Bob Lanier is kind of the forgotten great big man of the 1970s
– that’s probably because until a late career stint with the Milwaukee Bucks,
his teams didn’t do much damage in the playoffs.
Lanier had PERs above 20.0 the first 10 years of his career
and above 22.0 from 1971-1972 to 1977-1978. He topped 10.0 win shares every
year from 1972-1973 to 1977-1978. He got MVP votes in six seasons including finishing
third in 1973-1974 and fourth in 1976-1977.
Despite all the accolades, Lanier’s Pistons and Bucks were usually
easy outs in the playoffs when they made the playoffs. Lanier’s teams made the
playoffs in nine of his 15 seasons. They only advanced out of the first round
three times and to the conference finals once in his last seasons. It wasn’t
Lanier’s fault, his PERs were higher in the playoffs in six of his nine trips
to the playoffs.
Lanier’s Bucks finally developed into consistent winners in the early 1980s when they added Sidney Moncrief and Marques Johnson. Unfortunately, the rise of the Bucks coincided with the rise of the Larry Bird Celtics and Julius Erving 76ers and Lanier ended up being one of the best players to never play in the NBA finals.
Lanier’s Bucks finally developed into consistent winners in the early 1980s when they added Sidney Moncrief and Marques Johnson. Unfortunately, the rise of the Bucks coincided with the rise of the Larry Bird Celtics and Julius Erving 76ers and Lanier ended up being one of the best players to never play in the NBA finals.
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Bob Lanier
bio info
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Career
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1970-1984
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Games
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959
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Points
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20.1
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Rebounds
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10.1
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Assists
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3.1
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FG Pct.
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51.4%
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All-Star games
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8
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NBA MVPs
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0
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NBA Titles
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0
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Playoff seasons
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9
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Playoff games
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67
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Points
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18.6
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Rebounds
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9.6
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Assists
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3.5
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FG Pct.
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53.2%
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Hall of Fame
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1992
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Top 100
rankings
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||
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Points
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Top 100 ranking
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1-year
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326.84
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57th
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5-year
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1,403.85
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57th
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10-year
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2,452.69
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53rd
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Career
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2,992.00
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61st
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Bob Lanier
at his peak
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1973-1974
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Lanier
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Top 5
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Points
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PER
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23.9
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24.20
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Win Shares
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14.4
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15.68
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Box +/-
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8.5
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7.37
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VORP
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8.1
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7.94
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Total Advanced Stats
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54.9
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55.19
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99.48
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Playoff PER
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25.2
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25.27
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Win Shares
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1.5
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3.23
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Box +/-
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6.5
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8.11
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VORP
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0.7
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1.55
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Total Advanced Stats
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33.9
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38.17
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88.80
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Reg. Season Win %
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62.96
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62.96
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Playoff Win %
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42.86
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42.86
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MVP Voting (75 points)
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395/905
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32.73
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
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0
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0
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Total Score
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326.84
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Lanier’s 10 greatest seasons
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1973-1974
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326.84
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1976-1977
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287.58
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1980-1981
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269.18
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1975-1976
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263.66
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1974-1975
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256.59
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1979-1980
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238.94
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1982-1983
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224.47
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1981-1982
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223.45
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1983-1984
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221.89
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1977-1978
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140.09
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Career
winning percentage
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W
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L
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Pct.
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Regular Season
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517
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441
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53.97%
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Playoffs
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30
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37
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44.78%
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