Darrell Steven Griffith (born June 16, 1958), also known by his nickname Dr. Dunkenstein, is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who spent his entire career with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) from 1980 to 1991.Darrell Griffith NBA statistics
. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on February 1, 2010. He played collegiately at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

Early life and college

Griffith starred at

Louisville Male High School Louisville Male Traditional High School is a public co-ed secondary school serving students in grades 9 through 12 in the southside of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. It is part of the Jefferson County Public School District. History Ninth and Ch ...

and was heavily recruited by colleges all across the country. Male defeated Lexington Henry Clay 74–59 in the 1975 Kentucky State Championship game. In fact, Griffith reportedly turned down an offer to forego college and sign with the ABA's

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were an American professional basketball team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1976. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels. The Colo ...

. He decided to attend his hometown school, the

, much to the delight of local fans. He did not disappoint, delivering the school's first-ever NCAA men's basketball championship in 1980. He scored 23 points in the Cardinals' 59–54 victory over

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in the championship game. Due to his strong performance, he was named Most Outstanding Player of the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

. Griffith totaled 825 points in his senior season, setting a school record. For his efforts, he was named First Team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and was given the Wooden Award as the best college basketball player in the nation. He left college as Louisville's all-time leading scorer with 2,333 points in his career. His jersey number, 35, was retired during ceremonies after the 1980 season. In November 2014, Griffith was inducted into the

College Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...

Professional career

Utah selected Griffith with the second overall pick in the 1980 NBA draft. The Jazz had recently moved to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

from

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, and the team needed a star to replace legendary shooting guard

Pete Maravich Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. He starred in college at Louisiana State University's Tigers basketball team; his father, Press Mar ...

. Griffith accepted the challenge, averaging 20.6 points per game in his first season and earning the NBA's Rookie of the Year award. For the next four seasons, Griffith teamed with small forward Adrian Dantley to form one of the highest-scoring duos in the league. With defensive support from center

Mark Eaton Mark Edward Eaton (January 24, 1957 – May 28, 2021) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career (1982–1993) with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Named an NBA All-Star in 1989, he w ...

and point guard Rickey Green, the Jazz improved dramatically, winning the Midwest Division title in 1983–84 and qualifying for the NBA playoffs for the first time ever. Individually, Griffith transformed his offensive game, adding long-distance shooting skills to his aerial acrobatics. He led the league in three-point shooting (36.1 percent) and set an NBA record for most three-pointers made in a single season (91). His new abilities earned him a new nickname: Utah's play-by-play announcer Hot Rod Hundley began calling him "The Golden Griff". The following season (1984–85) was the best of Griffith's career. He averaged a career-high 22.6 points per game,Jazz: Retired Numbers
. NBA.com. Retrieved on February 1, 2010. and broke his own league record by sinking 92 three-point shots. During the year, he passed Joey Hassett as the all-time NBA leader for most career three-pointers. He also continued his high-flying ways, representing the Jazz in the 1984 and 1985

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...

s. However, the team changed dramatically in the mid-1980s with the emergence of

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...

and John Stockton as Utah's top offensive weapons. Dantley was traded away and Griffith suffered from injuries. ("Dr. Dunkenstein was paying his toll", he once said in an interview.) He missed the entire 1985–86 season due to a stress fracture in his foot, and would lose his starting position when he returned. Griffith would need an operation on his left knee in March 1988, causing him to miss the remainder of that season. He managed to reclaim his starting spot for most of the 1988–89 season, but lost it permanently the following year. His playing time gradually decreased until his retirement in 1991. He scored 12,391 total points over the course of his 10-year professional career – all with the Jazz. The franchise recognized his contributions by retiring his jersey number 35 on December 4, 1993.

Post-basketball career

In the 2010s and 20s, Griffith returned to his alma mater as a special assistant to President James R. Ramsey and later as a university ambassador under President Neeli Bendapudi.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 81 , , , , 35.4 , , .464 , , .192 , , .716 , , 3.6 , , 2.4 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 20.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 79 , , 32.5 , , .482 , , .288 , , .697 , , 3.8 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , 19.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 76 , , 36.2 , , .484 , , .288 , , .679 , , 3.9 , , 3.5 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , 22.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 32.3 , , .490 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .361* , , .696 , , 4.1 , , 3.5 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 20.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 78 , , 35.6 , , .457 , , .358 , , .725 , , 4.4 , , 3.1 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , 22.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 10 , , 24.3 , , .446 , , .335 , , .703 , , 3.0 , , 1.7 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 52 , , 11 , , 20.2 , , .429 , , .275 , , .641 , , 2.4 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 73 , , 29.0 , , .446 , , .311 , , .780 , , 4.0 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 1 , , 17.6 , , .464 , , .372 , , .654 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .8 , , .2 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 2 , , 13.4 , , .391 , , .348 , , .756 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .6 , , .1 , , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 765 , , 412 , , 28.0 , , .463 , , .332 , , .707 , , 3.3 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 16.2

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1984 , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , , , 37.9 , , .443 , , .356 , , .688 , , 5.9 , , 3.7 , , 1.7 , , .2 , , 19.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1985 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 10 , , 34.0 , , .456 , , .361 , , .720 , , 2.9 , , 2.5 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 17.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1987 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 20.8 , , .369 , , .400 , , .737 , , 2.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1989 , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 23.7 , , .408 , , .316 , , , , 4.0 , , .0 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1990 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 19.4 , , .452 , , .556 , , .800 , , 4.2 , , .6 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 9.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1991 , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .714 , , , , , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 3.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 37 , , 10 , , 28.1 , , .438 , , .371 , , .711 , , 3.8 , , 2.1 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 15.1

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Darrell 1958 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Louisville, Kentucky Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players Louisville Male High School alumni NBA players with retired numbers National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Shooting guards Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen