Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player. He played as a center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.

Over 14 seasons in the NBA, Lanier participated in eight NBA All-Star Games and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1974 game. He achieved these successes even though he had many knee injuries throughout his career. The Pistons and the Bucks retired his No. 16 jersey, and St. Bonaventure University retired his No. 31 jersey. Lanier played college basketball for St. Bonaventure University. After retiring from playing, he worked as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors and briefly served as their acting head coach. Later, he became an NBA Cares Global Ambassador.

Early life

Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. was born on September 10, 1948, in Buffalo, New York. He was the son of Robert Sr. and Nannette Lanier. His mother raised him in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

As a child, Lanier faced challenges in playing basketball. When he tried out for his grammar school team, a coach told him that his large feet (size 11 at age 11) made it unlikely he could succeed as an athlete. By age 16, Lanier was 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall, but he did not join the varsity basketball team at Bennett High School during his sophomore year because he was thought to be too clumsy.

During his junior year, a new coach named Fred Schwepker, who taught Lanier biology, encouraged him to try out again. Lanier joined the team and scored an average of 21.5 points per game. He was named to the All-City team as a junior. In his senior year, he scored an average of 25.0 points per game and earned All-Western New York State honors. Each year, he helped Bennett High School win the Buffalo city championship. Lanier graduated in 1966.

More than 100 universities wanted Lanier to join their teams, but he chose to attend St. Bonaventure University, which was about an hour and a half from his home. There, he played for coach Larry Weise. "There was competition for his talents, but the advantage I had was that his parents could come watch him play," said Coach Weise. "He chose St. Bonaventure. His parents attended every game."

In 2009, The Buffalo News honored 50 years of All-Western New York (WNY) basketball selections. Lanier, who was named to the All-WNY first team in 1965–66, was added to the All-time All-WNY team. Other athletes on the team included Christian Laettner, Curtis Aiken, Paul Harris, and Mel Montgomery.

College career

Bob Lanier was chosen as an All-American three times from 1968 to 1970. In 1970, as a senior, he helped St. Bonaventure reach the NCAA Final Four. During the regional championship game, he injured his knee in a collision with Villanova’s Chris Ford and did not play in St. Bonaventure’s loss to Jacksonville University in the national semifinals.

That year, Lanier was named Player of the Year by Coach and Athlete Magazine and the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Since 2007, St. Bonaventure’s basketball court has been named the “Bob Lanier court.”

According to NCAA rules at the time, Lanier played on the freshman team during his first year at St. Bonaventure.

As a 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) sophomore in the 1967–68 season, Lanier made an immediate impact and gained national recognition. He helped St. Bonaventure, which had a 13–9 record the previous season, win all their games during the regular season (26–0) and reach a number three national ranking. He averaged 26.2 points and 15.6 rebounds per game. In a game against Loyola Maryland, he had 27 rebounds, leading St. Bonaventure to a 94–78 victory.

In the 23-team 1968 NCAA tournament, Lanier led St. Bonaventure to a 102–93 victory over Boston College and coach Bob Cousy. The team was then defeated 91–72 by North Carolina and coach Dean Smith in the East Regional semifinal, ending their undefeated season. Lanier scored 32 points and had 15 rebounds in the win over Boston College and 23 points with 9 rebounds in the loss to North Carolina. He fouled out in the third-place East Region game, scoring 18 points with 13 rebounds as St. Bonaventure lost 92–75 to Columbia.

Lanier was named a second-team All-American, behind Lew Alcindor (who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) at center.

In the 1968–69 season, St. Bonaventure finished with a 17–7 record after starting the season 3–5. Against Seton Hall, Lanier scored 51 points, setting the single-game scoring record for St. Bonaventure. He averaged 27.3 points and 15.6 rebounds in 24 games and was again named a second-team All-American behind Lew Alcindor at center. During his junior year, Lanier was approached by representatives of the American Basketball Association’s New York Nets, who reportedly offered him $1.2 million to leave school early and join the ABA. However, following his father’s advice, Lanier chose to remain in school.

Lanier averaged 29.2 points and 16.0 rebounds as St. Bonaventure finished the 1969–70 regular season 25–1 (with the only loss at Villanova 64–62) and reached a number three national ranking. In the 25-team 1970 NCAA tournament, Lanier led St. Bonaventure to an 80–72 victory over Davidson College with 28 points and 15 rebounds. He had 24 points and 19 rebounds in an 80–68 victory over NC State and 26 points and 14 rebounds in a 97–74 victory over Villanova, helping St. Bonaventure advance to the Final Four.

However, Lanier injured his knee near the end of the regional championship game in a collision with Villanova’s Chris Ford. The injury was severe enough that he could not play in the Final Four and eventually required the first of eight knee surgeries he would undergo throughout his life. In the Final Four, St. Bonaventure lost to Jacksonville University, whose center was future Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore. St. Bonaventure was called for 32 personal fouls and was outscored 37–15 at the free-throw line in the 91–83 loss. In the third-place game, the Bonnies lost to New Mexico State, finishing the season 25–3.

Coach Larry Weise, at age 81, said, “Every year at this time you start thinking about it, and my players start thinking about it. We have a reunion every three, four years, and it’s the same with them. It was a magical moment in our lives, no question. In our hearts, we knew we were good enough to win the championship.” Lanier reflected on the Final Four in 1985, saying, “I think I appreciate it even more than my (college) teammates, because I had a basis for comparison. It wasn’t the money, or who got the ‘numbers’ like in the NBA. We weren’t any big stars, it was a couple of guys from Buffalo and a guy from Troy all blending together.”

Lanier was named a first-team All-American at center alongside future Hall of Famers Dan Issel (center, Kentucky), Pete Maravich (point guard, LSU), and Calvin Murphy (point guard, Niagara), as well as College Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Mount (shooting guard, Purdue). Lanier graduated from St. Bonaventure with a degree in business administration. He holds St. Bonaventure records for scoring and rebounding, averaging 27.6 points and 15.7 rebounds, with a 57% shooting percentage in 75 career games.

In March 2018, St. Bonaventure won its first game in the NCAA tournament since 1970, defeating UCLA. Coach Mark Schmidt said, “It can’t get better. Our guys just fought, we persevered. … In 1970, you know, Bob Lanier got hurt, and didn’t have a chance to play UCLA and … this is for him.” Schmidt added, “When I got the job here 11 years ago, we hear the stories about 1970. And everybody talks about if Lanier was healthy, they would have taken on UCLA. This victory is for those guys.”

Professional career

Lanier was selected first overall by the National Basketball Association’s Detroit Pistons in the 1970 NBA draft. He was also chosen as a territorial pick by the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association in the 1970 ABA draft.

Lanier played while still recovering from surgery. He was named to the 1971 NBA All-Rookie Team, averaging 15.6 points and 8.1 rebounds for the 45–37 Pistons in 24 minutes per game under Coach Butch van Breda Kolff. “I wasn’t healthy when I got to the league,” Lanier reflected. “I shouldn’t have played my first year. But there was so much pressure from them to play, I would have been much better off—and our team would have been much better served—if I had just sat out that year and worked on my knee. My knee was so sore every single day that it was ludicrous to be doing what I was doing.” Lanier rehabilitated his knee with the help of Coach van Breda Kolff, who had Lanier stay at his beachfront house for 2½ weeks to run in the sand and strengthen his knee and legs.

Lanier became a star for Detroit, playing alongside teammate Dave Bing. He averaged more than 21 points per game for each of the next eight seasons, with a high mark of 25.7 PPG in the 1971–72 season. Lanier averaged more than 11 rebounds per game in seven straight seasons. On November 28, 1972, Lanier scored 48 points, a Pistons franchise record to this day for points scored in a game by a center, during a 129–96 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. On January 15, 1974, Lanier led all scorers in that season’s NBA All-Star Game with 24 points and was named the All-Star Game MVP.

Detroit was a franchise in constant transition. Lanier played under eight coaches in ten seasons: Butch van Breda Kolff (1970–1971), Terry Dischinger (1971), Earl Lloyd (1971–1972), Ray Scott (1972–1975), Herb Brown (1975–1977), Bob Kauffman (1977–1978), Dick Vitale (1978–1979), and Richie Adubato (1979–1980). Each coach was hired or fired in mid-season. Of his time in Detroit, Lanier said, “I think ‘73–74 was our best team [52–30]. We had Dave [Bing], Stu Lantz, John Mengelt, Chris Ford, Don Adams, Curtis Rowe, George Trapp. But then for some reason, they traded six guys off that team before the following year. I just didn’t feel we ever had the leadership… That was a rough time because, at the end of every year, you’d be so despondent.”

Lanier’s latter years in Detroit were marred by recurring injuries, as he never played more than 64 games in any of his last four seasons as a Piston.

In his ten seasons with the Detroit Pistons, Lanier averaged a double-double: 22.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.2 steals in 681 games. Lanier is the Pistons’ all-time leader in scoring average (22.7 ppg); he ranks second in total rebounds (8,063), third in total points (15,488), and was voted to seven All-Star games.

On February 4, 1980, Lanier was traded by the Pistons to the Milwaukee Bucks for Kent Benson and a 1980 first-round draft pick (which the Pistons used to select Larry Drew). On April 20 of that year, Lanier scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in a Game 7 loss against the Seattle SuperSonics in the Western Conference Semifinals (the final season for the Bucks in that conference).

On May 5, 1982, Lanier’s 27 points led the Bucks to a Game 5 playoff victory against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bucks eventually lost the series. Lanier’s 27 points represented his highest single post-season game point total for the Bucks. In Lanier’s five seasons with the Bucks, they won the Midwest Division championship each year under Coach Don Nelson, with Lanier playing alongside teammates Marques Johnson, Sidney Moncrief, Quinn Buckner, Junior Bridgeman, and Dave Cowens. Still highly effective, but with aging knees, Lanier played a key role with the Bucks while averaging nearly 10 minutes less per game in his Milwaukee tenure than he had in Detroit (36.2 to 26.8).

Of going to Milwaukee, Lanier said, “I wanted the trade. I got to Milwaukee… and the people gave me a standing ovation and really made me feel welcome. It was the start of a positive change. I just wish I had played with that kind of talent around me when I was young. But if I had had Marques

Coaching career

From 1994–95, Lanier worked as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors under his former coach, Don Nelson. After Nelson left his position, Lanier became the interim head coach on February 13, 1995. During this time, he had a 12–25 win-loss record in 37 games, and the Warriors had a 26–56 overall record.

Other ventures

Lanier owned and ran Bob Lanier Enterprises, Inc., a company that helped promote products or services. This company was part of the Proforma network.

Lanier was a spokesperson and leader of the NBA's "Stay In School" program (later called Read to Achieve) from 1989 to 1994.

From 2005 to 2022, Lanier served as the NBA Cares Global Ambassador. During this time, he often worked with programs that helped young people, supported education, improved family development, and promoted health-related causes.

In popular culture

In 1979, Lanier appeared in the popular basketball movie The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh as part of the Detroit team. He shared the screen with Pistons teammates Chris Ford, Eric Money, John Shumate, Kevin Porter, and Leon Douglas.

Lanier worked as a basketball coach for the film White Men Can't Jump. He observed that the movie's main actors, Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, had basketball skills comparable to those of players in a Division II college basketball league. Lanier noted that Harrelson demonstrated stronger basketball abilities than Snipes.

Lanier was also referenced in the 1980 movie Airplane! when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, frustrated, told a character named Joey, "Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!"

Personal life and death

Lanier was married and divorced twice and had five children: Walter “Jack” Lanier, Kimberly Lanier, Tiffany Lanier, Robert Lanier III, and Khalia Lanier. At the time of his death, he had seven grandchildren.

The knee injuries that caused problems for Lanier during his later career became worse as he grew older. After retiring, he had several surgeries, with the last one taking place in 2017.

At the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, visitors can compare their foot size to Lanier’s. The biggest shoe ever made by the company Allen Edmonds was a size 22, created for Lanier.

In September 2018, Lanier shared one of his most memorable NBA moments: “When I was still playing in Milwaukee, I was getting gas at a station on Center Street. A man approached me and said, ‘My dad is sick, and you’re his favorite player. Could you come to the house and say hello to him? The house is right next door.’ I went over, went upstairs, and saw the man lying in his bed. His son said, ‘This is Bob,’ and he said, ‘I know.’ He smiled, looked at me with a twinkle in his eye, and grabbed my hand. We said a short prayer. Two weeks later, his dad passed away. The man later left a card at the Bucks office, thanking me for helping make his dad’s final days better.”

Lanier died on May 10, 2022, after a short illness. He was 73 years old.

Honors

• Bob Lanier was inducted into the St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall of Fame in 1975.
• St. Bonaventure retired Lanier's No. 31 jersey.
• In 1978, the Professional Basketball Writers Association (PBWA) chose Lanier to receive the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his work in the community.
• In 1981, the YMCA organization honored Lanier with the "Jackie Robinson Award." This award recognizes service to youth, good citizenship, and leadership.
• Bob Lanier was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.
• Both the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks retired Lanier's No. 16 jersey. The Milwaukee Bucks retired it in 1984, and the Detroit Pistons retired it in 1993.
• Bob Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.
• In 2000, Lanier received the Congressional "Horizon & Leadership Award." This award is given each year to people who have made a big difference in the lives of young Americans.
• In 2006, Lanier was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
• In 2007, Lanier received the National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy Award. This award honors his important work in promoting civil and human rights around the world, following the example of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• In 2007, the basketball court at St. Bonaventure, Lanier's alma mater, was named "Bob Lanier Court" in the Reilly Center Arena. A 2007 press release stated, "Bob Lanier raised the St. Bonaventure basketball program to a new level and is an excellent ambassador for the sport. He was the clear choice for the court's name."
• In 2009, Lanier was named co-recipient of the "Mannie Jackson – Basketball's Human Spirit Award." This award, given by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, honors his love for basketball and his ongoing work in the community.
• After Lanier's death, Detroit Pistons players wore a black stripe with the number 16 on the right shoulder of their jerseys during the 2022–23 NBA season.