30 best NBA players to never win a championship

18. Adrian Dantley

The Buffalo Braves took Adrian Dantley with the sixth-overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft. Oddly enough, though, the forward bounced around the league to start his career. In his first three seasons in the league, Dantley played with as many teams with stops with the Braves, Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Lakers. In the 1979-80 season, though, he found a more permanent home with the Utah Jazz, which is where he made his greatest mark.

Playing seven (consecutive) seasons with the Jazz, Dantley was a stat-sheet filler and a phenomenal scorer that was equally efficient and prolific when putting the ball through the net. Dantley averaged 29.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game throughout his time in Utah. Meanwhile, he also converted on a remarkable 56.2 percent of his shot attempts throughout his time with the Jazz. He was the lifeblood of those Utah teams and was truly a force that could have success against any matchup in the entire league.

Dantley would later move on from Utah to the Detroit Pistons while making stops with the Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks to end his career. Save for the 10 games he played with the Bucks, he remained productive over that run and still impressively efficient for his position as a 20-point scorer every night. Dantley gets lost in the shuffle at times, especially considering that he helped usher in the Malone-Stockton era for Utah. However, you can’t look at his numbers and walk away unimpressed by his prowess.