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Norm Vanlier

Birthdate:

4/1/1947

Height / Weight:

6' 1" / 173 lbs.

Position: G

College:

St. Francis (PA)

Basketball Historian Biography

Norm Van Lier was an agreesive player and above all, 'played to win.' Nicknamed 'Stormin Norman' he rattled the rim on offense and ratted opposing players on defense. After a stellar college career with St. Francis College in PA, he joined the National Basketball Association with the Cincinnati Royals in 1969-1970. As a rookie he led the NBA in disqualified personal fouls a whooping 18 times.

In his sophomore season, 1970-71, the 6-ft 1-inch guard was voted to the NBA's Second Team All-Defensive team and led all NBA players with a robust 832 assists, averaging over 10 per game - and that certainly is a lot of assists. That season Van Lier scored a career-high 16.0 ppg and also led all NBA players with a very high .606 points created, PCM.

In the middle of the 1971-72 he was traded to the Chicago Bulls where he paired up with 6-ft 5-inch guard Jerry Sloan and gave Windy City fans a very agressive, fans favorite 1-2 punch. That season Norm Vanlier won his second straight All-Defensive Team Award and helped the Bulls finish the regular season with a very solid 57-25 record.

In all, Stormin Norm Van Lier was chosen a NBA All-Defensive Guard eight consecutive times. He was selected for the First Team three times, 1973-74, 1975-76 and 1976-77, and Second Team five times, 1970-712 thrur 1972-73, 1974-75 and 1977-78.

Norm Van LIer helped the Chicago Bulls reached the NBA postseason playoffs five times. He rang in 530 points and posted 234 assists in 38 playoff games, 13.9 ppg, 6.2 assists pg, and 5.0 rebounds per game.

After retiring from the NBA, Norm Van Lier was a long-time Chicago area TV announcer.

Regular Season Statistics

Year	Team	G	MIN	FG	FG%	3P	3P%	FT	FT%	STL	BLK	TO	Rebs	AST	PTS
69-70	CIN (NBA)	81	35.74	3.7-9.25	.403	0.0-0.0	.000	2.0-2.8	.741	0.0	0.0	0.0	5.0	6.2	9.51
70-71	CIN (NBA)	82	40.54	5.8-13.88	.420	0.0-0.0	.000	4.4-5.4	.816	0.0	0.0	0.0	7.1	10.1	16.04
71-72	CHI (NBA)	69	31.01	4.4-9.73	.456	0.0-0.0	.000	3.2-4.0	.791	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.3	7.1	12.06
71-72	CIN (NBA)	10	27.50	2.8-9.00	.311	0.0-0.0	.000	1.7-2.2	.773	0.0	0.0	0.0	5.8	5.1	7.30
71-72	total (NBA)	79	30.57	4.2-9.63	.439	0.0-0.0	.000	3.0-3.8	.790	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.5	6.9	11.46
72-73	CHI (NBA)	80	36.03	5.9-13.30	.445	0.0-0.0	.000	2.1-2.6	.787	0.0	0.0	0.0	5.5	7.1	13.93
73-74	CHI (NBA)	80	35.79	5.3-13.14	.406	0.0-0.0	.000	3.6-4.6	.778	2.0	0.1	0.0	4.7	6.9	14.28
74-75	CHI (NBA)	70	37.00	5.8-13.86	.420	0.0-0.0	.000	3.4-4.3	.792	2.0	0.2	0.0	4.7	5.8	15.00
75-76	CHI (NBA)	76	39.82	4.8-12.99	.366	0.0-0.0	.000	3.1-4.2	.737	2.0	0.3	0.0	5.4	6.6	12.59
76-77	CHI (NBA)	82	37.77	3.7-8.89	.412	0.0-0.0	.000	2.9-3.7	.778	1.6	0.2	0.0	4.5	7.8	10.22
77-78	CHI (NBA)	78	32.36	2.6-6.12	.419	0.0-0.0	.000	2.2-2.9	.751	1.8	0.1	2.6	3.6	6.8	7.33
78-79	MIL (NBA)	38	14.61	0.8-2.03	.390	0.0-0.0	.000	1.2-1.4	.904	1.1	0.1	1.3	1.1	4.2	2.82
12 years		746	35.08	4.4-10.7	.414	0.0-0.0	.0	2.9-3.7	.780	1.0	0.1	0.3	4.8	7.0	11.76

*note: Many thanks to databasebasketball.com for the original database of player stats. All player information displayed is as accurate as possible, however from time to time there may be omissions or inaccuracies, and we make no guarantees about their accuracy. Use at your own risk. Please contact us if you believe you have found an error.

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