Bob Lanier
Teams
Detroit Pistons - 1970-79
Milwaukee Bucks - 1980-84
Playoffs
Appearances - 9 (1974,1975,1976,1977,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984)
Conference Finals - 2 (1983,1984)
NBA Finals - 0
Championships - 0
Awards and Honors
All-NBA First Team - 0 (1974,1975,1977)
All-NBA Second Team - 0 (1972,1973)
Hall of Fame - 1992
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Total Rebounds - #47
Rebounds Per Game - #57
Total Points - #60
Blocks Per Game - #62
Points Per Game - #70
Total Blocks - #80
Field Goal Percentage - #88
League Leads
Field Goal Percentage (#4-1976, #5-1977)
Blocks Per Game (#4-1974, #5-1975)
Total Rebounds (#5-1974)
Total Blocks (#3-1974)
Bob Lanier was a superstar from the day he started playing in college for St. Bonaventure, leading them to the NCAA Tournament twice and averaging 27.6 points and 15.7 rebounds in his college career. He suffered a knee injury in his final college game, which kept him from playing in the Final Four, but it didn't stop him from being drafted #1 overall by Detroit in the NBA and as a territorial pick by the Nets from the ABA.
He decided to play for Detroit, and he even signed his contract while still in the hospital recovering from surgery. Rather than letting him fully heal, the team decided to play him immediately, a choice that may have severely hampered his later years. Still, he averaged 15.6 points and 8.1 rebounds and made the All-Rookie First Team.
After his rookie season he went on a monster run, with 7 straight seasons averaging at least 21 points and 11 rebounds per game, with highs of 25.7 points in 1972 and 14.9 rebounds in 1973. He also averaged 3 blocks per game in 1974, the first season in which they were recorded, which was 4th-best in the league that year.
While he was steady during his decade in Detroit, the team was not. He played for 8 different coaches in 10 years, and the team only made the playoffs 4 times, winning a playoff series only once. His knees also started to cause problems, and he missed at least 18 games in each of his 4 final seasons in Detroit.
He was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks midway through the 1979-80 season, joining a team with a lot more talent that allowed him to not have to carry the team every night. He never averaged more than 16 points in Milwaukee, but they never missed the playoffs, and made 2 trips to the Conference Finals, losing to the eventual champions both times. He retired in 1984 after his 8th knee surgery.
Lanier's best seasons all came during the time when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was at his prime in Milwaukee, so he is often overlooked because there was a better player at the same position the whole time. He also was never able to reach the NBA Finals or win a title, which also decreases visibility and recognition, but he was one of the very best players in the league for the better part of a decade, and deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest players of all time.
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