In his National Basketball Association (NBA) career, Laimbeer was known for his 11-year tenure with the Detroit Pistons during their "Bad Boys" era.

Although a solid shooter and rebounder, Laimbeer became notorious for his physical play and reputation for delivering hard, often flagrant fouls.

[1][2] Prior to the NBA, he played for the University of Notre Dame and Palos Verdes High School in Southern California.

Laimbeer was born in Boston and raised in the Chicago suburb of Clarendon Hills[4] before moving with his family to Palos Verdes Estates, California.

"[6] Laimbeer played a Sleestak on the children's TV series Land of the Lost before attending Notre Dame.

[7] He was a Palos Verdes High School student, and the Land of the Lost show solicited their basketball team for tall people to play Sleestaks.

As a senior in high school in 1975, Laimbeer led Palos Verdes to a CIF basketball title and a stunning [1] upset over 6 time defending champion Verbum Dei.

His former teammate Dennis Rodman noted this in his book Bad As I Wanna Be, saying, "He [Laimbeer] was more than a thug, but that's what he'll be remembered for."

When the Pistons would take to the court before a game, Laimbeer made it a point to lead the rest of the team out from the locker room and he always did so with a scowl on his face to show he was not intimidated by anyone.

"[10] Laimbeer was one of the top outside-shooting centers of his era, draining over 200 three-pointers for his career, and excelled at running the pick and pop with guards Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars.

On the offensive end, Daly would often have Laimbeer fade to the perimeter rather than roll to the basket, which had the additional effect of keeping the opposing team's best rebounder far from the backboard.

His streak of 685 consecutive games played (which ended due to suspension in the 1988–89 season) is the fifth longest in league history.

In a cameo in the ninth season of Cheers, Kevin McHale of the rival Celtics remarked, when presented with the X-Ray of an adult male gorilla's ankle, "...could be Laimbeer.

The New York Knicks' former team president, former Piston teammate Isiah Thomas, once considered Laimbeer as a possibility.

[17] In 2012, Laimbeer returned to the WNBA to become the head coach and general manager of the New York Liberty, replacing John Whisenant.

[21] On October 17, 2017, the then-unnamed Las Vegas Aces announced Laimbeer as head coach and President of Basketball Operations.

[24] The song "Tough Guy" off the 1994 Beastie Boys album Ill Communication deals with Laimbeer and criticizes his physically aggressive style of playing basketball.