Bill Laimbeer is regarded as one of the toughest players in NBA history. An intrinsic part of the Detroit Pistons Bad Boys, his rough and hard-nosed playstyle catapulted the team to back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990.
But once upon a time, Laimbeer was not known as a threatening basketball presence. He came from a well-off family, as his dad was an Owens-Illinois executive who rose to be as high as company president. No one, especially Pistons legend Isiah Thomas, thought of the big man as a tough son of a gun.
Thomas' first impression of Laimbeer
Bill donned the Pistons jersey in February 1982 after he was traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers. He shook hands with Thomas, the team's star guard. In their first meeting, Zeke felt he was not like most NBA players from the inner cities.
"When I first met him, he acted exactly like a rich kid from the suburbs," Thomas said, per The Los Angeles Times. "He knew how to eat lobster and go to the beach."
But the guard soon found out that while he may not have had a rugged childhood, Laimbeer was built for battle. The center became renowned for its extremely physical play and poor sportsmanship.
Bill wasn't just physical against his foes. In Pistons' practices, the four-time All-Star also exerted an excess force. So much so that he broke one of Thomas' ribs with a hard screen in 1992. This prompted the guard to exact revenge on the big man. As the adage goes, iron sharpens iron. It was one of the incidents that forged an unbreakable bond between the two.
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Blue-collar hustler
Isiah wasn't the only one impressed by the Norte Dame standout's work ethic. Legendary coach Chuck Daly, too, praised the big man's relentlessness and dedication. He may have been from a well-off family, but he played ball as if he had everything to lose.
"He comes to win every game," said Daly. 'Frankly, Bill is a blue-collar worker, and he knows his limitations. It takes an intelligent player to understand that. Bill knows what he can do and does it consistently. That's a sign of a professional. You don't get too many Laimbeers that come to play every night."
Laimbeer had his fair share of haters throughout his career. Some say he resorted to dirty tactics because he lacked fundamental and technical skills. Whatever side you're on, you can't ignore his influence on the Pistons franchise and the NBA.
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