Dantley finished ninth on the all-time NBA scoring list at the time of his retirement and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

Dantley attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he played under Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten and assistant Terry Truax.

As a freshman, he played an important role in one of the biggest games in college basketball history, Notre Dame's 1974 upset to end UCLA's record 88-game winning streak.

On September 1, 1977, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers along with forward Mike Bantom, in exchange for shooting guard Billy Knight, who was the league's second-best scorer during the 1976–77 NBA season.

[4] In the 1977–78 season, he appeared in 56 games at small forward, finishing second in team scoring behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with an average of 19.4 points, to go along with 7.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest.

[5] On September 13, 1979, the team gambled on the talents of the 26-year-old Wilkes, trading the 23-year-old Dantley to the Utah Jazz before the start of the Lakers' championship season, in exchange for the 31-year-old power forward Spencer Haywood.

On August 21, 1986, after dispute over his contract negotiations with Layden, he was traded with second-round draft choices in 1987 (#38-Norris Coleman) and 1990 (#49-Phil Henderson) to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for shooting guard Kelly Tripucka and center Kent Benson.

In the 1986–87 season, Dantley was still an effective scorer but did not get as many shots with Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Vinnie Johnson, and Bill Laimbeer all averaging at least 10 points per game.

[17] On February 15, 1989, midway through the season he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks along with a 1991 first round draft pick (#19-LaBradford Smith), in exchange for Mark Aguirre, due to what Dantley maintained were conflicts with Thomas, but also reflected Dantley's clashes with head coach Chuck Daly and general manager Jack McCloskey over his demand for a focal point role on offense and more minutes than Dennis Rodman.

He scored his points with a mix of flat-footed mid-range jump shots, high-percentage opportunities close to the basket, and frequent trips to the free throw line.

In addition, "prior to each free throw, he would recite his mantra from junior high that adept lip readers couldn't mistake: "Over the front rim, backspin, follow through."

Dantley enjoyed outstanding success at every level of basketball, including high school, college, Olympics, and the NBA.

He briefly served as the team's head coach during the 2009–10 NBA season, filling in for George Karl, who was fighting cancer.

[26] In addition to playing professionally, in his spare time, Dantley coaches basketball to aspiring players in Silver Spring, Maryland.

[30] Dantley was quoted saying he 'got bored sitting around the house' and took the job helping school children safely cross the street.