Baller of the Day: Bob Lanier

Bob Lanier

Career Statistics

20.1 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.5 BLKS, 51 FG%, 77 FT%

“When Bob Lanier hung up his basketball shoes in 1984 after 14 years in the NBA, the eight-time All-Star joked that he did so only because the Milwaukee Bucks had finally found in Alton Lister another player who literally could fill his sneakers. It was no small feat: like Lanier, Lister took to the court in size 22s. One of the game’s greatest big men, Lanier was actually preceded into the Hall of Fame by a bronzed pair of his shoes, the biggest the NBA had ever seen. “A lot of people,” he noted in HOOP magazine, “can put both feet into one of my shoes.”

Lanier excelled in an era of outstanding centers such as Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Willis Reed, Dave Cowens and Bill Walton. Despite his 6-11 frame, Lanier’s movements were fluid. He had a deadly hook shot from the lane, a strong outside shot, and outstanding rebounding skills.

Lanier played more than nine seasons in Detroit and is the Pistons’ all-time leader in scoring average (22.7 ppg) and ranks second in rebounds (8,063) and third in points (15,488). Counting his four seasons in Milwaukee, Lanier amassed 19,248 points in 14 years, finishing his career with averages of 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

Yet despite Lanier’s Hall of Fame numbers (he was inducted in 1992), in 14 seasons with the Pistons and the Bucks he never realized his greatest aspiration: to put a championship ring on his finger. Like baseball’s Ernie Banks, a Hall of Famer who never played in a World Series, Lanier was an athlete whose greatness was overshadowed by his failure to not only win the big prize, but never having the opportunity to play in a NBA Finals.” [Read]

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[Sources: NBA.com, YouTube, Basketball-Reference.com]