Honoring the memory of Bob Lanier, as the Pistons did for Monday's game with Milwaukee, is on an intimate level the chance to let his children and other family members there for the occasion know the place he still holds in franchise history. On a broader level, its purpose is to etch Lanier's name a little more permanently in the ongoing story of the NBA and basketball at large.

And Bob Lanier very much deserves to have his name indelibly a part of that story. Almost surely, less than half of the audience at Little Caesars Arena on Monday was alive when Lanier last played for the Pistons 44 years ago and most of them were too young to have any true appreciation for Lanier's greatness.

But it would have been impossible to listen to the tributes from Dave Bing, Isiah Thomas, Rick Mahorn and George Blaha and not have been struck by their wonderment over Lanier's ability. History is more than the things historians write in thick academic tomes that gather dust. Its essence is the lore passed down from one generation to the next. The Pistons did basketball history a service in honoring Lanier's legacy, ensuring it will remain robust for future generations to absorb.

It was fitting, and hardly coincidental, that Milwaukee was Monday's opponent. Lanier is one of the few handfuls of players in NBA history with his jersey retired by two franchises, the Pistons and Bucks. He spent more than two-thirds of his career in Detroit, but became a beloved figure in Milwaukee in the less than five full seasons spent wearing a Bucks uniform, too.

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