First NBA MVP Bob Pettit dies at 93

The first NBA player named Most Valuable Player in the league’s history has died.

Bob Pettit was 93 years old.

LSU announced his death but did not provide a cause, The Associated Press reported. He died on Sept. 23, The New York Times reported.

Pettit was born in 1932 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to a father who was the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff.

The AP called Pettit a “late bloomer,” noting he made the Baton Rouge High School varsity team only as a junior.

The Times said he didn’t make the team his sophomore year, but practiced every night using tennis balls and a homemade hoop in his yard, and with a church league.

He also had a five-year growth spurt and hit 6 feet 9 inches.

His senior year, he took the school to a state championship, earning more than a dozen college offers.

He stayed home and was a star on the LSU team as a sophomore, when freshmen could not play varsity, the AP explained.

Pettit took LSU to the Final Four in 1953 and was an All-American at LSU before being signed by the then Milwaukee, eventual St. Louis and Atlanta, Hawks. He was Rookie of the Year in 1955. He was the MVP in 1956 after leading the league with 25.7 points per game. He also led the league three years later with 29.2 points.

Every year with the Hawks, Pettit was named an All-Star. He helped the Hawks win a championship in 1958 over the Boston Celtics, in game six, 110-109, the Times reported. It was the Hawks only title. He was named MVP the next year and earned the honor four times at the All-Star Game. Only Kobe Bryant did the same.

Pettit retired after the 1964-65 season with a career average 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds per game.

“I kept on plugging away and raising my goals,” he said in a 2007 interview, according to the Times. “I won my high school letter as a junior and I thought, ‘Now I want to win a state championship,’ and so on. Ten years later, I wanted to be the best player in the world.”

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971. Pettit is one of three LSU players to be inducted. He shares the honor with Pete Maravich and Shaquille O’Neal.

The New York Times reported he was one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of the league’s first half-century.

LSU retired Pettit’s No. 50, while the Atlanta Hawks retired his No. 9.

“We are grateful for his contributions to our franchise and to basketball history,” the Hawks said in a statement posted to X.com. “His retired No. 9 jersey continues to hang proudly at State Farm Arena as a lasting reminder of the impact he made on our organization. We extend our deepest condolences to Bob’s family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time. We also join those across the basketball world in celebrating a remarkable life and legacy that will never be forgotten.”

After his retirement from basketball, Pettit pursued a career in banking and financial consulting. He also frequently attended LSU and New Orleans Pelicans games, the AP reported.

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