Bob Pettit, NBA’s First MVP and Hawks Champion, Dies at 93
publishers 10articles 11first reported 24 Sep, 21:46 UTCdeveloping since 25 Sep · 3 editions
Bob Pettit, the Hall of Fame forward who became the NBA’s first Most Valuable Player and led the St. Louis Hawks to their only championship, has died at 93.
LSU, Pettit’s alma mater, announced Thursday that he had died a day earlier. The university did not give a cause of death.
Pettit was an All-American at LSU and led the Southeastern Conference in scoring in each of his three varsity seasons. He entered the NBA with the Milwaukee Hawks, earning Rookie of the Year honors in 1955 before the franchise moved to St. Louis.
In 1956, Pettit won the league’s inaugural MVP award after averaging an NBA-leading 25.7 points per game. He won the award again in 1959, when he also led the league in scoring at 29.2 points per game. Pettit was selected as an All-Star in all 11 of his NBA seasons and was named All-Star Game MVP four times.
He led the Hawks past the Boston Celtics in the 1958 NBA Finals, securing the franchise’s lone championship. Pettit retired after the 1964-65 season with career averages of 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds. At retirement, his 20,880 points were the most in NBA history, while his 12,849 rebounds ranked second.
Pettit was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970. LSU retired his No. 50, and the Hawks retired his No. 9.
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