Norman Allen Van Lier III (April 1, 1947 – February 26, 2009) was an American professional basketball player and television broadcaster who spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Bulls.

Norman Van Lier was born on April 1, 1947, in East Liverpool, Ohio[1] to Helen and Norm Sr.

Van Lier would look back fondly to his childhood playing tackle football with a taped coffee can for a ball due to their circumstances.

[2][3][4] Van Lier was a member of the 1965 Midland High School Leopards, considered by many to be one of the greatest high school basketball teams in Pennsylvania history,[5] and of all time,[citation needed] finishing 28–0 and easily winning the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) title.

[8][10] During weekends, Van Lier would hitchhike to the playgrounds in Harlem, once even playing with future NBA hall of famer Billy Cunningham.

[4] Van Lier's modest 6 ft 1 in stature and his emphasis on defense kept him under the radar of stardom, and he was not recruited by major basketball powers.

At St. Francis, Van Lier was a standout defensive guard who also scored 1,410 points during his collegiate career.

[9] The Chicago Bulls selected Van Lier in the third round of the 1969 NBA draft, but after training camp traded him to the Cincinnati Royals for backup center Walt Wesley.

[7] On January 5 of that year, Van Lier became the first player in NBA history to have a scoreless double-double with zero points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in a victory against the Los Angeles Lakers.

[2][16] Nicknamed "Stormin' Norman" for his tenacity and aggression,[17] Van Lier was one of the most popular Bulls players of the 1970s, being "worshipped all over Chicago".

[2] Van Lier was the head basketball coach for the Worcester Vocational Technical High School team during part of the 1989–90 season.

[2] Van Lier also served as a special disc jockey on the Chicago rock music station 97.9 WLUP.

[25] Van Lier was a member of Project Teamwork, a group formed by the Reebok Foundation working to improve racial and human rights sensitivity in school-age children.

"[23] On February 25, 2009, Van Lier was unexpectedly absent from his scheduled television appearance on Comcast SportsNet following a Bulls game.