One of the most controversial and polarizing players of the NBA in the 1980s, and also considered one of the dirtiest. Bill Laimbeer did however anchor a Pistons defense which became the epitome of what a defense is supposed to be.

Laimbeer attended Norte Dame University where he was hardly impressive,. He never managed to crack 10 points or 10 rebounds per game in any of his four seasons with the fighting Irish. He was considered a long shot to be drafted by an NBA team but was selected by the Cavaliers in the 3rd round of the 1979 NBA draft.

The Cavs didn’t have a spot for Laimbeer in 1979 so he played a season in Italy before returning to the Cavs for his rookie season a year later. He had a sold rookie season which was better than any college season he had averaging just under 10 points and 9 rebounds a game.

He played only a season and a half with the Cavs before being traded to the Detroit Pistons where he would play for most of his career. The Cavs owner at the time was notoriously cheap and often sold off young talent to save money and that was the case with Laimbeer.

With the Pistons Laimbeer flourished. He would average a double-double in 9 consecutive seasons for the Pistons and would average double figure scoring in all but one. He also earned a reputation for hard defense at this time.

He made his first all-star team in 82-83, his first full season with the Pistons, and would make the mid-season classic 3 other times in his career. In 84-85 Laimbeer had arguably his greatest season as a pro averaging 17.5 points per game and 12.4 rebounds a game. The following season his career high of 13 rebounds a game would lead the NBA.

The Pistons paired Laimbeer with talent such as Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman, Mark Aguirre, and Adrian Dantley so his scoring was not needed as much as it could have been. The grouping made the Pistons one of the best teams in the NBA in the late 1980s and in 1988 they finally made the NBA finals. They would lose that year to the Lakers but make it again in 1989 to face the Lakers this time they would win the Pistons first ever NBA title. The following year they repeated as NBA champions.

Like all his Piston’s teammates Laimbeer began to decline after the 1990 NBA title and his scoring and rebounds both hovered around single digits. Laimbeer played only 11 games in the 1993-94 NBA season before retiring from the NBA.

In 14 seasons in the NBA and 1068 total games Laimbeer averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds, was a 4 time all-star, had a streak of 685 consecutive games, the 5th longest in NBA history, and is one of the only players, along with his teammates, to have a winning record in the playoffs vs. Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.

Laimbeer also coached the WNBA’s Detroit Shock to a WNBA title and is currently an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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