Before Bob Pettit became an NBA champion, he was a high-school sophomore who had just been cut from the varsity. Louisiana State University’s account says Pettit kept playing church-league basketball, grew five inches in less than a year and worked his way into the starting lineup. As a senior at Baton Rouge High, he led the team to its first state title in more than two decades. Fourteen universities made offers; he chose LSU and stayed close to home.
At LSU, he became the center of a team that reached the school’s first NCAA Final Four in 1953. He led the Southeastern Conference in scoring in each of his three seasons; as a senior he averaged 31.4 points and 17.3 rebounds. The No. 50 jersey he wore was retired by LSU in 1954, the first jersey number honored that way by the school. Those records make a useful start to his public story, though LSU’s later description of his high-school climb shows the player was not an effortless prodigy.
The Milwaukee Hawks selected him second overall in 1954. Head coach Red Holzman moved him from center to forward during his rookie season. The adjustment meant learning to play facing the basket, a role he had not played in college. He averaged 20.4 points and 13.8 rebounds and won Rookie of the Year in 1955. The franchise moved to St. Louis after the season.
A new role for a big man
He could score, but rebounding became central. The Hall of Fame recounts Pettit describing his work as finding position beneath the basket rather than watching the shot. He aimed to be ready for the ball on every possession. The Associated Press and the Hall of Fame describe him as one of the early big men comfortable facing the basket and as a player who helped define the power-forward role.
His production held across an 11-season career. Pettit made the All-Star team every year he played. He earned NBA MVP in 1956, the league’s first regular-season Most Valuable Player award, and again in 1959. He was All-Star Game MVP four times. The Associated Press notes that the NBA was not widely seen on television during his era, and that Pettit’s time in the smaller St. Louis market limited the reach of his achievements. By retirement, he had become the first NBA player to pass 20,000 points.
A championship sealed by 50 points
The Hawks’ defining high point came in 1958. They beat the Boston Celtics to win the franchise’s only NBA championship. In Game 6, Pettit scored 50 points in a 110–109 finish. His 50 stood alone in a title-clinching Finals game until Giannis Antetokounmpo matched it in 2021. The team’s title interrupted Boston’s run, and Pettit’s late-game achievement remains one of the league’s signature Finals performances.
His career numbers help show the scale. The Associated Press reports Pettit retired after the 1964–65 season with 20,880 points and 12,849 rebounds, then the league’s career mark for points and second-highest total for rebounds. He averaged 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds. He was named to all four of the NBA’s anniversary teams, a distinction shared with Bob Cousy, George Mikan and Bill Russell. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inducted him in 1971.
Numbers do not fully explain why an opponent would remember his effort. Hall of Fame records include a tribute from his rival Bill Russell after Pettit’s retirement, crediting his constant pursuit of position and rebounds. The Hall describes consistency and hustle as central to his game. That professional assessment sits alongside Pettit’s early setbacks, which he himself recalled in LSU’s remembrance: being poor at first gave him reason to work on improving.
A legacy kept close to home
Pettit remained connected to the school where he made his first sustained mark. LSU says he attended the 2023 celebration of the 1953 Final Four team, and his number remains retired. The school installed a statue at the Maravich Center; his grandchildren joined the 2016 unveiling. These remembrances show how his college path continues to be kept visible for new fans.
LSU announced on Sept. 24 that Pettit had died the day before at age 93; the Basketball Hall of Fame dates his death to Sept. 23. The Associated Press reported that LSU did not provide a cause. Across college and professional records, his career traces a path from a student fighting for a roster place to the league’s first MVP, a champion, and a player who said rebounding was the part of his game he was proudest of.
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