Bob Lanier (basketball)

Bob Lanier
Lanier in 2004
Personal information
Born (1948-09-10) September 10, 1948
Buffalo, New York
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school Bennett (Buffalo, New York)
College St. Bonaventure (1967–1970)
NBA draft 1970 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career 1970–1984
Position Center
Number 16
Career history
As player:
1970–1980 Detroit Pistons
1980–1984 Milwaukee Bucks
As coach:
1995 Golden State Warriors
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points 19,248 (20.1 ppg)
Rebounds 9,698 (10.1 rpg)
Blocks 1,100 (1.5 bpg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006

Robert Jerry Lanier, Jr. (born September 10, 1948) is an American retired professional basketball player who played for the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.[1]

In his 14 NBA seasons, Lanier averaged 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while shooting a respectable 51.4 percent from the field. He played in eight NBA All-Star Games, and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1974 game. He has had his #16 jersey retired by both the Pistons and the Bucks.

Childhood

Lanier was born in Buffalo, New York. Under coach Fred Szwejbka, he played at Buffalo's Bennett High School, where he graduated in 1966.[2] He then played collegiately at St. Bonaventure University, in Allegany, New York.

College

Lanier was a three-time Converse All-America selection (1968–1970), and in 1970, he led St. Bonaventure to the NCAA Final Four. He injured his knee near the end of the regional championship game in a collision with Villanova's Chris Ford and did not participate in Bona's national semi-final loss to Jacksonville University and Artis Gilmore. That year he was named Coach and Athlete Magazine player of the year, and the ECAC Player of the Year.

Professional career

Detroit Pistons

Lanier was drafted number one overall by the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons and was named to the All-Rookie Team for the 1970–71 season after averaging 15.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Lanier became a star for Detroit, averaging more than 21 points per game for each of the next eight seasons, with a high mark of 25.7 PPG in the 1971–72 season, and more than 11 rebounds per game in seven straight seasons. Lanier's latter years in Detroit were marred by recurring injuries, as he never played more than 64 games in any of his last four seasons as a Piston.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Pistons traded Lanier to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1980. In his five seasons with the Bucks, they won the division championship each year. The same year he retired, in 1984, he was awarded the Oscar Robertson Leadership Award.

Coaching

In 1994–95, Lanier was the interim head coach of the Golden State Warriors for 37 games after Don Nelson stood down. He compiled a 12-25 win-loss record.

Subsequent career, honors, and anecdotes

Lanier currently owns and operates Bob Lanier Enterprises, Inc., a promotional marketing company and is a member of the Proforma network.[3]

At the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, visitors are able to compare the size of their foot to that of Lanier's. The largest shoe ever created by shoe company Allen Edmonds was a size 22 for Lanier.

The basketball court at Lanier's alma mater, St. Bonaventure, is named after him.

According to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lanier would smoke cigarettes during halftime breaks. Abdul-Jabbar would try to take advantage of this by forcing Lanier to run more during the second half.[4] In the movie Airplane!, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also references Lanier when he says to little Bobby: "Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes."

NBA career statistics

Legend
  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

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1970–71 Detroit 8224.6.455.7268.11.815.6
1971–72 Detroit 8038.7.493.76814.23.125.7
1972–73 Detroit 8138.9.490.77314.93.223.8
1973–74 Detroit 8137.6.504.79713.34.21.43.022.5
1974–75 Detroit 7639.3.510.80212.04.61.02.324.0
1975–76 Detroit 6436.9.532.76811.73.41.21.321.3
1976–77 Detroit 6438.2.534.81811.63.31.12.025.3
1977–78 Detroit 6336.7.537.77211.33.41.31.524.5
1978–79 Detroit 5334.6.515.7499.32.60.91.423.6
1979–80 Detroit 3737.6.546.000.78110.13.31.01.621.7
1979–80 Milwaukee 2628.4.5191.000.7856.92.41.41.115.7
1980–81 Milwaukee 6726.2.5251.000.7516.22.71.11.214.3
1981–82 Milwaukee 747226.8.558.000.7525.23.01.00.813.5
1982–83 Milwaukee 393525.1.491.000.6845.12.70.90.610.7
1983–84 Milwaukee 727227.9.572.000.7086.32.60.80.713.6
Career 95933.5.514.154.76710.13.11.11.520.1
All-Star 8015.1.582.8335.61.50.50.69.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1974 Detroit 743.3.507.78915.33.00.62.026.3
1975 Detroit 342.7.510.75010.76.31.34.020.3
1976 Detroit 939.9.552.90012.73.30.92.326.1
1977 Detroit 339.3.630.84216.72.01.02.328.0
1980 Milwaukee 736.6.515.7389.34.41.01.119.3
1981 Milwaukee 733.7.588.7197.44.01.71.117.6
1982 Milwaukee 635.3.513.000.5607.53.71.30.816.0
1983 Milwaukee 927.8.573.6007.02.60.61.613.7
1984 Milwaukee 1631.2.480.8867.33.40.70.612.7
Career 6735.2.532.000.7689.63.50.91.518.6

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Robert J. "Bob" Lanier". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 15 February 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  2. ↑ "Bennett Coach Inspired Lanier: NBA Great Points to Mentor", The Buffalo News, February 16, 1995
  3. ↑ "Bob Lanier Enterprises Joins Proforma". asicentral.com. The Advertising Specialty Institute. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  4. ↑ PBS News Hour, November 11, 2015
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