NBA great and league’s first MVP, Bob Pettit, dies at 93

Bob Pettit, an imposing scorer and rebounder for the St. Louis Hawks and winner of the NBA’s first Most Valuable Player award in 1956, has died. He was 93.

Pettit’s alma mater, LSU, announced Thursday that he died a day earlier. The university did not provide a cause of death.

Pettit was an All-American at LSU before going on to the NBA, where he was an All-Star for each of his 11 seasons, all with the Hawks. He led them to the 1958 championship over the mighty Boston Celtics, the Hawks’ lone title.

He was also the NBA MVP in 1959 and was the MVP of the All-Star game four times, an achievement matched only by Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant.

Pettit was a force at a time when the NBA featured the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor. But it was also before a time when the NBA was widely seen on television, and Pettit — playing in a smaller market — was denied a larger audience.

At 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds and with a deeply receding hairline, Pettit was a physical presence at power forward, before such a position became part of basketball’s vocabulary. He rarely missed a game. He also played center and was one of the first big men who did not play solely with his back to the basket.

Pettit was the Rookie of the Year in 1955, the last year the Hawks played in Milwaukee before moving to St. Louis.

He captured the MVP the next season, leading the league in scoring at 25.7 points a game. He also was the NBA’s scoring leader in 1959 at 29.2 points.

He retired after the 1964-65 season with career averages of 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds. At that time, he was the NBA’s career leader in points (20,880) and second in rebounds (12,849).

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.

“Lean, graceful, and always well-conditioned, Bob Pettit’s physical build made him one of the first big men to play facing the basket,” reads Pettit’s biographical profile at the Hall of Fame. “But Pettit’s resolve set him apart from his peers; he simply would not be outworked.”

Robert Lee Pettit Jr. was born on Dec. 12, 1932, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His father worked in law enforcement and served as East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff. Pettit was a late bloomer in basketball, not making the Baton Rouge High School varsity until his junior season.

As a senior, he led Baton Rouge to a state championship and wound up with more than a dozen college offers. He chose to stay home and starred at LSU as a sophomore, an era when players could not join the varsity until then.

He led the Southeastern Conference in scoring all three of his seasons, with averages of 25.5 points as a sophomore, 24.9 as a junior and 31.4 as a senior.

Pettit is one of only three LSU players — Pete Maravich and Shaquille O’Neal the others — to earn a place in the Hall of Fame. Bronze statues of Pettit and O’Neal stand outside LSU’s home arena, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. His No. 50 is retired by LSU, his No. 9 by the Atlanta Hawks.

Pettit’s misfortune was that most of his career coincided with a run of Celtics championships that remains one of the most dominant runs in American pro sports history.

Pettit was two victories short of being a three-time NBA champion. Pettit’s Hawks advanced to the finals four times, all against Boston, twice losing in seven games.

The first meeting, won by Boston in 1957, came down to double overtime of Game 7. The second ended with a championship for the Hawks, interrupting Boston’s run of nine titles in 10 seasons. The Hawks also dropped NBA Finals matchups with the Celtics in 1960 (in seven games) and 1961 (in five).

Pettit retired to his native Baton Rouge after leaving basketball and worked in banking and financial consulting. He was a regular at LSU and New Orleans Pelicans games in recent years.

圣路易斯老鹰队得分和篮板能力出众的鲍勃·佩蒂特去世，享年93岁。他曾于1956年获得NBA首届最有价值球员奖。

佩蒂特的母校路易斯安那州立大学周四宣布，他于前一天去世。校方没有透露死因。

佩蒂特在进入NBA之前曾是路易斯安那州立大学的全美最佳球员，他在NBA的11个赛季中每个赛季都入选全明星，全部效力于老鹰队。他带领老鹰队在1958年击败强大的波士顿凯尔特人队，夺得了总冠军，这也是老鹰队唯一一次获得总冠军。

他曾于 1959 年获得 NBA 最有价值球员奖，并四次获得全明星赛最有价值球员奖，这一成就只有洛杉矶湖人队的传奇人物科比·布莱恩特能够匹敌。

佩蒂特效力NBA的年代，联盟中拥有威尔特·张伯伦、比尔·拉塞尔、奥斯卡·罗伯特森和埃尔金·贝勒这样的巨星。但那时NBA还没有像现在这样在电视上广泛播出，而佩蒂特所在的球队市场较小，因此他无法接触到更多的观众。

身高6尺9寸，体重205磅，发际线严重后移的佩蒂特，在篮球术语中出现“大前锋”这个位置之前，就已经是一位极具威慑力的大个子球员了。他几乎从未缺席过任何一场比赛。他也能打中锋，而且是最早一批不只背身单打的大个子球员之一。

佩蒂特在 1955 年荣获年度最佳新秀奖，那一年也是老鹰队在密尔沃基的最后一年，之后老鹰队搬到了圣路易斯。

他在下一个赛季荣膺最有价值球员奖，以场均25.7分领跑联盟得分榜。1959年，他又以场均29.2分成为NBA得分王。

他在1964-65赛季结束后退役，职业生涯场均得到26.4分和16.2个篮板。当时，他是NBA历史得分王（20,880分）和篮板王（12,849个）。

1970年，他入选奈史密斯篮球名人堂。

“鲍勃·佩蒂特身材精瘦、动作优雅，体格始终保持良好，这使他成为最早一批面框进攻的大个子球员之一，”名人堂的佩蒂特传记中写道。“但佩蒂特的决心使他与同辈球员截然不同；他绝不会在训练中逊色。”

小罗伯特·李·佩蒂特于1932年12月12日出生于路易斯安那州巴吞鲁日。他的父亲从事执法工作，曾担任东巴吞鲁日教区警长。佩蒂特篮球天赋大器晚成，直到高二才入选巴吞鲁日高中校队。

高三那年，他带领巴吞鲁日高中夺得州冠军，并收到了十几所大学的邀请。他选择留在路易斯安那州立大学，并在大二时就成为了校队主力。要知道，在那个年代，球员必须大二才能加入校队。

他在大学三年级时场均得分领跑东南联盟，大二时场均得分 25.5 分，大三时场均得分 24.9 分，大四时场均得分 31.4 分。

佩蒂特是路易斯安那州立大学（LSU）历史上仅有的三位入选名人堂的球员之一，另外两位是皮特·马拉维奇和沙奎尔·奥尼尔。佩蒂特和奥尼尔的铜像矗立在LSU的主场——皮特·马拉维奇集会中心外。他的50号球衣已被LSU退役，9号球衣则被亚特兰大老鹰队退役。

佩蒂特的不幸之处在于，他职业生涯的大部分时间都与凯尔特人队的夺冠时期重合，而这段时期至今仍是美国职业体育史上最具统治力的时期之一。

佩蒂特距离三届NBA总冠军仅差两场胜利。他执教的老鹰队四次打进总决赛，对手全部是波士顿凯尔特人队，其中两次鏖战七场惜败。

双方的首次交锋在1957年波士顿凯尔特人队身上以第七场双加时赛告终。第二次交锋则以老鹰队夺冠告终，终结了波士顿凯尔特人队十个赛季九次夺冠的辉煌纪录。老鹰队还在1960年（七场）和1961年（五场）的总决赛中负于凯尔特人队。

佩蒂特退役后回到家乡巴吞鲁日，从事银行和金融咨询工作。近年来，他经常观看路易斯安那州立大学和新奥尔良鹈鹕队的比赛。