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.
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he → announce → ?
The university did not provide a cause of death.
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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.
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he → go → Hawks
He led them to the 1958 championship over the mighty Boston Celtics, the Hawks’ lone title.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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position → recede → vocabulary
He rarely missed a game.
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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.
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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.
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Hawks → play → Louis
He captured the MVP the next season, leading the league in scoring at 25.7 points a game.
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He → capture → points
He retired after the 1964-65 season with career averages of 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds.
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He → retire → points
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.
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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.
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profile → condition → Fame
“But Pettit’s resolve set him apart from his peers; he simply would not be outworked.”
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he → set → peers
Robert Lee Pettit Jr. was born on Dec. 12, 1932, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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Jr. → bear → Rouge
His father worked in law enforcement and served as East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff.
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father → work → Sheriff
Pettit was a late bloomer in basketball, not making the Baton Rouge High School varsity until his junior season.
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Pettit → make → season
As a senior, he led Baton Rouge to a state championship and wound up with more than a dozen college offers.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Pettit → earn → Fame
Bronze statues of Pettit and O’Neal stand outside LSU’s home arena, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
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statues → stand → arena
His No. 50 is retired by LSU, his No. 9 by the Atlanta Hawks.
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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.
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that → coincide → history
Pettit’s Hawks advanced to the finals four times, all against Boston, twice losing in seven games.
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Hawks → advance → games
The first meeting, won by Boston in 1957, came down to double overtime of Game 7.
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meeting → win → Game
The second ended with a championship for the Hawks, interrupting Boston’s run of nine titles in 10 seasons.
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second → end → seasons
The Hawks also dropped NBA Finals matchups with the Celtics in 1960 (in seven games) and 1961 (in five).
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Hawks → drop → five
Pettit retired to his native Baton Rouge after leaving basketball and worked in banking and financial consulting.
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Pettit → retire → banking
The Aporia
