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.
asserted
Pettit → die → 1956
Pettit's alma mater, LSU, announced Thursday that he died a day earlier.
asserted
he → announce → ?
The university did not provide a cause of death.
asserted
university → provide → 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.
asserted
he → go → Hawks
He led them to the 1958 championship over the mighty Boston Celtics, the Hawks' lone title.
asserted
He → lead → Celtics
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.
asserted
He → match → Bryant
Pettit was a force at a time when the NBA featured the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor.
asserted
NBA → feature → Chamberlain
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.
asserted
Pettit → see → 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.
asserted
position → recede → vocabulary
He rarely missed a game.
asserted
He → miss → game
He also played center and was one of the first big men who did not play solely with his back to the basket.
asserted
who → play → 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.
asserted
He → play → points
He retired after the 1964-65 season with career averages of 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds.
asserted
He → retire → points
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.
asserted
He → induct → 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.
asserted
profile → condition → Fame
"But Pettit's resolve set him apart from his peers; he simply would not be outworked."
asserted
he → set → peers
Robert Lee Pettit Jr. was born on Dec. 12, 1932, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
asserted
Jr. → bear → Rouge
His father worked in law enforcement and served as East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff.
asserted
father → work → sheriff
Pettit was a late bloomer in basketball, not making the Baton Rouge High School varsity until his junior season.
asserted
Pettit → make → season
As a senior, he led Baton Rouge to a state championship and wound up with more than a dozen college offers.
asserted
he → lead → offers
He chose to stay home and starred at LSU as a sophomore, an era when players could not join the varsity until then.
uncertain
players → choose → varsity
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.
asserted
He → lead → 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.
asserted
Pettit → earn → Fame
Bronze statues of Pettit and O'Neal stand outside LSU's home arena, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
asserted
statues → stand → arena
His No. 50 is retired by LSU, his No. 9 by the Atlanta Hawks.
asserted
No → retire → 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.
asserted
that → coincide → history
Pettit's Hawks advanced to the finals four times, all against Boston, twice losing in seven games.
asserted
Hawks → advance → games
The first meeting, won by Boston in 1957, came down to double overtime of Game 7.
asserted
meeting → win → Game
The second ended with a championship for the Hawks, interrupting Boston's run of nine titles in 10 seasons.
asserted
second → end → seasons
The Hawks also dropped NBA Finals matchups with the Celtics in 1960 (in seven games) and 1961 (in five).
asserted
Hawks → drop → five
Pettit retired to his native Baton Rouge after leaving basketball and worked in banking and financial consulting.
asserted
Pettit → retire → banking
The Aporia
