5) Adrian Dantley, West squad come up just short in OT; February 3, 1980
In their early years in Utah, the Jazz were just as bad (if not worse) than they had been in NOLA. That first year, the 1979-80 season, resulted in just 24 wins for the team, which remains a franchise-worst mark since the big move to Salt Lake City.
That said, the arrival of the Jazz in Utah also marked the arrival of Adrian Dantley. And despite the team’s struggles, AD was electric.
Continuing the theme of All-Star debuts, Dantley made his first appearance in the game that same year. The newfound spotlight didn’t faze the Jazzman, as he scored a team-high 23 points and grabbed five boards in a 144-136 overtime loss.
At one point during Dantley’s Jazz run, Frank Layden would say, “He’s our piranha. He’ll eat you alive. He would score in a raging storm at sea.” And in the 1980 NBA All-Star Game, he showed as much against the best players in the Association.