Robert Jerry "Bob" Lanier, Jr. (born September 10, 1948) is a retired American professional
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player who played for the
Detroit PistonsThe Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
and
Milwaukee BucksThe Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
of the NBA.
Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.
Biography
Lanier was born in
Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. Under coach Irving J. Sarecki, he played at Buffalo's Bennett High School, where he graduated in 1966. He then played collegiately at
St. Bonaventure UniversitySt. Bonaventure University is a private, Franciscan Catholic university, located in Allegany, Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. It has roughly 2,400 undergraduate and graduate students....
, in
Olean, New YorkOlean is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County, and serves as the financial, business, transportation and entertainment center of the county. It is one of the principal cities of the Southern Tier region of New York.The city is...
.
Lanier was a three-time Converse
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
selection (1968-1970), and in 1970, he led St. Bonaventure to the
NCAAThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Final FourFinal Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
, however, he was injured late in the regional championship game and did not participate in Bona's national semi-final loss to
Artis GilmoreArtis Gilmore is a retired American Hall of Fame basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association...
-led
Jacksonville UniversityJacksonville University is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, on the banks of the St. Johns River. The school was founded in 1934 as a two year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College until 1958, when it shifted its focus to four-year university degrees and adopted its...
. That year he was named Coach and Athlete Magazine player of the year, and the
ECACThe Eastern College Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 21 sports . It has 317 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina and west to Illinois...
Player of the Year.
Lanier was drafted number one overall by the
National Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's
Detroit PistonsThe Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
and was named to the
All-Rookie TeamThe NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches; who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team. The All-Rookie Team is generally...
following the
1970-71 seasonThe 1970–71 NBA season was the 25th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Milwaukee Bucks winning the NBA Championship, beating the Baltimore Bullets 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals.- Notable occurrences :...
. He starred for Detroit until being traded to the
Milwaukee BucksThe Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
in
1980-Statistics leaders:-NBA awards:*Most Valuable Player: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers*Rookie of the Year: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics*Coach of the Year: Bill Fitch, Boston Celtics*All-NBA First Team:**Paul Westphal, Phoenix Suns...
. In his five seasons with the Bucks, they won the division championship each year. The same year he retired, in
1984-Statistics leaders:-Yearly awards:*Most Valuable Player: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics*Rookie of the Year: Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets*Defensive Player of the Year: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks...
, he was awarded the
Oscar RobertsonOscar Palmer Robertson , nicknamed "The Big O", is a former American NBA player with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks...
Leadership Award.
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 GameThe National Basketball Association staged its first All-Star Game in the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951. From that year on, the game has matched the best players in the Eastern Conference with the best players in the Western Conference....
s, and was named Most Valuable Player of the
1974 gameGAME 24: at the Seattle Center Coliseum, Jan. 15, 1974.MVP: Bob LanierCoaches: East: Tom Heinsohn, West: Larry Costello.-Eastern Conference: -Western Conference: -Score by periods: *Halftime— West, 66-47*Third Quarter— West, 101-85...
. Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 and had his #16 jersey retired by both the Pistons and the Bucks.
In 1994-95, he became interim head coach of the
Golden State WarriorsThe Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
for 37 games after
Don NelsonDonald Arvid "Don" Nelson is a former NBA player and head coach. He coached the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Golden State Warriors....
stood down, in which he compiled a 12-25 win-loss record.
At the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in
Springfield, MassachusettsSpringfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, visitors are able to compare the size of their foot to that of Lanier's.
The basketball court at Lanier's
alma mater, St. Bonaventure, is named after him.
He gave birth to his son, Walter Lanier, on July 10, 1967. He is currently the Director of Student Advising/ Multicultural Services at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Unfortunately, he lacked the talent of his father and did not have a successful career as in basketball.
See also
External links