He played center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

When he tried out to play for his grammar school team, Lanier was told by a coach that his feet (size 11 at age 11) were too large for him to become a successful athlete.

Although he was 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall by age 16, Lanier did not make the varsity basketball squad in his sophomore year at Bennett High School because he was deemed to be too clumsy.

[3] During his junior year, he was encouraged to try out again by new coach Fred Schwepker, who taught Lanier as a student in his biology class.

"[6] In 2009 as The Buffalo News celebrated 50 years of All-Western New York (WNY) basketball selections, Lanier, who was a 1965–66 All-WNY first team selection was named to the All-time All-WNY team along with Laettner, Curtis Aiken, Paul Harris and Mel Montgomery.

Near the end of the regional championship game, he injured his knee in a collision with Villanova's Chris Ford and did not play in St. Bonaventure's national semifinal loss to Jacksonville University.

[3] In the 23-team 1968 NCAA tournament, Lanier led St. Bonaventure to a 102–93 victory over Boston College and coach Bob Cousy.

The Bonnies were then defeated 91–72 by North Carolina and coach Dean Smith in the East Regional semifinal, ending their undefeated season.

Lanier then fouled out, scoring 18 points with 13 rebounds in the third-place East Region game; St. Bonaventure lost, 92–75, to Columbia.

[13] During his junior year, Lanier was approached by representatives of the American Basketball Association's New York Nets, who reportedly offered him $1.2 million to leave school early and join the ABA.

[citation needed] Lanier averaged 29.2 points and 16.0 rebounds as St. Bonaventure finished the 1969–70 regular season 25–1 (with the only loss at Villanova 64–62) and a number three national ranking.

[15][16] However, Lanier injured his knee near the end of the regional championship game in a collision with Villanova's Chris Ford.

[6][17] In the Final Four, the Bonnies lost to Jacksonville University, whose center was future Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore.

[24] He was named to the 1971 NBA All-Rookie Team,[18] averaging 15.6 points and 8.1 rebounds for the 45–37 Pistons in 24 minutes per game under Coach Butch van Breda Kolff.

[citation needed] Lanier became a star for Detroit, playing alongside teammate Dave Bing.

Lanier played under eight coaches in ten seasons: Butch van Breda Kolff (1970–1971), Terry Dischinger (1971), Earl Lloyd (1971–1972), Ray Scott (1972–1975), Herb Brown (1975–1977), Bob Kauffman (1977–1978), Dick Vitale (1978–1979), and Richie Adubato (1979–1980).

We had Dave [Bing], Stu Lantz, John Mengelt, Chris Ford, Don Adams, Curtis Rowe, George Trapp.

In his ten seasons with the Detroit Pistons, Lanier averaged a double-double 22.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.2 steals in 681 games.

[32] In Lanier's five seasons with the Bucks, they won the Midwest Division championship each year under Coach Don Nelson, with Lanier playing alongside teammates Marques Johnson, Sidney Moncrief, Quinn Buckner, Junior Bridgeman, and Dave Cowens.

Still highly effective, but with aging knees, Lanier played a key role with the Bucks while averaging nearly 10 minutes less per game in his Milwaukee tenure that he had in Detroit (36.2 to 26.8).

[4][29] "Bob probably wasn't as good a total player as he could have been because of the knee injury," said Hall of Famer Willis Reed.

His intensity sometimes spilled over from playing into fighting, as he knocked out Atlanta's Bob Christian in 1971 and broke the nose of Detroit's Bill Laimbeer in 1983.

[39] Lanier was a spokesperson and chairman of the NBA's "Stay In School" program (later renamed Read to Achieve) from 1989 to 1994.

Lanier routinely worked with youth-serving programs that supported education, youth, and family development, and health-related causes.

[40] Lanier appeared as a member of the Detroit team in the cult classic basketball film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh in 1979 alongside Pistons teammates Chris Ford, Eric Money, John Shumate, Kevin Porter, and Leon Douglas.

[41][42] Lanier was hired as basketball coach for the film White Men Can't Jump.

[43] Lanier was impressed with lead actors Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, suggesting both reached a Division II college basketball skill level.

when an exasperated Kareem Abdul Jabbar admonished Joey, "Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!"

[33] At the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, visitors are able to compare the size of their foot to that of Lanier.

[4] In September 2018, Lanier shared one of his most notable NBA memories: "...when I was still playing in Milwaukee and I was getting gas at a station on, I think it was Center St. A guy came up to me and said, 'My dad is sick.