Adrian Dantley is rarely in the discussion of all-time greats. He was nowhere to be found on the list of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History that was released by the league in 1996, and he’s even more of an afterthought today. Despite the snubs, Dantley’s True Shooting Percentage and ability to get to the foul line tells a different story, revealing a brilliance that has been hiding in plain sight for four decades. Long before the NBA realized how important scoring efficiency was, Dantley had mastered the art. Prior to the 2022-2023 NBA season, he was the only player in NBA history to post consecutive seasons of at least 30 points per game and a True Shooting Percentage of at least .620, and he did it four years in a row. Joel Embiid and Shea-Gilgeous Alexander have since done it in back-to-back seasons, but Dantley remains the only player ever to do it four years in a row. Dantley is one of only three players in NBA history with a career average of at least 24 points per game and a True Shooting Percentage of at least .616 (min. 100 games played). Kevin Durant and Steph Curry are the other two. There have only been five seasons in NBA history that have produced 30 points per game with a True Shooting Percentage greater than .651; Dantley has two of them.

Everywhere we look, there is evidence that Dantley put more pressure on defenses than even the greatest players to ever play the game. Since the 1974-75 season, Dantley’s 3,109.6 TS Added (extra points added due to True Shooting % compared to the league average) are the second most behind Kevin Durant. In fact, only Kareem Adbul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Durant have more in the history of the league. Dantley is the only player in NBA history to average at least 8.7 free throw attempts per game and have at least a .617 True Shooting Percentage. He’s also the only player in history to average at least 7.2 free throws per game with at least a .540% shooting percentage.

As amazing as LeBron James and Steph Curry are from an efficiency standpoint, they have nothing on Adrian Dantley. Dantley had the misfortune of being traded from Detroit just four months before they won the first of back-to-back championships. Even still, Dantley’s Pistons went toe-to-toe in the playoffs with two of the greatest dynasties of all-time: Bird’s Celtics in 86-87 and Magic’s Lakers in 87-88. The Pistons really should’ve won both series based on win-probability but, nonetheless, Dantley was Detroit’s leading scorer in both 7-game-series, so his playoff cupboard is hardly bare. Dantley is clearly one of the most efficient high-volume scorers in NBA history, even if it takes relying on tools like eFG%, True Shooting Percentage, and free throw attempts to show it.

	GOAT	Years		GOAT	Years
1	Laurence Doherty	1903-1920	1	Lottie Dod	1893-1920
2	Bill Tilden	1920-1958	2	Molla Mallory	1920-1922
3	Pancho Gonzales	1958-1966	3	Suzanne Lenglen	1922-1930
4	Rod Laver	1966-1998	4	Helen Wills Moody	1930-1970
5	Pete Sampras	1998-2009	5	Margaret Court	1970-1980
6	Roger Federer	2009-2023	6	Chris Evert	1980-1986
7	Novak Djokovic	2023-present	7	Martina Navatilova	1986-1996
			8	Steffi Graf	1996-2016
			9	Serena Williams	2016-present

Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are the two greatest golfers of all-time by just about the size of the universe. There is nobody else even remotely close to challenging the throne. So while golf features the closest two-player GOAT race in sports, the race for the third spot is wide open. There are no fewer than seven golfers who have a legitimate argument as the third greatest of all-time. It’s not hard to put together a compelling case for each, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Phil Mickelson has the best argument of the group. Among golfers born since WWII, only Tiger Woods (82) has more PGA Tour titles than Mickelson (45). In fact, besides Woods, only Tom Watson (39) is within 10 of Mickelson’s mark, and only Vijay Singh (34), Rory McIIroy (27) and Johnny Miller (25) are within 20. Mickelson’s case doesn’t just rely on being the most prolific golfer on the PGA Tour outside of Tiger Woods since WWII. His performance at major championships and The Players Championship (TPC) also supports his claim. Among golfers outside of Woods born since WWII, only Tom Watson (8) has won more majors than Mickelson (6). Watson is among the golfers who have a legitimate claim to the third spot, but Mickelson just might have a more impressive resume despite winning fewer majors. Mickelson won the TPC which Watson did not, and in the history of golf, nobody outside Nicklaus (37) and Woods (22) has more top-two finishes at majors than Mickelson (18). The same is true for top-three, top-five, and top-10 major finishes.

It’s clear that Mickelson’s competition for the 3rd spot really only includes Watson and people who were born prior to WWII when golf was nowhere near as competitive as it has been in the 21st century. Not only did Mickelson face the most competitive field the sport has ever seen, he had the misfortune of his peak coinciding with the juggernaut that was Tiger Woods. Watson, for all his accolades, did not have to contend with Nicklaus’s peak. Mickelson had no such luck as he landed smack dab in the eye of the Tiger storm. Yet, Mickelson still managed to outperform every golfer of the past 50 years outside of Woods. This is a significant advantage in Mickelson’s favor over the others in the running.  

However, it’s not just the degree of difficulty that gives Mickelson the inside track at the third spot, it’s how much more impressive he was than every other golfer outside of Woods from his era. Walter Hagen (1913), Bobby Jones (1916) and Gene Sarazen (1920) all debuted at majors within seven years of each other and have fairly similar career accomplishments. Ben Hogan (1934), Sam Snead (1937), and Byron Nelson (1937) all debuted at majors within three years of each other, and have fairly similar career accomplishments. Arnold Palmer (1952) and Gary Player (1956) debuted at majors within four years of each other and also have fairly similar career accomplishments. Outside of Tiger Woods, there isn’t a golfer who debuted in the last 50 years who is even in the same stratosphere as Mickelson. No golfer other than Woods in that span has more major championships, 2nd place finishes, or top-two finishes. In fact, nobody outside of Woods is even close. Mickelson has a whopping 18 top-two finishes at major events. Outside of Woods, only Greg Norman (10) and Ernie Els (10) are within eight of Mickelson over the past 50 years. Similarly, nobody who debuted outside of Woods in the past 50 years is even close to Mickelson’s 25 top-three finishes. Only Els (15) is within 10 of Mickelson. The same goes for top-five and top-10 finishes. Outside of Woods, only Els (23), Norman (20), and Nick Faldo (19) are within 10 of Mickelson’s 29 top-5 finishes, and only Els (35), McIIroy (31), and Norman (30) are within 10 of Mickelson’s 40 top-10 finishes. 

Ernie Els, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Brooks Koepka, and Rory McIIroy are the most accomplished golfers to debut in the last 50 years outside of Woods and Mickelson. However, the resume comparisons between those four and Mickelson end in a blowout in favor of Mickelson. With Woods and Nicklaus in a different dimension, Mickelson’s relative dominance over the most competitive 50-year stretch of golf that the PGA Tour has ever seen makes him a worthy selection for the 3rd spot on the all-time list. The argument for someone in the Hogan, Snead, Nelson triumvirate could’ve been strengthened had eight* major championships not been canceled during WWII. However, without knowing who would’ve won those tournaments, there’s no way to prorate resumes.

* There were actually 14 majors that were canceled, but the best American golfers like Hogan, Snead, and Nelson typically did not compete in the Open Championship (The British Open) during this era. Therefore it is unlikely that their resumes were negatively impacted by the six Open Championships that were not held.