Jazz finally give Dantley his due

The man known almost as much as John Stockton for a reluctance to talk a lot took the microphone at EnergySolutions Arena and made a relaxed acceptance speech worthy of his tremendous career with the Utah Jazz.

Adrian Dantley walked around the center of the basketball arena, microphone in hand, before a sellout crowd of 19,911 in attendance to see his No. 4 jersey finally attached to the rafters of the building. He had the crowd applauding as he said his thank-yous to family, friends and former coaches, team owners and teammates.

The ovation delayed Dantley's speech for several minutes.

He seemed to enjoy the spotlight so much — hey, it was 21 years in coming — that he probably talked overtime.

He had his current team, the Denver Nuggets, for whom he is an assistant coach, laughing and applauding and celebrating as much as the crowd to whom he'd given seven meaningful years and paved the way for 20 straight Jazz playoff appearances, starting with the 1984 Midwest Division championship.

"Good things happen to people who wait. I waited a long time," Dantley said, adding he's glad it finally happened so that Denver players like Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby will stop teasing him. They joked that he couldn't have been that good because his number wasn't retired.

Once the banner with "4" and the old Jazz-note logo were unveiled, Dantley went to shake hands with the Jazz bench, dignitaries on the floor and former Utah teammates Stockton, Mark Eaton, Thurl Bailey, Ron Boone, Fred Roberts, Pace Mannion and Steve Hayes.

Stockton had spoken on behalf of all of them, thanking Dantley for the example he set and leadership he provided. "He was a big part of all of us being here," he said.

When the ceremony ended, Dantley headed back to the Denver bench to help them whip his former team, 115-106 on April 11. Nuggets coach George Karl greeted him warmly but chastised the length of his speech. "We've got a game to play," Karl shouted.

At an afternoon's press conference, Jazz owner Larry H. Miller took the blame for Dantley's prolonged wait for this honor. In 1985, Miller joined Sam Battistone as a part owner of the team during Dantley's final years with Utah and witnessed Dantley's blowup with GM/coach Frank Layden, an incident that stuck with Miller a long time and hindered Dantley's number retirement.

In Phoenix, a game the Jazz won by two, Layden berated young Karl Malone for missing three late free throws. Dantley stuck up for Malone, drawing Layden's ire. Layden sent him home from the trip and fined him 30 pieces of silver for traitorous behavior.