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NBA pioneer Bob Pettit, the league’s first MVP, died at 93. Pettit’s career left a lasting basketball legacy.
Bob Pettit, the first player to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, died Wednesday at his home in Metairie, Louisiana. He was 93. Louisiana State University, Pettit’s alma mater, announced his death Thursday. No cause of death was provided.
Pettit played all 11 of his NBA seasons with the Hawks franchise, beginning with the Milwaukee Hawks before the team moved to St. Louis. He was selected as an All-Star in every season of his career and won the league MVP award in 1956 and 1959. He also was named All-Star Game MVP four times.
The forward led the St. Louis Hawks to the 1958 NBA championship, scoring 50 points in the deciding Game 6 against the Boston Celtics. The championship remains the franchise’s only NBA title. Pettit and the Hawks reached the NBA Finals four times, with three of those series ending in losses to Boston.
Pettit was a standout at LSU before entering the NBA. He led the Southeastern Conference in scoring in each of his three varsity seasons and became one of only three LSU players to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Pete Maravich and Shaquille O’Neal. LSU has retired his No. 50 jersey.
He retired following the 1964-65 season with career averages of 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds per game. Pettit finished his career with 20,880 points and 12,849 rebounds and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also selected to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
Pettit later returned to Louisiana and worked in banking and financial consulting. He remained connected to LSU and basketball in retirement. His No. 9 jersey is retired by the Hawks, for whom he played his entire professional career.
Sources Sentence: Information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, ESPN, The New York Times, USA Today, LSU and the NBA.