Dantley is always fearful that no matter how he plays, someone somewhere is not satisfied with him. He uses criticism, both real and imagined, as motivation, which is one reason why he always plays consistently.
Tag Archives: Washington Bullets
Golden State: That Championship Season, 1975
I never met a person with the integrity of Franklin Mieuli. When I die, I want it to say on my tombstone: ‘Frankin, I owe you one.’”
Golden State Warriors: We Are The Champions, 1975
The Warriors were not favored to win. Little, if any attention was given to the club’s determination and progression of improvement.
Mitch Kupchak: The Game’s Best Sixth Man, 1979
Because Kupchak is so versatile, he poses monumental problems for opposing teams. “He creates favorable mismatches for us,” says Bullet coach Dick Motta, who likes to compare Kupchak with Jerry Sloan, the hellaciously tough guard Motta coached with the Chicago Bulls some years ago.
The ‘New’ Elvin Hayes, 1973
He knew he had something to prove this season in Baltimore. Leading the Bullets to a championship would be the best way to silence his many critics. That’s why in 1972, the Big “E” stood for Effort.
Isiah Thomas: The Bad, The Brave, and The Brilliant, 1988
Thomas banked a 17-footer off the glass and cleanly through the hoop. Probably the Bullets didn’t know it then, but the night was over.
Chris Webber’s Growing Pains, 1996
They slap hands, and Webber heads for the locker room, where he straps on an ice pack, sits by his locker, and talks about his ultimate goal in life, the one above basketball, the one above everything. “I want to be a man of the people,” he says.
The Unarrested Development of Gheorghe Muresan, 1997
“If I wasn’t playing basketball,” he says, “I am not sure what I would be doing. When I stop playing, I am not sure. It doesn’t matter. For now, I am basketball player.”
Elvin Hayes: The Meaning of the Letter E, 1982
“I’ve achieved. I would be backtracking to compare myself with the younger players in the league today. They’re still trying to prove what I already have achieved.”
Dennis DuVal: A Brave Attitude, 1976
“This is a business,” DuVal says. “Nobody forces you to come out and try to make it.”
From Way Downtown 