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. Bonaventure finished with a 17–7 record after starting the season 3–5. Since 2007 their basketball court has been called the “ Bob Lanier court” Per NCAA rules at the time, Lanier played on the freshman team during his first year at St. Against Seton Hall, Lanier scored 51 points, setting the single-game scoring record for St. 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.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.