A few years after his legendary tenure with the Celtics ended, Bill Russell briefly joined the Pistons’ coaching staff. While working closely with the team’s emerging center, Bob Lanier, a conflict arose between mentor and mentee.
‘Dobber’ reflected on this during an interview with SLAM Magazine (Edition 48) in February 2001. One time, we disagreed about something, and he [Russell] said, ‘Son, I’ve got 10 fingers and 11 rings. Who do you think is right?’ Then I realized that If I kept my mouth shut and listened, I could go a long way,
recounted Lanier.
Mentorship from a Legend
For any up-and-coming center, who could be a more suitable mentor than the late Russell, a former 5-time MVP, 13-time All-Star, and one of the best big men in league history? Lanier, then a sophomore, received that opportunity during the 1971-72 campaign. As he recalled, Russell’s appointment was specifically for him to be mentored by the basketball legend. While their collaboration with the Pistons would last for just a couple of weeks during camp
, it made quite a difference
, as Lanier recalled.
Tactics and Strategies
He gave me a lot of things to think about, mostly defensively
, ‘Dobber’ explained. He was an intellectual basketball master, and I needed his knowledge because, though I was young and gifted, I was brash and at times combative.
Refining Bob’s Defense
During his rookie season, Lanier, the top pick in the 1970 NBA Draft, had played mostly injured. Despite this, he averaged a respectable 15.6 points and 8.1 rebounds and was named to the Rookie All-NBA first team. However,deficiencies in Lanier’s defense gradually became apparent at a time when the league heavily prioritized playing through defense.
While averaging a respectable amount of blocks, Bob struggled when chasing blocks instead of closely guarding his big-man opponents. Furthermore, his slow-footedness made him vulnerable in transition or when switching defensively. Russell aimed to tackle these issues.
The Impact of Russell’s Advice
He told me to keep an inventory on what people liked to do and prevent them from being where they wanted to be; block out that sweet spot. That helped me tremendously,
shared the former 6’10” player.
Ultimately, in the years that followed, Bob never really became an outstanding defender and instead stood out for his stellar offensive skills. However,he certainly made defensive progress.
They had to work harder to score their points against me.
Lanier stated.
I dare to say that if you ask any one of these guys, they’ll tell you they didn’t have any cakewalks against me, either,
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