Danny Vranes
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | October 29, 1958 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Skyline (Salt Lake City, Utah) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Utah (1977–1981) | ||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1981: 1st round, 5th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Seattle SuperSonics | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1981–1992 | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Power forward | ||||||||||||||
| Number | 23, 20 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 1981–1986 | Seattle SuperSonics | ||||||||||||||
| 1986–1988 | Philadelphia 76ers | ||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | AEK Athens | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–1992 | Aresium Milan | ||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Cagiva Varese | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NBA statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Points | 2,613 (5.1 ppg) | ||||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 1,998 (3.9 rpg) | ||||||||||||||
| Assists | 594 (1.2 apg) | ||||||||||||||
| Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Daniel LaDrew Vranes (born October 29, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player.
Vranes led Skyline High School, in Salt Lake City, to the state basketball championship in his senior year (1977). He was named to the inaugural McDonald's All-American team, which played in the 1977 Capital Classic.[1][2] A 6'7" small forward from the University of Utah, he was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1st round (5th overall) of the 1981 NBA draft. Vranes played in seven NBA seasons with the SuperSonics and Philadelphia 76ers from 1981 to 1988.
He acquired a career high single-game total of 18 rebounds (nine offensive, nine defensive) on April 22, 1983, during a game 2 playoff elimination loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.[3]
In his NBA career, Vranes played in 510 games and scored a total of 2,613 points. Perhaps his best year as a professional came during the 1983–84 season as a member of the SuperSonics, appearing in 80 games and averaging 8.4 points per game. On January 18, 1984, Vranes recorded a career high six blocks in a 114–107 win over the Dallas Mavericks.[4] Known for his defense, after the 1984–85 season, he was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. That season, on October 26, he recorded six steals, along with scoring a team-high 24 points, during a 102–94 win over the Utah Jazz.[5][6]
He played in Europe for AEK BC, Teorematour Arese and Breeze Milano.
Personal life
His ancestors emigrated to the United States from Croatia in the early 1900s.[7] Vranes is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[8] He is a cousin of Jeff Judkins, his teammate at Utah.[9]
Vranes's nephew is Utah Utes safety Jackson Bennee.[10]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA
Source[5]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–82 | Seattle | 77 | 1 | 14.0 | .546 | .000 | .601 | 2.6 | .7 | .4 | .3 | 4.9 |
| 1982–83 | Seattle | 82 | 73 | 25.0 | .527 | .000 | .550 | 5.2 | 1.5 | .6 | .6 | 6.9 |
| 1983–84 | Seattle | 80 | 72 | 27.2 | .521 | .000 | .648 | 4.9 | 1.7 | .6 | .7 | 8.4 |
| 1984–85 | Seattle | 76 | 70 | 28.5 | .463 | .250 | .528 | 5.7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .8 | 5.8 |
| 1985–86 | Seattle | 80 | 19 | 19.6 | .461 | .000 | .520 | 3.5 | .9 | .8 | .4 | 3.8 |
| 1986–87 | Philadelphia | 58 | 6 | 14.1 | .428 | .200 | .467 | 2.5 | .5 | .6 | .4 | 2.4 |
| 1987–88 | Philadelphia | 57 | 5 | 13.5 | .438 | .000 | .429 | 2.1 | .6 | .5 | .6 | 2.1 |
| Career | 510 | 246 | 20.8 | .496 | .105 | .570 | 3.9 | 1.2 | .7 | .5 | 5.1 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Seattle | 6 | 4.8 | .200 | – | .500 | .3 | .0 | .2 | .0 | .5 | |
| 1983 | Seattle | 2 | 28.0 | .353 | – | – | 9.5 | .5 | .0 | .5 | 6.0 | |
| 1984 | Seattle | 5 | 29.4 | .410 | .000 | .571 | 7.6 | 2.2 | .6 | 1.2 | 7.2 | |
| 1987 | Philadelphia | 2 | 0 | 1.5 | – | – | – | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | 15 | 0 | 15.7 | .377 | .000 | .556 | 4.1 | .8 | .3 | .5 | 3.4 | |
References
- ^ "The Origin of the McDonalds All American Game". ESPN. February 26, 2003. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Prep Al-America revealed". The Herald Journal. March 20, 1977. p. 14. Retrieved April 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1983 NBA Western Conference First Round Game 2: Seattle SuperSonics at Portland Trail Blazers Box Score, April 22, 1983". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- ^ "Danny Vranes Career High 6 Blocks". Statmuse.
- ^ a b "Danny Vranes NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ^ "Utah Jazz at Seattle SuperSonics Box Score, October 26, 1984". Basketball Reference.
- ^ Shelly Gledhill: Colby Vranes, awaiting his mission in life Archived July 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ LDS Church Almanac, 2009 Edition, p. 326
- ^ Jares, Joe. "A double Danny dandy," Sports Illustrated, January 29, 1979. Retrieved December 24, 2020
- ^ Furlong, Josh (August 8, 2025). "'Poster child': How Jackson Bennee went from walk-on to turning heads for Utah football". KSL News. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
External links
- Career statistics from NBA.com · Basketball Reference
- nba.com historical playerfile