Bobby Leonard

For the Canadian pro wrestling promoter, see Bob Leonard (wrestling). For other people with similar names, see Robert Leonard (disambiguation).

Bobby Leonard

Leonard, circa 1962
Personal information
Born	(1932-07-17)July 17, 1932 Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S.
Died	April 13, 2021(2021-04-13) (aged 88) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
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 the Baltimore 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: NCAA champion (1953) Consensus second-team All-American (1954) Third-team All-American – AP (1953) As coach: 3× ABA champion (1970, 1972, 1973) No. 529 honored by Indiana Pacers ABA All-time Best Head 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
Career coaching record
NBA & ABA	573–534 (.518)
Record at Basketball Reference
Basketball Hall of Fame

William Robert "Slick" Leonard (July 17, 1932 – April 13, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach and color commentator. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where he was a two-time All-American and a member of their national championship squad in 1953. After playing professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Leonard coached the Indiana Pacers to three American Basketball Association (ABA) championships. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2014.

Early life

Leonard as a senior at IU

Leonard was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, on July 17, 1932. He attended Gerstmeyer High School. There, he played high school basketball as a 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), 185 lb (84 kg) guard, and also excelled as a tennis player. He went on to play collegiate basketball at Indiana University Bloomington, where he hit the game winning free throw to give the Hoosiers the 1953 NCAA championship. While at Indiana, he became a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity. He was named a third-team All-American in 1953 and selected to the second team the following season.

Professional career

Playing career

Leonard was selected by the Baltimore Bullets with the first pick of the second round (tenth overall) 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). He led the NBA in games played (72) in 1956–57. His best season came in 1961–62, in which he finished sixth in the NBA in assists per game (5.4) and eighth in assists (378). In his final season as a player, he also coached the Zephyrs. The team moved to Baltimore the following year; Leonard coached them for one more year.

Coaching career with the Pacers

Five years after coaching the Bullets, Leonard became the coach of the ABA'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.

Color commentary

"Boom baby" redirects here. Not to be confused with Baby boom (disambiguation).

Leonard returned to the Pacers in 1985 as a color commentator, first for television with Jerry Baker, then on radio with Mark Boyle on WIBC 1070 AM. His trademark phrase is "Boom, baby!" for a successful three-point field goal by a Pacers player. 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.

Later life

Leonard suffered a heart attack on March 13, 2011, shortly after a Pacers' road victory over the New York Knicks. 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.

Leonard was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2014. He became the first individual to be inducted into the Indiana University Sports Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and Indiana Sports Writers and Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

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. He died on April 13, 2021, at the age of 88.

Career playing statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
*	Led the league

NBA

Source

Regular season

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

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

Legend

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 in Western	—	—	—	—	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 in ABA Finals
Indiana	1969–70	84	59	25	.702	1st in Eastern	15	12	3	.800	Won ABA Championship
Indiana	1970–71	84	58	26	.690	1st in Western	11	7	4	.636	Lost in Division finals
Indiana	1971–72	84	47	37	.560	2nd in Western	20	12	8	.600	Won ABA Championship
Indiana	1972–73	84	51	33	.607	2nd in Western	11	12	6	.667	Won ABA Championship
Indiana	1973–74	84	46	38	.548	2nd in Western	14	7	7	.500	Lost in Division finals
Indiana	1974–75	84	45	39	.536	3rd in Western	16	9	9	.500	Lost in ABA Finals
Indiana	1975–76	84	39	45	.464	5th in ABA	3	1	2	.333	Lost in first round
Indiana	1976–77	82	36	46	.439	5th in Midwest	—	—	—	—	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 in Central	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Career		1,107	573	534	.518		116	69	47	.595

Source:

External links

• Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
• Basketball-Reference.com: Slick Leonard (as coach)
• Indiana Pacers bio