Bill Laimbeer
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William Laimbeer, Jr. (born May 19, 1957 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a former basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the head coach of the Detroit Shock in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Initially raised in the Chicago suburb of Clarendon Hills, Illinois, Laimbeer attended Palos Verdes High School in Southern California and then the University of Notre Dame; in 1974 he played one of the Sleestak during the first season of the TV series Land of the Lost.
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[edit] Playing career
Laimbeer was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1979. He played professionally in Italy for a year before returning to play for the Cavaliers in 1980. On February 16, 1982, he was traded to the Detroit Pistons, where he would remain for the rest of his career. During his playing career, Laimbeer was one of the most notorious players in the NBA. While highly popular among Piston fans, Laimbeer was despised by opposing players and fans for committing hard fouls himself, while seeming to bait officials into calling fouls on opponents by flopping to the ground after slight contact. In the public eye, Laimbeer's reputation for physical play tended to overshadow his skills. Laimbeer was one of the top outside-shooting centers of his era, draining nearly 200 three pointers for his career, and excelled at running the pick and roll with guards Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. Then-head coach Chuck Daly utilized Laimbeer's skills by having him fade to the perimeter rather than roll to the basket. Laimbeer was selected to the NBA All-Star Game on four occasions (1983, 1984, 1985 and 1987) and finished among the league leaders in rebounding and free throw percentage several times, winning the rebound title in the 1985-86 season. Laimbeer started on the Pistons' 1989 and 1990 NBA championship teams.
Altogether, Laimbeer spent 14 seasons in the NBA, 12 of them with Detroit. Laimbeer became the 19th player in league history to amass more than 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds, and his streak of 685 consecutive games played (which ended due to suspension) is the fourth longest in league history. Laimbeer retired early in the 1993-94 season at age 36, and his jersey number (40) was eventually retired by the Pistons. He remains the franchise's all-time leader in career rebounds.
Despite his statistics, his central role in the rise of the Pistons and their two world championships, and his legacy as one of the top centers of his era, Laimbeer would seem to be a longshot for the NBA Hall of Fame. Although his notoriety among non-Pistons fans made him one of the most recognizable players in the league and a favorite target in opposing arenas -- something exploited to great effect by both Laimbeer and the NBA -- his reputation, deserved or not, will likely preclude him from being voted in by basketball writers.
Laimbeer's reputation as one of the Pistons' "Bad Boys" was such that in 1991 he even came to endorse a video game for the SNES called Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball, a futuristic basketball game in which physical play is encouraged.
[edit] Post-NBA life
In 1994, Laimbeer and his father William Sr. co-founded Laimbeer Packaging Corp., a company located in Melvindale, Michigan, a Detroit suburb, producing corrugated cardboard boxes. The company struggled through the late 1990s and closed in early 2002.
His father was a ranking executive with the Owens-Illinois corporation, and it was said (only partly tongue-in-cheek) during his career that Laimbeer was the only NBA player who earned less money than his father.
After retiring from the game, Laimbeer maintained his ties to the Pistons as a broadcast commentator.
In the middle of the 2002 WNBA season, Laimbeer took over the head coaching position for the Detroit Shock. A year later, he led the franchise to its first WNBA championship and was named Coach of the Year that year. It marked the first time in WNBA history that a team other than Los Angeles or Houston won the title. On September 9, 2006 Laimbeer led the Shock to their second WNBA championship against the Sacramento Monarchs in 5 games. This is the second championship in 4 years.
Laimbeer has talked about the possibility of one day coaching in the NBA. The New York Knicks, whose current team president is former Piston teammate Isiah Thomas, had considered Laimbeer as a possibility. On the other hand, the Pistons, presided by former teammate Joe Dumars, had considered the possibility of Laimbeer replacing departing coach Larry Brown, before ultimately hiring former Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders. Laimbeer is currently the color commentator during televised Pistons games, joined by play-by-play announcer George Blaha.
[edit] Notable on-court incidents
- Fought with Larry Bird during Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons held at the Silverdome. Both Laimbeer and Bird were ejected and in the end the Pistons won 145-119.
- Was hit by Robert Parish during Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals at the Boston Garden. Though Laimbeer wanted a two game suspension, the NBA suspended Parish by only one game.
- Had fought and wrestled with Charles Barkley during a regular season game in 1990. Laimbeer and Barkley agreed to spoof themselves in a special cameo appearance in the 1991 comedy film Hot Shots!.
- Was often blamed by Laker fans as being the player responsible for James Worthy's painful fall during Game 1 of the 1988 NBA Finals. The incident happened early in the game wherein Worthy landed on his hip during a rebound play that involved Laimbeer.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: Greg Williams |
Detroit Shock Head Coach 2002– |
Succeeded by: N/A |
