Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (Bob Lanier) was an American professional basketball player who played for the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Bob was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 and in his 14 NBA seasons, he averaged 20.1 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.5 bpg, and 1.1 spg while shooting a stellar 51.4% from the field.
Bob played in eight NBA All-Star Games, and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1974 game.
Bob had his No. 16 jersey retired by both the Pistons and the Bucks and his No. 31 jersey retired by St. Bonaventure University.
In the latter parts of his life, Bob was an NBA ambassador.
Bob stood at 2.08 m tall and was also famed for wearing size 22 shoes, although that was disputed in 1989 by a Converse representative, who told The Atlanta Constitution that Lanier wore size 18 1/2.
According to rep Gary Stoken;
“The 22 he (Bob Rainer) was reputed to wear was a Korean size.”
However, what was not disputed was that Bob’s feet was very big.
Bob Lanier was born on September 10, 1948 and died on May 10, 2022, aged 73, after a short illness.