Bob Pettit, an imposing scorer and rebounder for the St Louis Hawks, has died at 93. He won the NBA’s first Most Valuable Player award in 1956.
Pettit’s alma mater, LSU, announced Thursday that he died a day earlier. The university did not give a cause of death.
His NBA career with the Hawks
Pett. t was an All-American at LSU before going to the NBA, where he was an All-Star in each of his 11 seasons, all with the Hawks. He led the team to the 1958 championship over the Boston Celtics, the Hawks’ only title.
He was also the NBA MVP in 1959 and was the MVP of the All-Star game four times, a feat matched only by Lakers great Kobe Bryant.
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Pettit played at a time when the NBA had stars like Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor. But it was also before the NBA was widely shown on TV, and Pettit, playing in a smaller market, did not get a bigger audience.
At 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds, Pettit was a strong presence at power forward, before that position was even a common term in basketball. He rarely missed a game. He also played center and was one of the first big men who did not play only with his back to the basket.
From Baton Rouge to the Hall of Fame
Robert Lee Pettit Jr was born on December 12, 1932, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Pettit was a late starter in basketball. He did not make the Baton Rouge High School varsity team until his junior year. As a senior, he led the team to a state championship and received more than a dozen college offers. He decided to stay in Louisiana and play for LSU.
At LSU, Pettit led the Southeastern Conference in scoring in all three of his seasons. He is one of only three LSU players in the Hall of Fame, along with Pete Maravich and Shaquille O’Neal. Bronze statues of Pettit and O’Neal stand outside LSU’s home arena. LSU retired his No. 50, while the Atlanta Hawks retired his No. 9.
Pettit was named Rookie of the Year in 1955. It was the last year the Hawks played in Milwaukee before moving to St Louis. He won the MVP award the following season after leading the NBA in scoring with 25.7 points per game. He led the league in scoring again in 1959, averaging 29.2 points per game.
Pettit retired after the 1964-65 season with career averages of 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970. His Hall of Fame profile reads: “Lean, graceful, and always well-conditioned, Bob Pettit’s physical build made him one of the first big men to play facing the basket. But Pettit’s resolve set him apart from his peers; he simply would not be outworked.”
(With AP inputs)
