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Pistons To Honor Bob Lanier During 2022-23 Season

The Detroit Pistons will sport a commemorative “16” stripe on their jerseys this season.

Earlier today, the Detroit Pistons announced that they will be celebrating the life and legacy of the legendary and all-time great, Bob Lanier, over the course of the upcoming season. In addition to wearing a stripe with his iconic number on the upper-right portion of Pistons uniforms, the organization will also host a Bob Lanier Tribute Night on January 23, 2023 when the Milwaukee Bucks come into town to duke it out in Little Caesar's Arena. The entire release from the Pistons about Lanier is below.


Drafted out of St. Bonaventure by the Detroit Pistons with the No. 1 overall selection in the 1970 NBA Draft, Bob Lanier quickly established himself as one of the greatest centers in NBA history. The Buffalo, N.Y. native earned seven of his eight career NBA All-Star selections with Detroit while spending the first nine-plus of his 14 NBA seasons in a Pistons uniform. Lanier made the NBA All-Star team each season from 1972-75 and 1977-79 and was named Most Valuable Player in the 1974 NBA All-Star Game. He ranks as the Pistons’ all-time leader in scoring average (22.7 ppg), double-doubles (442), and ranks amongst the career leaders in franchise history in numerous total categories, including third in points (15,488) and rebounds (8,063), second in field goals (6,276), fourth in blocks (859) and seventh in games played (681).

Lanier was also recognized as being one of basketball’s great representatives on and off the court. He won the 1978 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award and was a global ambassador for the NBA, traveling the world on behalf of the league and making a positive impact across the globe. Lanier was also inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.

These incredible achievements and accolades surely secured Lanier a perennial berth onto the Mount Rushmore of Pistons greats, and this season will be an incredible way for fans, young and old alike, to learn and appreciate all that he has accomplished for our franchise and the NBA.