Bob Pettit, the Hall of Fame forward who became the NBA's first Most Valuable Player, has died. He was 93.
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Pettit died peacefully Wednesday at his home in Metairie, Louisiana, his family said. LSU announced his death the following day.
The Baton Rouge native starred at LSU before spending his entire 11-year NBA career with the Milwaukee and St. Louis Hawks. He made the All-Star team every season and earned first-team All-NBA honors 10 times.
Pettit won the inaugural NBA MVP award in 1956 and captured the honor again in 1959. He was also named MVP of the All-Star Game four times, matching a record later shared by Kobe Bryant.
His defining moment came during Game 6 of the 1958 NBA Finals. Pettit scored 50 points to help the Hawks defeat Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics, securing the only championship in franchise history.
Pettit retired in 1965 with 20,880 career points, making him the first NBA player to surpass 20,000. He averaged 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds across 792 regular-season games.
Before turning professional, Pettit led LSU to its first Final Four appearance in 1953 and led the Southeastern Conference in scoring during all three of his varsity seasons.
LSU retired Pettit's No. 50, the first number retired by the university in any sport. The Hawks later retired his No. 9.
Pettit entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970 and was selected to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
