most against, rebounds the most against, or passes the best against but he is in the top 5 in each of those categories when facing this team. He doesn't face this team until April of this season and only faces them twice but it'll be interesting to see how he does against them. He will likely be facing off against his 10th ALBA player when he faces them as he will likely be matchup up against the young Vince Carter. Will he notch his first 40 point game against them or will they slow him down after seeing this article and using it for motivation?
(2) Boston Celtics
Career Win Record Against Boston: 14-6
Players He Matched Up Against: George Gervin, Joe Ellis, Ricky Pierce, Toni Kukoc
- I think it's only fitting that one of the teams that Adrian Dantley gets up to play is the Boston Celtics. The Knicks and Celtics rivalary is a well known one and it seems that has carried over to Dantley. He has scored on average more points against the Boston Celtics than any other team with a 40 point game and a 50 point game already under his belt. He has recently been matched up with the super versatile Toni Kukoc and we've seen a lot of give and take in that matchup. As recent as last year we've seen him slow Toni Kukoc down for 12 PTS, 4 Fouls and 6 Turnovers but we've also seen Toni drop 26 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, and 1 BLK on Dantley's head. With Dantley recently signing a 5 year extension and Kukoc being 3 years younger than him and likely to re-sign with Boston it seems we are likely to see these two square off pretty often moving forward. Right now the record for those two is 9-1 in favor of Dantley since Kukoc's rookie year and with four more games this season it'll be interesting to see if Kukoc can close the gap some or if Dantley will continue his domination against Boston.
Players He Matched Up Against: George Gervin, Joe Ellis, Ricky Pierce, Toni Kukoc
- I think it's only fitting that one of the teams that Adrian Dantley gets up to play is the Boston Celtics. The Knicks and Celtics rivalary is a well known one and it seems that has carried over to Dantley. He has scored on average more points against the Boston Celtics than any other team with a 40 point game and a 50 point game already under his belt. He has recently been matched up with the super versatile Toni Kukoc and we've seen a lot of give and take in that matchup. As recent as last year we've seen him slow Toni Kukoc down for 12 PTS, 4 Fouls and 6 Turnovers but we've also seen Toni drop 26 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, and 1 BLK on Dantley's head. With Dantley recently signing a 5 year extension and Kukoc being 3 years younger than him and likely to re-sign with Boston it seems we are likely to see these two square off pretty often moving forward. Right now the record for those two is 9-1 in favor of Dantley since Kukoc's rookie year and with four more games this season it'll be interesting to see if Kukoc can close the gap some or if Dantley will continue his domination against Boston.
(3) Toronto Raptors
Career Win Record Against Toronto: 9-3
Players He Matched Up Against: David Thompson, Jim Paxson, Benji Wilson, Kiki Vandewedge, Vince Carter, Eric Beugnot, Alex English, Viktor Zubkov, James Worthy, Walt Frazier, Sidney Moncrief
- Something that I think a lot of people don't realize is the team that Adrian Dantley has spent the most time with in his career to this point is the Toronto Raptors. So basically take everything I mentioned about the Berlin ALBA connection and double it when it comes to the Raptors. After being traded from the Kings to the Raptors, Dantley was looked at as the building block for the Raptors along with a young James Worthy. However Dantley really started his ascension to being the team's lead man during his second year with the team. But surprisingly after he really started to get his legs under him the team sent him to Bayi for a rebuilding package. Since then he has scored 20+ PPG on the team all but one time including one of his best non-all star exhibition game performances as he dropped 39 PTS on them on an insane 17-21 shooting night in Season 14 with Sidney Moncrief guarding him. While his winning percentage (top 10) and scoring (top 3) are impressive those are not the only things to look at when reviewing the games he's had against Toronto. His rebounding is way above his career average when facing this team and outside of Olympia there isn't a team he has rebounded against better. The Raptors are a much improved team this year and he likely will have to face off against an elite defender in Clyde Drexler so we shall see how their matchups play out this season.
Players He Matched Up Against: David Thompson, Jim Paxson, Benji Wilson, Kiki Vandewedge, Vince Carter, Eric Beugnot, Alex English, Viktor Zubkov, James Worthy, Walt Frazier, Sidney Moncrief
- Something that I think a lot of people don't realize is the team that Adrian Dantley has spent the most time with in his career to this point is the Toronto Raptors. So basically take everything I mentioned about the Berlin ALBA connection and double it when it comes to the Raptors. After being traded from the Kings to the Raptors, Dantley was looked at as the building block for the Raptors along with a young James Worthy. However Dantley really started his ascension to being the team's lead man during his second year with the team. But surprisingly after he really started to get his legs under him the team sent him to Bayi for a rebuilding package. Since then he has scored 20+ PPG on the team all but one time including one of his best non-all star exhibition game performances as he dropped 39 PTS on them on an insane 17-21 shooting night in Season 14 with Sidney Moncrief guarding him. While his winning percentage (top 10) and scoring (top 3) are impressive those are not the only things to look at when reviewing the games he's had against Toronto. His rebounding is way above his career average when facing this team and outside of Olympia there isn't a team he has rebounded against better. The Raptors are a much improved team this year and he likely will have to face off against an elite defender in Clyde Drexler so we shall see how their matchups play out this season.
(4) Brazil Franca BC
Career Win Record Against: 13-4
Players He Matched Up With: Michael Cooper, Pete Maravich, Joe Dumars, Sonny Parker, Reggie Miller, Oscar Robertson, Walter Davis
- Brazil Franca BC is another team that Adrian Dantley seems to bring his A-game for but unlike the other teams i've talked about he adds another caveat to his game when facing this team. Against Brazil Franca he passes the ball better than he does against any other team. If he averaged the amount of assist every game that he does against Brazil he would be under only Magic Johnson, Toni Kukoc, Reggie Theus and Ron Harper in terms of passing SFs. Now don't get me wrong he has put up some big scoring games against this team as well with two 40+ Point games already to his name against them. But it just seems that he comes with a much more well rounded game when facing this team than a lot of the others. This season it will be on Clark Kellogg to slow him down and that may be a really nice matchup for him because Kellogg is taller, just as strong and a grade A post defender meaning he'll likely force Dantley to create on the perimeter rather than getting into the paint. But rumor has it that Dantley has been working on his 3-point shot and he's hitting 38.8% of his 3s against this team so that may end up playing into his hand.
Players He Matched Up With: Michael Cooper, Pete Maravich, Joe Dumars, Sonny Parker, Reggie Miller, Oscar Robertson, Walter Davis
- Brazil Franca BC is another team that Adrian Dantley seems to bring his A-game for but unlike the other teams i've talked about he adds another caveat to his game when facing this team. Against Brazil Franca he passes the ball better than he does against any other team. If he averaged the amount of assist every game that he does against Brazil he would be under only Magic Johnson, Toni Kukoc, Reggie Theus and Ron Harper in terms of passing SFs. Now don't get me wrong he has put up some big scoring games against this team as well with two 40+ Point games already to his name against them. But it just seems that he comes with a much more well rounded game when facing this team than a lot of the others. This season it will be on Clark Kellogg to slow him down and that may be a really nice matchup for him because Kellogg is taller, just as strong and a grade A post defender meaning he'll likely force Dantley to create on the perimeter rather than getting into the paint. But rumor has it that Dantley has been working on his 3-point shot and he's hitting 38.8% of his 3s against this team so that may end up playing into his hand.
(5) Mexico City Titans
Career Win Record Against Titans: 12-9
Players He Matched Up With: Jiri Zidek, Sarunas Marciulionis, Latrell Sprewell, Steve Smith, Gerald Wilkins, Dejan Bodiroga, Michael Finley
- The final team on this list is actually a team that has played Adrian Dantley pretty close in terms of wins and losses. The Mexico City Titans have been on the receiving end of some big Dantley games but they have also been a part in him having some of his worst stat lineup. Once slowing him down so much that he shot 3-14, and another time causing him to shoot 4-12 (they did lose both of those games though). They also are a team that has cause injury to Dantley in the past as you can deal by his 4 minute game in the box scores. So needless to say the story writes itself when the Titans and Adrian Dantley are in the same arena. Like I said this team has given him some of his worst games so you'd think that they wouldn't be on this list but when you realize that he has scored 30+ on this team 10 times which is the most 30 point games he has against any team it becomes more clear. He hasn't always been on fire against them but offensively he has torched them more times than any other team. Now you could say that the fact that he has played them so many times is the reason for the amount of stellar games he's had against them but it's not true. He has just been on his game a majority of the times that he has faced them and I know this because he shoots a higher FG% against this team than any other with 54.3% shooting in all of his matchups against the Titans. Shooting 50+% 14 out of 21 times as a SF/SG is no easy feet but he's been able to get efficient looks often against them. It's not clear who Dantley's matchup will be this year for the Titans, it could be Finley who he averaged 38.5 PPG against last year, it could be Steve Smith who he averaged 25 PPG against last year, or it could be the improved Dejan Bodigora. Whoever it is like i've said before when the Titans and Adrian Dantley are in the same arena, things will be interesting.
Players He Matched Up With: Jiri Zidek, Sarunas Marciulionis, Latrell Sprewell, Steve Smith, Gerald Wilkins, Dejan Bodiroga, Michael Finley
- The final team on this list is actually a team that has played Adrian Dantley pretty close in terms of wins and losses. The Mexico City Titans have been on the receiving end of some big Dantley games but they have also been a part in him having some of his worst stat lineup. Once slowing him down so much that he shot 3-14, and another time causing him to shoot 4-12 (they did lose both of those games though). They also are a team that has cause injury to Dantley in the past as you can deal by his 4 minute game in the box scores. So needless to say the story writes itself when the Titans and Adrian Dantley are in the same arena. Like I said this team has given him some of his worst games so you'd think that they wouldn't be on this list but when you realize that he has scored 30+ on this team 10 times which is the most 30 point games he has against any team it becomes more clear. He hasn't always been on fire against them but offensively he has torched them more times than any other team. Now you could say that the fact that he has played them so many times is the reason for the amount of stellar games he's had against them but it's not true. He has just been on his game a majority of the times that he has faced them and I know this because he shoots a higher FG% against this team than any other with 54.3% shooting in all of his matchups against the Titans. Shooting 50+% 14 out of 21 times as a SF/SG is no easy feet but he's been able to get efficient looks often against them. It's not clear who Dantley's matchup will be this year for the Titans, it could be Finley who he averaged 38.5 PPG against last year, it could be Steve Smith who he averaged 25 PPG against last year, or it could be the improved Dejan Bodigora. Whoever it is like i've said before when the Titans and Adrian Dantley are in the same arena, things will be interesting.
So there you have it, the five teams that I believe Adrian Dantley has performed best against. If you want to see the numbers on the other teams he faced, here is the link to the spreadsheet:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gTDKJTCS7bU4Cx2aTNJHmduUMtCVMdsw8hmp6Z6lI7A/edit?usp=sharing
