Bob Pettit
(Born 1932)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1971
Card Shown:
1994 Signature Rookies
Gold Standard
Position: PF/C
Height: 6’9″
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Bob Pettit was the greatest forward of his era. He was an incredibly hard worker who was a prolific scorer and one of the top rebounders in NBA history. Pettit played for the Milwaukee Hawks for one season and for the St. Louis Hawks for the remaining ten years of his career. He led the Hawks to an NBA championship and never averaged below 20 points per game or 10 rebounds per game during a season.
Awards and Honors
- Bob attended Louisiana State University and was a second team AP All-America player twice and First Team AP All-America player once during his time with LSU.
- Pettit was named the 1954-55 NBA Rookie of the Year. He averaged 20.4 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists during his rookie season.
- Bob led the St. Louis Hawks to the 1958 NBA Championship as they defeated the powerhouse Boston Celtics in six games. In that sixth game, Pettit dominated offensively, scoring 50 points. Joining Pettit on the Hawks that year were Hall of Famers Slater Martin, Cliff Hagan, and Ed Macauley. The Celtics team, which had won the championship the year before and which would go on to win eight consecutive championships beginning the next year, included Hall of Famers Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Frank Ramsey, Arnie Risen, Andy Phillip, and Sam Jones.
- Bob was awarded the NBA Most Valuable Player award for the 1955-56 and 1958-59 seasons. He was All-NBA First Team ten times and All-NBA Second Team once during his eleven-year career.
- Pettit was an All-Star every year he played in the NBA. He was named the NBA All-Star Most Valuable Player four times: n 1956, 1958, 1959, and 1962. Bob joins Kobe Bryant as the only players to win four NBA All-Star MVP awards.
- Bob was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996.
Points of Interest
- Pettit was cut from his high school team in both his freshman and sophomore years. He continued to work hard on his game and finally made the team as a junior. One year later, Bob led Baton Rouge High School to its first state title in over twenty years.
- Bob was chosen by the Milwaukee Hawks with the second overall pick in the 1954 NBA Draft. The following year the Hawks moved to St. Louis.
- Pettit led the league in scoring in 1955-56 with 25.7 points per game and again in 1958-59 with 29.2 points per game.
- Bob was the first NBA player to score 20,000 points during his career. He retired in 1965 as the NBA’s leading career scorer (20,880) and second leading career rebounder (12,849).
- Pettit finished his career averaging 16.2 rebounds per game. That ranks him third in NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain (22.89 rpg) and Bill Russell (22.45 rpg). He also averaged 26.4 points per game and 3.0 assists per game during his career.
Statistics
Bob Pettit Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference