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FILE
-NBA
legend
Julius
'Dr. J'
Erving,
left,
greets
former
Milwaukee
Bucks'
Bob
Lanier
during
LeBron
James
presentation
for the
NBA
Rookie
of the
Year
award at
the NBA
Store on
New
York's
5th
Avenue,
Tuesday,
April
20,
2004.
Bob
Lanier,
the
left-handed
big man
who
muscled
up
beside
the
likes of
Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar
as one
of the
NBA’s
top
players
of the
1970s,
died
Tuesday,
May 10,
2022. He
was
73.(AP
Photo/Stuart
Ramson,
File) |
| |
Bob
Lanier,
NBA
force
who left
big
shoes to
fill,
dies at
73
By NOAH
TRISTER
apnews.com
DETROIT
- Bob
Lanier,
the
left-handed
big man
who
muscled
up
beside
the
likes of
Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar
as one
of the
NBA’s
top
players
of the
1970s,
died
Tuesday.
He was
73.
The NBA
said
Lanier
died
after a
short
illness.
The Hall
of Famer
had
worked
for the
league
as a
global
ambassador.
The
Athletic
reported
in 2019
that
Lanier
was
being
treated
for
bladder
cancer.
Lanier
played
14
seasons
with the
Detroit
Pistons
and
Milwaukee
Bucks
and
averaged
20.1
points
and 10.1
rebounds
for his
career.
He is
third on
the
Pistons’
career
list in
both
points
and
rebounds.
Detroit
drafted
Lanier
with the
No. 1
overall
pick in
1970
after he
led St.
Bonaventure
to the
Final
Four.
NBA
Commissioner
Adam
Silver
said
Lanier
was
among
the most
talented
centers
in
league
history,
and
added
that his
accomplishments
went far
beyond
what he
did on
the
court.
“For
more
than 30
years,
Bob
served
as our
global
ambassador
and as a
special
assistant
to David
Stern
and then
me,
traveling
the
world to
teach
the
game’s
values
and make
a
positive
impact
on young
people
everywhere,”
Silver
said in
a
statement.
“It was
a labor
of love
for Bob,
who was
one of
the
kindest
and most
genuine
people I
have
ever
been
around.”
Lanier
went
into the
Naismith
Memorial
Basketball
Hall of
Fame in
1992.
But his
boat-size
shoes
got
there
ahead of
him,
with a
display
of his
bronzed
sneakers
in the
shrine.
He was
known
for
wearing
size 22
shoes,
although
that was
disputed
in 1989
by a
Converse
representative,
who told
The
Atlanta
Constitution
that
Lanier
wore
size 18
1/2.
“The 22
he was
reputed
to wear
was a
Korean
size,”
shoe rep
Gary
Stoken
said.
Not
contested
was the
abundantly
clear
fact
that his
feet
were
big.
“A lot
of
people
can put
both
feet
into one
of my
shoes,”
Lanier
told
HOOP
magazine.
Born
Sept.
10,
1948, in
Buffalo,
New
York,
Lanier
starred
in
college
at St.
Bonaventure,
where he
averaged
27.6
points
and 15.7
rebounds
in three
seasons.
The
Bonnies
made it
all the
way to
the
Final
Four in
1970,
but
Lanier
had
injured
his knee
in the
regional
final,
and St.
Bonaventure
lost in
the
national
semifinals
to
Jacksonville.
Lanier
overcame
a litany
of
orthopedic
injuries,
dealing
with
shoulder,
back,
elbow,
hand and
toe
problems
during
his
career.
But that
didn’t
prevent
him from
earning
his
place
among
the top
NBA
centers
of his
era.
After
being
named to
the
all-rookie
team in
1971, he
averaged
at least
21
points
and 11
rebounds
for each
of the
next
seven
seasons.
Lanier
was an
eight-time
All-Star
and the
MVP of
the 1974
All-Star
Game.
He
remains
the
Pistons’
franchise
leader
in
scoring
average
at 22.7
points
per
game,
beloved
in
Detroit
for both
his
fierceness
and
friendliness.
“As
fierce
and as
dominant
as Bob
was on
the
court,
he was
equally
kind and
impactful
in the
community,”
the
Pistons
said.
“As an
ambassador
for both
the
Pistons
organization
and the
NBA, he
represented
our
league,
our
franchise
and our
fans
with
great
passion
and
integrity.
We
extend
our
heartfelt
condolences
to Bob’s
family
and
friends.”
Lanier
could
beat
opponents
from the
inside
and the
outside
while
ruling
the
boards.
Although
Abdul-Jabbar
had a
more
famous
hook
shot,
the sky
hook,
Lanier’s
was very
much a
weapon.
“Guys
didn’t
change
teams as
much, so
when you
were
facing
the
Bulls or
the
Bucks or
New
York,
you had
all
these
rivalries,”
Lanier
told
NBA.com
in 2018.
“Lanier
against
Jabbar!
Jabbar
against
Willis
Reed!
And then
(Wilt)
Chamberlain,
and
Artis
Gilmore,
and Bill
Walton!
You had
all
these
great
big men
and the
game was
played
from
inside
out.”
As
exceptional
as
Lanier
was, the
Pistons
won only
one
playoff
series
with
him. He
played
64 games
or fewer
in each
of his
last
four
full
seasons
with
Detroit.
In
February
1980, he
was
traded
to
Milwaukee.
Lanier
averaged
fewer
minutes
with the
Bucks,
but he
was part
of
Milwaukee
teams
that
reached
the
Eastern
Conference
finals
in 1983
and
1984,
the
final
two
seasons
of his
career.
He also
served
as
president
of the
players’
union
during
the
final
years of
his
career,
with
Silver
saying
that he
played
“a key
role in
the
negotiation
of a
game-changing
collective
bargaining
agreement.”
Lanier
was
Detroit’s
career
leader
in
points
and
rebounds
before
he was
passed
by Isiah
Thomas
and Bill
Laimbeer
in those
categories,
and his
single-game
franchise
record
of 33
rebounds
was
topped
by
Dennis
Rodman.
In 1995,
Lanier
was an
assistant
coach
for the
Golden
State
Warriors,
then
took
over as
coach on
an
interim
basis
after
Don
Nelson
resigned.
Lanier
went
12-25,
and the
Warriors
found
another
coach
after
the
season.
Lanier
won the
NBA’s J.
Walter
Kennedy
Citizenship
Award
for the
1977-78
season
for
outstanding
community
service.
Following
his
playing
career,
he
helped
start
the
NBA’s
Stay in
School
campaign
and
participated
in other
outreach
for the
league.
“There’s
so much
need out
here,”
Lanier
said.
“When
you’re
traveling
around
to
different
cities
and
different
countries,
you see
there
are so
many
people
in dire
straits
that the
NBA can
only do
so much.
We make
a vast,
vast
difference,
but
there’s
always
so much
more to
do.”
___
More AP
NBA:
https://apnews.com/hub/nba
and
https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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