Bob Lanier (basketball)

Infobox NBAretired
name= Bob Lanier


width= 200px
caption= Bob Lanier
position= Center
height_ft = 6 | height_in = 11
weight_lbs = 265
number= 16
birthdate= birth date and age|mf=yes|1948|9|10
Buffalo, New York
deathdate=
debutyear= 1970
finalyear= 1984
draftyear= 1970
draftround= 1
draftpick= 1
college= St. Bonaventure
teams=
*Detroit Pistons (1970-1979, 1980)
*Milwaukee Bucks (1979, 1980–1984)
stat1label= Points
stat1value= 19,248
stat2label= Rebounds
stat2value= 9,698
stat3label= Blocks
stat3value= 1,100
letter= l
bbr= laniebo01
highlights=
*ECAC Most Valuable Player (1970)
*NBA All-Rookie Team (1971)
*6x NBA All-Star (1974, 1975, 1977-79, 1982)
*NBA All-Star Game MVP (1974)
*J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1978)
*Oscar Robertson Leadership Award (1984)
*Detroit Pistons #16 retired
*Milwaukee Bucks #16 retired
HOF= bob-lanier
coach=
*Golden State Warriors (1995)

Robert Jerry "Bob" Lanier, Jr. (born September 10, 1948), nicknamed The Dobber, is an American retired professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA.

Biography

Lanier was born in Buffalo, New York. He played competitively at Buffalo's Bennett High School where he graduated in 1966, and collegiately at St. Bonaventure University, in Olean, New York.

Lanier was a three-time Converse All-America selection (1968-1970), and in 1970, he led St. Bonaventure to the NCAA Final Four, however, he was injured late in the regional championship game and did not participate in Bona's national semi-final loss to Artis Gilmore-led Jacksonville University. That year he was named Coach and Athlete Magazine player of the year, and the ECAC Player of the Year.

Lanier was drafted number one overall by the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons and was named to the All-Rookie Team following the 1970-71 season. He starred for Detroit until being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1980. In his five seasons with the Bucks, they won the division championship each year. The same year he retired, in 1984, he was awarded the Oscar Robertson 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 Games, and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1974 game. Lanier was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame 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 Warriors for 37 games after Don Nelson stood down, in which he compiled a 12-25 win-loss record.

Lanier is mentioned in the comedy film "Airplane!". In one scene, a boy is invited into the cockpit of a jetliner, and claims that the co-pilot (played by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) is in fact Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar, playing in character, denies being the basketball star, insisting instead that he is merely Roger Murdock, the plane's co-pilot. The boy then states that he thinks Abdul-Jabbar is great, but that his father thinks he "doesn't work hard on defense..." and that he "doesn't try... except during the playoffs". This causes Abdul-Jabbar to snarl "the hell I don't", followed by "Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes". [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/quotes Airplane! (1980) - Memorable quotes ] ]

During Lanier's NBA career, he had the largest feet of any player, requiring a size 22 shoe. Lanier could be seen showing his large feet in Miller Lite beer television ads from the 1980s which co-starred notable sports personalities including Bob Uecker, Sparky Lyle and John Madden (football). His oversized shoe was also on display aboard the American Freedom Train, which toured the country during the 1976 United States Bicentennial.

At the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, 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.

See also

*List of college men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds

References

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/history/players/lanier_bio.html Bob Lanier bio]
* [http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/Lanier.htm Bob Lanier Hall of Fame bio]
* [http://basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=LANIEBO01 Career statistics]
* [http://hoopsaddict.com/2006/10/05/historical-glimpses-robert-lanier/ Historical Glimpses: Robert Lanier]