Mystery Player #51
Tuesday, August 25, 2026 · already played
The answer
Spoiler for the puzzle of Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Today's puzzle is not revealed anywhere on this page.
Bob Lanier
C · 1970–1984
Bob Lanier's career
Bob Lanier played 14 seasons between 1970 and 1984, across 2 franchises — Pistons and Bucks. Over 959 regular-season games he averaged 20.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists, finishing with 19,248 career points. He was 8× All-Star.
He entered the league in the 1970 draft, taken first overall, with everything that expectation carries. That makes him a product of the 1970s, and his career totals should be read against the pace and rules of that period.
Across a long career of 14 seasons he was a primary scoring option at 20.1 points per game. On the glass he was among the players a team could build a defence around.
- Games
- 959
- PPG
- 20.1
- RPG
- 10.1
- APG
- 3.1
- Points
- 19,248
- Rebounds
- 9,698
- Assists
- 3,007
- 3PM
- 2
Teams
- Pistons · 1971–1980
- Bucks · 1980–1984
Honours
8× All-Star
How the clues read
Every guess that day was scored against Bob Lanier across nine categories. These were the values behind the grid.
- Position:
- C
- Debut season:
- 1970
- Status:
- Retired
- Nationality:
- USA
- Teams:
- Pistons, Bucks
- Points per game:
- 20.1
- Championships:
- 0
- All-Star selections:
- 8
Why this was a fair answer
Answers are never obscure by design: the pool is every NBA All-Star who debuted in the 1969-70 season or later, plus current players carrying a real scoring role. Bob Lanier qualifies on the first route, with 8 All-Star selections — a perennial selection rather than a one-off.
With 2 franchises on his record, the shared-team clue was a genuine filter rather than a giveaway. The debut arrow was the fastest way in: anyone opening with a modern player would have been sent back decades immediately. He never won a title, which quietly rules out a large share of the most-guessed names.
Play it yourself
This puzzle is still replayable — open Mystery Player #51 in the archive to play the round exactly as it was, or start today's puzzle. Archive rounds never affect your daily streak.