Bob Pettit, the NBA's first MVP, dies at 93

Bob Pettit, the first winner of the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award and an 11-time All-Star who led the St. Louis Hawks to their only championship, has died. He was 93.

Pettit’s family confirmed he died peacefully at his home in Metairie, Louisiana, on Wednesday, September 23, LSU announced on Thursday. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame mourned his passing the same day, calling him “a sleek, skilled big man who revolutionized the forward position.”

The Baton Rouge native was an All-American at LSU, where his No. 50 jersey was retired, before the Milwaukee Hawks took him second overall in the 1954 NBA draft. He won Rookie of the Year in 1955, then became the league’s first MVP in 1955-56 after leading the NBA in scoring at 25.7 points a game, the Associated Press reported.

Pettit won a second MVP in 1959 and made the All-Star team in each of his 11 seasons — all with the Hawks in Milwaukee and St. Louis. His signature performance came in Game 6 of the 1958 NBA Finals, when his 50 points beat the Boston Celtics for the franchise’s lone title.

He became the first NBA player to reach 20,000 career points in November 1964 and retired with averages of 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds. Pettit was voted All-Star Game MVP a record four times and entered the Hall of Fame in 1970.