Bobby Leonard
![]() Leonard, circa 1962 | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Terre Haute, Indiana,U.S. | July 17, 1932
Died | April 13, 2021 Indianapolis, Indiana,U.S. | (aged 88)
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Gerstmeyer (Terre Haute, Indiana) |
College | Indiana(1951–1954) |
NBA draft | 1954:2nd round, 10th overall pick |
Selected by theBaltimore Bullets | |
Playing career | 1956–1963 |
Position | Point guard |
Number | 21 |
Coaching career | 1962–1964, 1968–1980 |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1956–1961 | Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers |
1961–1963 | Chicago Packers / Zephyrs |
As coach: | |
1962–1964 | Chicago Zephyrs / Baltimore Bullets |
1968–1980 | Indiana Pacers |
Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As coach: | |
Career playing statistics | |
Points | 4,204 (9.9 ppg) |
Rebounds | 1,217 (2.9 rpg) |
Assists | 1,427 (3.3 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Career coaching record | |
NBA & ABA | 573–534 (.518) |
Basketball Hall of Fame as coach |
William Robert "Slick" Leonard[1](July 17, 1932 – April 13, 2021) was an American professionalbasketballplayer, coach andcolor commentator.He playedcollege basketballfor theIndiana Hoosiers,where he was a two-timeAll-Americanand a member of theirnational championshipsquad in 1953. After playing professionally in theNational Basketball Association(NBA), Leonard coached theIndiana Pacersto threeAmerican Basketball Association(ABA) championships. He was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fameas a coach in 2014.
Early life
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Bob_Leonard_IU.jpg/170px-Bob_Leonard_IU.jpg)
Leonard was born inTerre Haute, Indiana,on July 17, 1932. He attendedGerstmeyer High School.[2]There, he played high school basketball as a 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), 185 lb (84 kg) guard, and also excelled as atennisplayer. He went on to play collegiate basketball atIndiana University Bloomington,where he hit the game winningfree throwto give theHoosiersthe1953 NCAA championship.While at Indiana, he became a member ofDelta Tau DeltaInternationalFraternity.[3]He was named a third-teamAll-Americanin 1953 and selected to the second team the following season.[2]
Professional career
[edit]Playing career
[edit]Leonard was selected by theBaltimore Bulletswith the first pick of the second round (tenth overall) of the1954 NBA draft.[2]He spent most of his seven-year professional playing career with theLakers(four years inMinneapolis,and one year following the team's move to Los Angeles), followed by two years with theChicago Packers/Zephyrs). He led the NBA in games played (72) in1956–57.His best season came in1961–62,in which he finished sixth in the NBA inassists per game(5.4) and eighth in assists (378).[2]In his final season as a player, he alsocoachedthe Zephyrs. The team moved toBaltimorethe following year; Leonard coached them for one more year.[2][4]
Coaching career with the Pacers
[edit]Five years after coaching the Bullets, Leonard became the coach of theABA'sIndiana Pacers,a position he held for nearly 12 years – the last four after the franchise moved to the NBA. For a time, he also served as general manager. Leonard led the Pacers to threeABA championshipsbefore theABA–NBA mergerin June 1976. However, the Pacers were nearly gutted in order to meet the financial burdens imposed by the merger, and he was never able to put together a winning team during the Pacers' first four years as an NBA team.[1][4]
Color commentary
[edit]Leonard returned to the Pacers in 1985 as acolor commentator,first for television with Jerry Baker, then on radio with Mark Boyle onWFNI1070 AM. His trademark phrase is "Boom, baby!" for a successfulthree-point field goalby a Pacers player.[1][5]According to an interview Leonard gave to Carmel Monthly magazine, “BOOM BABY” was hatched when Leonard was coaching the Pacers in the seventh game of the semi-finals of the 1975 American Basketball Association (ABA) playoffs. Denver held a 2-point lead with seconds left, and the Pacers got the ball to George McGinnis in the low post for a potential tying basket. But McGinnis kicked the ball out to a wide-open Billy Keller in the far corner. Game, set, Boom Baby. “Billy drilled it, and I shouted “BOOM BABY,” Leonard recalled.[citation needed]
Later life
[edit]Leonard suffered aheart attackon March 13, 2011, shortly after a Pacers' road victory over theNew York Knicks.[6]He was later said to be in good condition, but was given an indefinite time to recover, and was filled in for by Pacers TV analyst and former playerAustin Croshere.[7]
Leonard was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fameas a coach in 2014.[8]He became the first individual to be inducted into the Indiana University Sports Hall of Fame. He was also a member of theIndiana Basketball Hall of Fameand Indiana Sports Writers and Broadcasters Hall of Fame.[5]
Leonard sustained three falls in 2018. The first in January shattered his left hip, while the second in June resulted in a broken left wrist. After his third fall in late December, he took a hiatus from calling games, before coming back on February 28, 2019.[1]He died on April 13, 2021, at the age of 88.[1][5]
Career playing statistics
[edit]GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goalpercentage | 3P% | 3-point field goalpercentage | FT% | Free throwpercentage |
RPG | Reboundsper game | APG | Assistsper game | SPG | Stealsper game |
BPG | Blocksper game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
* | Led the league |
NBA
[edit]Source[2]
Regular season
[edit]Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1956–57 | Minneapolis | 72* | 27.0 | .349 | .772 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 11.0 |
1957–58 | Minneapolis | 66 | 31.4 | .335 | .765 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 11.2 |
1958–59 | Minneapolis | 58 | 27.6 | .373 | .750 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 9.2 |
1959–60 | Minneapolis | 73 | 28.4 | .322 | .705 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 8.2 |
1960–61 | L.A. Lakers | 55 | 10.9 | .295 | .710 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 3.5 |
1961–62 | Chicago | 70 | 35.2 | .375 | .752 | 2.8 | 5.4 | 16.1 |
1962–63 | Chicago | 32 | 27.5 | .343 | .694 | 2.1 | 4.5 | 7.1 |
Career | 426 | 27.3 | .349 | .745 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 9.9 |
Playoffs
[edit]Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1957 | Minneapolis | 5 | 40.8 | .420 | .885 | 6.0 | 7.6 | 21.4 |
1959 | Minneapolis | 13* | 35.9 | .364 | .800 | 3.4 | 5.4 | 12.2 |
1960 | Minneapolis | 9 | 23.0 | .299 | .643 | 1.1 | 5.0 | 6.4 |
1961 | L.A. Lakers | 7 | 6.6 | .208 | .250 | .9 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
Career | 34 | 27.2 | .357 | .755 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 9.8 |
Head coaching record
[edit]Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicago | 1962–63 | 42 | 13 | 29 | .310 | 5th inWestern | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
Baltimore | 1963–64 | 80 | 31 | 49 | .388 | 4th in Western | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
Indiana | 1968–69 | 69 | 42 | 27 | .609 | 1st in Eastern | 17 | 9 | 8 | .529 | Lost inABA Finals |
Indiana | 1969–70 | 84 | 59 | 25 | .702 | 1st in Eastern | 15 | 12 | 3 | .800 | WonABA Championship |
Indiana | 1970–71 | 84 | 58 | 26 | .690 | 1st in Western | 11 | 7 | 4 | .636 | Lost inDivision finals |
Indiana | 1971–72 | 84 | 47 | 37 | .560 | 2nd in Western | 20 | 12 | 8 | .600 | WonABA Championship |
Indiana | 1972–73 | 84 | 51 | 33 | .607 | 2nd in Western | 11 | 12 | 6 | .667 | WonABA Championship |
Indiana | 1973–74 | 84 | 46 | 38 | .548 | 2nd in Western | 14 | 7 | 7 | .500 | Lost inDivision finals |
Indiana | 1974–75 | 84 | 45 | 39 | .536 | 3rd in Western | 16 | 9 | 9 | .500 | Lost inABA Finals |
Indiana | 1975–76 | 84 | 39 | 45 | .464 | 5th in ABA | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost infirst round |
Indiana | 1976–77 | 82 | 36 | 46 | .439 | 5th inMidwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
Indiana | 1977–78 | 82 | 31 | 51 | .378 | 5th in Midwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
Indiana | 1978–79 | 82 | 38 | 44 | .463 | 3rd in Midwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
Indiana | 1979–80 | 82 | 37 | 45 | .451 | 4th inCentral | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
Career | 1,107 | 573 | 534 | .518 | 116 | 69 | 47 | .595 |
Source:[4]
References
[edit]- ^abcdeKeefer, Zak; Michael, J. (April 13, 1986)."Bobby 'Slick' Leonard, Hoosiers and Pacers icon, dies at 88".The Indianapolis Star.RetrievedApril 13,2021.
- ^abcdef"Slick Leonard Stats".Basketball Reference.Sports Reference LLC.RetrievedNovember 15,2023.
- ^The Rainbow, vol. 132, no. 2, p. 14,
- ^abc"Slick Leonard".Basketball-Reference.com.Sports Reference LLC.RetrievedApril 13,2021.
- ^abcMarot, Michael (April 13, 2020)."Bobby 'Slick' Leonard, 88, Pacers Hall of Fame coach, dies".Associated Press.RetrievedApril 13,2021.
- ^Bob Leonard has heart attackwthr.com[dead link]
- ^Leonard recovering from heart attackindystar.com March 14, 2011[dead link]
- ^"Five Direct-Elect Members Announced for the Class of 2014 by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame"(Press release). Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. February 14, 2014.RetrievedApril 13,2021.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information fromNBA.comandBasketball-Reference.com
- Basketball-Reference.com: Slick Leonard (as coach)
- Indiana Pacers bio
- 1932 births
- 2021 deaths
- All-American college men's basketball players
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) draft picks
- Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) head coaches
- Basketball coaches from Indiana
- Basketball players from Indiana
- Chicago Packers expansion draft picks
- Chicago Packers players
- Chicago Zephyrs head coaches
- Chicago Zephyrs players
- Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players
- Indiana Pacers announcers
- Indiana Pacers head coaches
- Los Angeles Lakers players
- Minneapolis Lakers players
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- Basketball player-coaches
- Point guards
- Sportspeople from Terre Haute, Indiana