Bobby Leonard

"Boom baby" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Baby boom.
Bobby Leonard
Personal information
Born (1932-07-17) July 17, 1932
Terre Haute, Indiana
Nationality American
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 / Round: 2 / Pick: 10th overall
Selected by the Baltimore Bullets
Playing career 1956–1963
Position Guard
Number 21
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 statistics
Points 4,204 (9.9 ppg)
Rebounds 1,217 (2.9 rpg)
Assists 1,427 (3.3 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as coach

William Robert "Slick" Leonard (born July 17, 1932) is a former professional basketball player and coach. A 6'3" 185 lb (84 kg) guard, Leonard played high school basketball at Terre Haute Gerstmeyer High School, where he excelled as a tennis player, as well. He played collegiate basketball at Indiana University, where he hit the game winning free throws to give Indiana the 1953 NCAA championship. While at Indiana, he became a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity.[1]

He was selected with the first pick of the second round of the 1954 NBA Draft. He spent most of his seven-year professional playing career with the Lakers (four years in Minneapolis, and one year following the team's move to Los Angeles), followed by two years with the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs). In his final season as a player, he also coached the Zephyrs. The next year, the team moved to Baltimore; Leonard coached them for one more year.

In 1968, Leonard became the coach of the American Basketball Association's Indiana 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 three ABA championships before the ABA-NBA merger in 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.

Leonard returned to the Pacers in 1985 as a color commentator, first for television with Jerry Baker, then on radio, where he remains alongside Mark Boyle on WFNI 1070 AM. His trademark phrase is "Boom, baby!" for a successful three-point shot by a Pacers player.[2]

On March 13, 2011, Leonard suffered a heart attack shortly after a Pacers road victory over the New York Knicks.[3] 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 player Austin Croshere.[4]

On February 14, 2014, Leonard was named as a 2014 inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; he was formally inducted on August 8 of that year.[5]

Head coaching record

ABA and NBA

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win-loss %
Post season 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 421329.3105th in West---– Missed Playoffs
Baltimore 1963–64 803149.3884th in West---– Missed Playoffs
Indiana 1968–69 694227.6091st in West1798.529 Lost in ABA Finals
Indiana 1969–70 845925.7021st in East15123.800 Won ABA Champions
Indiana 1970–71 845826.6901st in West1174.636 Lost in Div. Finals
Indiana 1971–72 844737.5602nd in West20128.600 Won ABA Champions
Indiana 1972–73 845133.6072nd in West11126.667 Won ABA Champions
Indiana 1973–74 844638.5482nd in West1477.500 Lost in Div. Finals
Indiana 1974–75 844539.5362nd in West1699.500 Lost in ABA Finals
Indiana 1975–76 843945.4645st in West312.333 Lost in First Round
Indiana 1976–77 823646.4395st in West---– Missed Playoffs
Indiana 1977–78 823151.3786st in West---– Missed Playoffs
Indiana 1978–79 823844.4634st in West---– Missed Playoffs
Indiana 1979–80 823745.4514st in West---– Missed Playoffs
NBA Career 450186264.413 ---–
ABA Career 336387270.682 1166947.595
Career Total 1,107573534.518 1166947.595

References

  1. ↑ The Rainbow, vol. 132, no. 2, p. 14,
  2. ↑ Video on YouTube
  3. ↑ http://www.wthr.com/story/14246421/pacers-bob-leonard-has-heart-attack
  4. ↑ http://www.indystar.com/proart/20110314/sports04/103140360/pacers-slick-leonard-recovering-from-heart-attack
  5. ↑ "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. Retrieved February 15, 2014.

External links

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