INDIANAPOLIS – Bobby “Slick” Leonard has been named the ABA’s greatest coach. Hall of Fame player George McGinnis considered him a genius.
The Indiana Pacers announced Tuesday that the man who led them to three ABA championships during a Hall of Fame coaching career and was selected as an NBA All-Star in 1963 has passed away. No details about the 88-year-old Leonard have been provided, but he has suffered badly over the past few years.
“He was the greatest,” McGinnis said in March. “He loved all his guys and, yes, he had his days. If you got on the wrong side of him, that would not be a good thing for you.”
But, McGinnis added, there was a big difference between Leonard and Bob Knight, the coach of Indiana Hoosiers: after Leonard tore into you and ‘exhausted you, he would take you out for a beer and say,’ I know , I love you, I’m doing this for your own good. ”
Leonard became one of the crown princes of Indiana basketball.
Yes, he is 573-534 as a coach in 14 seasons and wins 529 in 12 seasons with the Pacers.
But the legacy went much deeper.
The star tennis player at Terre Haute Gerstmeyer High School chose to play basketball at nearby Indiana University. He led the Hoosiers to two Big Ten titles, was a two-time All-American and made the winning throw to give Indiana the 1953 National Championship.
Decades later, he was selected as one of the 50 greatest players in school history and was part of the Hoosiers’ team for the entire century.
“He meant just as much as anyone in the state of Indiana when it comes to basketball,” new Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. “He played the game with great flair. He coached with undeniable passion.
“His smile put everyone at ease. The man was a champion through whether it was at the Pacers organization or at Indiana University. Without a doubt, he was a Hall of Fame man. ‘
After serving in the U.S. Army in the mid-1950s, Leonard played professionally with the Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers for seven years and was named an NBA All-Star in 1963.
But his greatest moments as a professional came with the burgeoning franchise that hired him in 1968-69 and with which he worked for more than half a century.
“Pacers fans will remember Bobby ‘Slick’ Leonard as the spirit of our franchise,” team owner Herb Simon said in a statement. “With a charisma, intensity and wit to match his nickname, Slick made us champions.
“He was our biggest fan and our most loving critic, and he personalized Pacers’ basketball for generations of Hoosier families. the hearts of all who belong to this organization. “
Leonard took the Pacers to the ABA Finals in his first season – and four more times over the next six years, and he won titles in 1969-70, 1971-72 and 1972-73.
“He was the best coach I ever played for in the last shot, in pressure situations,” McGinnis said. “In the seventh game, he would change the whole offense. It was brilliant. I think that’s why, if you look at the Pacers, he won all three championships, I believe, in the seventh game on the road.”
Leonard also won more than just.
In 1977, the clergyman Leonard and his wife helped organize a teleton that rescued a franchise facing financial ruin after moving from the ABA to the NBA.
He was let go after the 1979-80 season, and he did not win the Pacers’ first four NBA seasons.
But he reappeared as a color commentator on Pacers television broadcasts in 1985. He later moved to the radio box where the simple, narrative narrative Leonard used his trademark “Boom, Baby!” each time Pacers players scored three points.
Its impact extends beyond Indiana’s borders. Paul George and the LA Clippers were in Indianapolis Tuesday night to play the Pacers.
“I had a relationship with Slick,” George said. “Slick was always generous. He was always genuine … He was super witty. Lots of charisma. Just a loving guy. He always treated me with love. It was always easy to talk to him. He was just a wonderful, fun person to be with. ‘
Leonard was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. He is also a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and the Indiana Sports Writers and Broadcasters Hall of Fame and was the first person to be inducted into the Indiana University Sports Hall of Fame. .
His winning total with the Pacers, 529, hangs on a banner in the beams of the Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Government Eric Holcomb calls him the ‘personification of basketball’ and an ‘Indiana icon’.
“His presence in the arena and in our state will be greatly missed,” he said in a statement. “You can not find anyone who does not like Slick.”
Leonard is survived by his wife, their five children, 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
The Associated Press and ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.