Remembering Hall of Famer Bob Lanier: 1948-2022
- Jake C
- Sep 10
- 7 min read
Cover photo: Bob Lanier as a Detroit Piston. Photo credit: Focus on Sport, Getty Images.
One of the greatest centers in NBA history was born on this day in 1948.
Bob Lanier, one of the original great Detroit Pistons, was a 6 foot, 11 inch, 250 pound center back in the days when those types of big guys were not commonplace.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., Lanier attended Bennett High School, which he led to city championships in his junior and senior seasons. Lanier averaged 20.5 points per game in a junior season in which he was named to the All-City team and put up 25.0 points as a senior, garnering All-Western New York State honors.
Lanier played collegiately at St. Bonaventure, roughly 70 miles southeast of his hometown. In his three years with the Bonnies, Lanier was twice an All-American, named to the 1st team for a senior campaign in which he posted 29.1 points and 16.0 rebounds per game. As a sophomore in 1967-68, Lanier averaged 26.2 points and 15.6 rebounds and was a 2nd team All-American. He averaged 27.3 points and 15.6 rebounds as a junior. In the 1970 NCAA Tournament Regional Final against Villanova, Lanier collided with Villanova’s Chris Ford and subsequently tore knee ligaments. Lanier scored 18 points in that game, a 97-74 Bonnies’ win.
The top pick in the 1970 NBA Draft, Lanier led one of the most talent-rich drafts in league history. Eleven all-stars emerged, with Hall of Famers Tiny Archibald, Dave Cowens, Pete Maravich, Dan Issel, Calvin Murphy, and Charlie Scott eventually inducted as players into Springfield. Rudy Tomjanovic, a 5-time all-star as a player, was the second overall selection and is in the Hall for his coaching success.
Lanier averaged 15.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game as a rookie. He played all 82 games and finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting. In ‘71-‘72, at the age of 23, he made his first of what would be four consecutive all-star appearances.
Bob Lanier Stats: First Four All-Star Seasons
1971-72: 25.7 points (49.3% FG, 21.1 FGA), 14.2 rebounds, 38.7 minutes, 80 games, 9th in MVP voting
1972-73: 23.8 points (49.0% FG, 20.4 FGA), 14.9 rebounds, 38.9 minutes, 81 games
1973-74: 22.5 points, 50.4% FG (18.3 FGA), 13.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 3.0 blocks, 37.6 minutes, 81 games, 3rd in MVP voting
The ‘73-‘74 Pistons won 52 games under head coach Ray Scott. Scott, a 9-year veteran forward from Philadelphia, was drafted by the Pistons in 1961. He won the ‘74 Coach of the Year award, the first African-American in league history to win the award. Hall of Fame guard Dave Bing made his fifth all-star game in ‘74, averaging 18.8 points and 6.9 assists during the regular season. The team lost in seven games to the Chicago Bulls in the Western Conference Semifinals. Lanier averaged 26.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in the series. He posted 27 points and 13 rebounds (12-of-23) in Game 1 (42 minutes), 38 points (16-of-28), 19 rebounds, and 5 assists in 46 minutes in Game 2, 19 points (8-of-21), 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks in Game 3, and 26 points (12-of-21), 18 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks in Game 4. In Game 5, he posted 23 points (7-of-16), 17 rebounds, and 5 assists. In the game, he made all nine of his free-throw attempts.
1974-75: 24.0 points (51.0% FGA, 18.9 FGA), 12.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.3 blocks, 39.3 minutes, 76 games
The ‘74-‘75 Pistons won 40 games and lost two games to one in the first round against the Seattle SuperSonics. Lanier averaged 20.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 4.0 blocks in the series. In Game 3, he recorded a game-high 29 points.
In the ‘75-‘76 season, Lanier averaged 21.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.2 steals. He averaged 15.9 shots per game and converted 53.2% of his attempts in 36.9 minutes per game. The Pistons that season won 36 games and lost in the Western Conference Semifinals four games to two to the Golden State Warriors. Lanier posted game-highs in rebounds in Game 1 (16), Game 4 (11), and Game 6 (16). In the series he averaged 24.5 points, 13.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.8 blocks.
Lanier made his last three all-star teams (as a Piston) from 1976-1979.
Bob Lanier’s Last Three Piston All-Star Nods
1976-77: 25.3 points (53.4% FG, 19.8 FGA), 11.6 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 38.2 minutes, 64 games, 4th in MVP voting
The ‘76-‘77 Pistons won 44 games and lost in the first round two games to one to the Golden State Warriors. Lanier averaged 28.0 points (63.0% FG), 16.7 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in the series. In the MVP race, he finished behind Pete Maravich, Bill Walton, and the winner Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. This season marked the final time that Lanier would appear in the playoffs as a Piston.
1977-78: 24.5 points (53.7% FG, 18.4 FGA), 11.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.5 blocks, 36.7 minutes, 63 games, 10th in MVP voting
1978-79: 23.6 points (51.5% FG, 17.9 FGA), 9.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 34.6 minutes, 53 games
Lanier played 37 games with the Pistons in the ‘79-‘80 season (21.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 54.6% FG) before a trade on February 4, 1980 that sent the 7-time all-star to the Milwaukee Bucks for Kent Benson and a 1980 first round pick.
“The people gave me a standing ovation and really made me feel welcome. It was the start of a positive change,” said Lanier at one time about the deal.
The 31-year-old played 26 games with the Bucks the remainder of the season, and averaged 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds. In ‘80-‘81, he averaged 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds, before his final career all-star campaign in ‘81-‘82 - 13.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 55.8% FG on 9.9 FGA, 26.8 minutes).
From 1980-1984, the Bucks won 49, 60, 55, 51, and 50 games, and won the Midwest Division in each of those seasons. In the ‘80 Western Conference Semifinals, a series in which the Bucks lost to the Sonics in seven games, Lanier averaged 19.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. Marques Johnson led the team with 19.9 points in the series, Brian Winters averaged 15.9 points, and Sidney Moncrief averaged 12.4.
The ‘80-‘81 Bucks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Lanier averaged 17.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in the series. The Bucks the next year also lost to the Sixers in the same round, this time in six games. Lanier averaged 16.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in that series. In ‘83, the Bucks lost to the Sixers again, in the Conference Finals in five games, a series in which Lanier averaged 14.4 points and 6.8 rebounds in 28.0 minutes. The Bucks that season had another older Hall of Fame big in the former Celtic Cowens. Lanier played in 39 and Cowens played in 40. Sidney Moncrief won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award and finished fourth in MVP voting.
Lanier played 72 games in his final season of ‘83-‘84 and averaged 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 27.9 minutes. He averaged 9.5 shots per game and made 57.2%.
Lanier wrapped his career in fourteen seasons with lifetime averages of 20.1 points (51.4% FG on 15.7 attempts per game), 10.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. He played 959 career games and averaged 33.5 minutes per contest. As a Piston in 681 games, he posted 22.7 points (50.8% FG on 18.1 attempts), 11.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 36.2 minutes per game. In the prime of his career, you could pencil Lanier in for a double-double, which he averaged each season from ‘71-‘72 to ‘77-‘78. At his best, he hovered around 26 points per game (25.7 in ‘71-‘72) and 15 rebounds (14.9 in ‘72-‘73).
In fifty-two career games in his career against Abdul-Jabbar, Lanier averaged 19.3 points and 10.1 rebounds. In sixteen games in his career against Wilt Chamberlain, Lanier averaged 21.7 points.
In 1992, Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. On January 9, 1993, Lanier’s No. 16 jersey was retired by the Pistons. His No. 31 at St. Bonaventure is also retired.
On May 10, 2022, Lanier passed away at the age of 73 after a brief illness. He had worked for the NBA as a global ambassador for over 30 years alongside former NBA commissioner David Stern and current commissioner Adam Silver, who said of Lanier:
Bob Lanier was a Hall of Fame player and among the most talented centers in the history of the NBA, but his impact on the league went far beyond what he accomplished on the court…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. It was a labor of love for Bob, who was one of the kindest and most genuine people I have ever been around.”
In a tribute piece to the legendary center on January 24, 2023, Piston great Isiah Thomas said:
“He was one of the most dominant centers and played in an era when centers really had to be dominant. He played against Kareem, Moses Malone, Robert Parish. He was that guy.”
Said former Piston Rick Mahorn in the same piece of Lanier:
“He was the first big man, to me, who could go out to 15 feet and shoot and come across the middle inside and punish people with the hooks and the up-and-unders. One of the best – and I mean one of the best – big men that ever played the game.”
The Detroit Pistons have a storied history having won two championships in the ‘80s and an unexpected title in the mid-2000s. From Isiah to Grant Hill to Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Ben Wallace to Cade Cunningham, Lanier along with Dave Bing was the one who started it all for the Detroit Pistons.
On the day that he would have turned 77, we remember him.