NBA great Bob Lanier, Hall of Fame center for Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks, dies at 73

Bob Lanier, the left-handed big man who muscled up beside the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as one of the NBA's top players of the 1970s, died Tuesday. He was 73.

The NBA said in a statement that the legendary NBA center died Tuesday after a short illness. The Hall of Famer and eight-time NBA All-Star had worked for the league as a global ambassador.

Lanier played 14 seasons with the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks and averaged 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds for his career. He is third on the Pistons' career list in both points and rebounds. (as of 2020) Detroit drafted Lanier with the No. 1 overall pick in 1970 after he led St. Bonaventure to the Final Four.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Lanier's accomplishments went far beyond what he did on the court.

«For more than 30 years, Bob served as our global ambassador and as a special assistant to David Stern and then me, traveling the world to teach the game's values and make a positive impact on young people everywhere,» Silver said in a statement. «It was a labor of love for Bob, who was one of the kindest and most genuine people I have ever been around.»

Lanier went into the Hall of Fame in 1992. But his boat-size shoes got there ahead of him, with a display of his bronzed sneakers in the shrine.

He was known 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.

«The 22 he was reputed to wear was a Korean size,» shoe rep Gary Stoken said.

Not contested was the abundantly clear fact that his feet were big.

«A lot of people can put both feet into one of my shoes,» Lanier told HOOP magazine.

Born Sept. 10, 1948, in Buffalo, New York, Lanier starred in college at St.