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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 5:36 pm EDTNBA legend. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Bob Lanier
Career at a glance
Bob Lanier played 14 NBA regular seasons between 1970 and 1984, appearing in 959 games and averaging 20.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He played for 2 teams: Detroit (1970–80, 681 games), Milwaukee (1979–84, 278 games). His best scoring season was 1971–72 with Detroit: 25.7 points per game over 80 games.
He rebounded best in 1972–73 at 14.9 per game. In the playoffs he appeared in 9 postseason runs (67 games, 18.6 points per game). Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 19,300 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total).
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Bob Lanier
Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player. He played center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.
In 14 NBA seasons, Lanier played in eight NBA All-Star Games and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1974 game. His accomplishments came despite a long history with knee injuries. He had his No. 16 jersey retired by both the Pistons and the Bucks and his No. 31 jersey retired by St. Bonaventure University, for whom he played college basketball. After retiring from playing he was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors, and briefly served as their interim head coach. He went on to work as an NBA Cares Global Ambassador.
- Born
- September 10, 1948 Buffalo, New York, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
- Listed weight
- 250 lb (113 kg)
- Position
- Center
- High school
- Bennett (Buffalo, New York)
- College
- St. Bonaventure (1967–1970)
- NBA draft
- 1970: 1st round, 1st overall pick
- Playing career
- 1970–1984
Career highlights and awards
- 8× NBA All-Star (1972–1975, 1977–1979, 1982)
- NBA All-Star Game MVP (1974)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1971)
- No. 16 retired by Detroit Pistons
- No. 16 retired by Milwaukee Bucks
- Consensus first-team All-American (1970)
- Consensus second-team All-American (1968)
- Second-team All-American – AP, NABC, UPI (1969)
- No. 31 retired by St. Bonaventure Bonnies
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–71 | Detroit | 82 | — | 24.6 | .455 | — | .726 | 8.1 | 1.8 | — | — | 15.6 |
| 1971–72 | Detroit | 80 | — | 38.7 | .493 | — | .768 | 14.2 | 3.1 | — | — | 25.7 |
| 1972–73 | Detroit | 81 | — | 38.9 | .490 | — | .773 | 14.9 | 3.2 | — | — | 23.8 |
| 1973–74 | Detroit | 81 | — | 37.6 | .504 | — | .797 | 13.3 | 4.2 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 22.5 |
| 1974–75 | Detroit | 76 | — | 39.3 | .510 | — | .802 | 12.0 | 4.6 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 24.0 |
| 1975–76 | Detroit | 64 | — | 36.9 | .532 | — | .768 | 11.7 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 21.3 |
| 1976–77 | Detroit | 64 | — | 38.2 | .534 | — | .818 | 11.6 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 25.3 |
| 1977–78 | Detroit | 63 | — | 36.7 | .537 | — | .772 | 11.3 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 24.5 |
| 1978–79 | Detroit | 53 | — | 34.6 | .515 | — | .749 | 9.3 | 2.6 | .9 | 1.4 | 23.6 |
| 1979–80 | Detroit | 37 | — | 37.6 | .546 | .000 | .781 | 10.1 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 21.7 |
| 1979–80 | Milwaukee | 26 | — | 28.4 | .519 | 1.000 | .785 | 6.9 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 15.7 |
| 1980–81 | Milwaukee | 67 | — | 26.2 | .525 | 1.000 | .751 | 6.2 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 14.3 |
| 1981–82 | Milwaukee | 74 | 72 | 26.8 | .558 | .000 | .752 | 5.2 | 3.0 | 1.0 | .8 | 13.5 |
| 1982–83 | Milwaukee | 39 | 35 | 25.1 | .491 | .000 | .684 | 5.1 | 2.7 | .9 | .6 | 10.7 |
| 1983–84 | Milwaukee | 72 | 72 | 27.9 | .572 | .000 | .708 | 6.3 | 2.6 | .8 | .7 | 13.6 |
| Career | 959 | — | 33.5 | .514 | .154 | .767 | 10.1 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 20.1 | |
| All-Star | 8 | 0 | 15.1 | .582 | — | .833 | 5.6 | 1.5 | .5 | .6 | 9.2 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Detroit | 7 | — | 43.3 | .507 | — | .789 | 15.3 | 3.0 | .6 | 2.0 | 26.3 |
| 1975 | Detroit | 3 | — | 42.7 | .510 | — | .750 | 10.7 | 6.3 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 20.3 |
| 1976 | Detroit | 9 | — | 39.9 | .552 | — | .900 | 12.7 | 3.3 | .9 | 2.3 | 26.1 |
| 1977 | Detroit | 3 | — | 39.3 | .630 | — | .842 | 16.7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 28.0 |
| 1980 | Milwaukee | 7 | — | 36.6 | .515 | — | .738 | 9.3 | 4.4 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 19.3 |
| 1981 | Milwaukee | 7 | — | 33.7 | .588 | — | .719 | 7.4 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 17.6 |
| 1982 | Milwaukee | 6 | — | 35.3 | .513 | .000 | .560 | 7.5 | 3.7 | 1.3 | .8 | 16.0 |
| 1983 | Milwaukee | 9 | — | 27.8 | .573 | — | .600 | 7.0 | 2.6 | .6 | 1.6 | 13.7 |
| 1984 | Milwaukee | 16 | — | 31.2 | .480 | — | .886 | 7.3 | 3.4 | .7 | .6 | 12.7 |
| Career | 67 | — | 35.2 | .532 | .000 | .768 | 9.6 | 3.5 | .9 | 1.5 | 18.6 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 10″
- Weight
- 250 lb
- Position
- Center
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1970
- Draft pick
- Round 1 · Pick 1
Height, Weight, Position, Country, Draft year, Draft pick: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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