Bob Pettit, the inaugural recipient of the NBA's MVP (Most Valuable Player) award, has died at the age of 93. He won the MVP award twice, first in the 1955-56 season and again in 1958-59, leading the league in scoring during both years. The Basketball Hall of Fame announced his passing, honoring him as "a true giant of the game."
Read More
Throughout his career, Pettit was named an NBA All-Star in every one of his 11 seasons and became the first player to surpass 20,000 career points. After a standout collegiate career at Louisiana State University (LSU), he was drafted by the Milwaukee Hawks in 1954, which later relocated to St. Louis. He played for the Hawks for the entirety of his professional career, which culminated in an NBA championship in 1958 against the Boston Celtics. Pettit reached the finals two additional times in 1960 and 1961 before retiring in 1965, finishing with an impressive average of 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds per game.
In 1971, Pettit was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and in 1954, LSU retired his number 50 jersey—the first time an athlete from the university received such an honor. LSU memorialized him on their website, stating: "Pettit defined what the modern power forward should be in the NBA and set standards that have been hard to duplicate in professional basketball." No cause of death has been disclosed.