The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: Ranking the team’s best-ever All-Star Weekend moments

By Ryan Aston

CLEVELAND - FEBRUARY 9: Karl Malone #32 and John Stockton #12 of the Utah Jazz stand for the National Anthem during the 1997 NBA All-Star Game played on February 9, 1997 at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Copyright 1997 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND - FEBRUARY 9: Karl Malone #32 and John Stockton #12 of the Utah Jazz stand for the National Anthem during the 1997 NBA All-Star Game played on February 9, 1997 at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Copyright 1997 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Adrian Dantley Utah Jazz 1980 NBA All-Star
LANDOVER, MD – FEBRUARY 4: The Western Conference All-Stars pose for a team photo, front row (L to R): Dennis Johnson, Paul Westphal, Trainer Frank Furtado, Head Coach Lenny Wilkens, Assistant coach Les Habegger, Lloyd Free. Back Row: Adrian Dantley, Walter Davis, Jack Sikma, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Kermit Washington, Marques Johnson, Earvin Johnson, Otis Birdsong, prior to the 1980 NBA All-Star game at the Capital Centre on February 4, 1980 in Landover, Maryland. Copyright 1980 NBAE (Photo by NBAE/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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.

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