UTAH Jazz legend Adrian Dantley was a walking bucket in his playing days.

Now, the basketball Hall-of-Famer, 68, is a school crossing guard earning $14,000 a year — and couldn’t be happier.

NBA Hall-of-Famer Adrian Dantley is a six-time All-Star
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NBA Hall-of-Famer Adrian Dantley is a six-time All-StarCredit: Getty

He won two scoring titles during his seven-year stint with the Utah Jazz between 1979-1986
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He won two scoring titles during his seven-year stint with the Utah Jazz between 1979-1986Credit: Getty

After retiring, Dantley started working as a basketball referee in youth leagues and a crossing guard in Silver Spring, Maryland
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After retiring, Dantley started working as a basketball referee in youth leagues and a crossing guard in Silver Spring, MarylandCredit: ABC Dantley
Dantley heard he wasn’t good enough at every level he played, and each time the former six-foot-five forward proved his critics wrong.

Before turning pro, he claimed the Mr. Basketball USA award and the Oscar Robertson Trophy for the best high school and outstanding college players, respectively, in addition to two first-team All-American honors.

The ex-Notre Dame standout then scooped the Rookie of the Year award after the Buffalo Braves picked him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft.

Still, the DC native found himself to be a spare part in the first three years of his career, first in Buffalo and then on the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Lakers.

The breakthrough came for Dantley when the Lakers — with the Showtime era just about to start — traded the forward to the Jazz for the great Spencer Haywood before the 1979-80 season tipped off.

In Utah, Dantley became a prolific scorer who helped the franchise make the playoffs for the first time in its history in 1984.

The forward twice won the scoring champion title during his seven-year run with the team; as of April 2023, no one has averaged more points while with the Jazz than Dantley’s 29.6.

After shorter spells with the Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, and Italy’s Breeze Arese, he retired in 1991 as a six-time All-Star.

The DC native returned to the NBA 12 years later, serving as a Denver Nuggets assistant coach between 2003-2011 — and had his accolades as a player recognized with basketball Hall of Fame induction in 2008.

But Dantley now enjoys his life away from the spotlight, although his passion for basketball hasn’t gone away.

The NBA icon has been officiating games in youth leagues in Silver Spring, Maryland.

“I enjoy being around the guys playing basketball,” Dantley told NBA.com in 2022.

“I really enjoy being around the 10-and-under just to see them develop from elementary school all the way through junior high school and then high school.”

And when he takes the referee’s stripes off, he puts a hi-vis safety vest on and makes sure the kids can cross the road safely.

“I’ll probably do it until I go under,” Dantley said.