[While working on the book Shake and Bake, I happened upon a couple of good stories about Larry Steele, the hard-nosed Portland Trail Blazer guard who helped start the franchise. Of course, I can’t find them now. But I did find this brief article from the December 1975 issue of Hoop Magazine. Cranking out the words is Bob Robinson, who covered the Blazers for the newspaper Oregonian. Robinson wrote two versions of this story, which ran on January 18, 1974 and October 10, 1975 in the Oregonian. In both Robinson hails Steele as the NBA’s first champion in the new statistical category of steals. Yes, he was Portland’s man of steal and king of the intangibles.]
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Two years ago, the National Basketball Association took one of the game’s intangibles and put it into a statistical category. Portland Trail Blazer Larry Steele will be forever grateful.
“All through my college career at Kentucky and in the pro game, too, people have constantly said that I was good at the intangibles,” the soft-spoken Steele says. “It’s been nice to have one of them down in black-and-white.”
The new statistical category was steals, and Larry immediately went to the head of the NBA class. He led the league in 1973-74, averaging 2.68 thefts per game. In 1974-75, he ranked third behind Rick Barry of the Golden State Warriors and Walt Frazier of the New York Knicks with a 2.41 average.
“The new statistic has meant a lot to me,” says the 6-foot-5 guard. “Suddenly, I became better known everywhere we went. In several cities, I was interviewed for special features.” He laughs as he adds, “My last name didn’t hurt, either.”
Still, Steele didn’t need the additional statistical category to become popular among Trail Blazer fans. Now in his fifth season, he always has been one of the best-liked Blazers.
“I think steals simply are a matter of hustle on the court,” Larry says. “Playing the running game and hustling on defense always have been natural for me. My coaches demanded it in high school [Bainbridge, Ind.] and at college [Kentucky under Adolph Rupp]. So when I came to the NBA, the fast-breaking style was no big change for me.”
It may blow the minds of NBA followers to know it, but Steele says that having steals tabulated has not changed his style of play at all. “I know that some people think that I’m out there looking for steals all the time,” he smiles. “But, actually, I’m playing defense the same way I’ve always played it, going right back to college. Hustling and going after the ball are just things that I’ve always done.”
But, Larry admits, there are a few habits which he has on the on the court that helped him earn his nickname of “The Bandit.” “For one thing, I try to catch the player I’m guarding from his blind side,” he says. “I try to go for the ball at the instant he is looking the other way.“
Of course, discretion is important, too. “I sort of have gotten a feel for that,” Steele points out. “There are times when you just know that an aggressive move for the ball will draw a foul. So, there are times when I don’t go for the ball, even though I see an opportunity.”
Larry remembers a tight game between the Blazers and Pistons at Detroit two seasons ago. The teams were tied with only a couple of minutes to go and Bob Lanier of the Pistons had the ball. “He had his head turned, and he was holding the ball so it would have been like picking an apple off the tree,” Steele recalls. “But I had a feeling that no matter how I went after the ball, it wouldn’t have worked out. So I didn’t go after it.” Portland eventually won that game, 111-108, and Larry was content that he had made the correct decision.
Interestingly, he thinks the NBA should make some changes in the way it keeps track of steals. “I think that the statistic should be expanded to include more than just actual steals of the ball,” Steele says. “Anytime you draw a charging foul, that should count as a steal. When you tie a player up for a jump ball and then get the tip, that should count as a steal, too. What I mean is that anytime you do something which retains possession of the ball for your team, you should get credit for a steal.”
If there are two teams which find Steele a bigger headache than other teams, Phoenix and Atlanta would have to be the ones. Larry racked up 26 thefts against the Suns last season in six games. He pilfered the Hawks 18 times in four games.
The only problem with Steele gaining a reputation for ball thievery is that some of his other attributes are overlooked. For instance, he is one of the best in the NBA in the matter of shot selection, another intangible. Consequently, his field-goal percentage is superb.
Last season, Don Nelson of Boston was the league’s official leader in field-goal percentage at .539. Larry shot .548, but unfortunately for him, he only made 265 baskets for the season, and one had to have 300 to qualify for the accuracy title.
Steele shot better than .500 against 14 of the 17 Blazer opponents, and he shot .600 or better against Boston, Cleveland, Houston, and Atlanta. In addition, while averaging 8.6 points per game in 1974-75, he shot a career-high .836 from the free throw line, sinking 122 of 146 opportunities.
“The Bandit” obviously is good at several things besides the intangibles
From Way Downtown 