Happy Birthday | Bob Pettit, The Will to Win

Long before Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Kevin Garnett or Tim Duncan, this power forward dominated the NBA and posted outstanding statistics. Bob Pettit grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Cut out of high school twice, he worked on his game to finally finish his studies at another institution. He will win his first state title in more than 20 years. He continues his career at home, at Louisiana State University, where he averages 27.4 points.

In 1954, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Hawks, who later became the St. Louis Hawks (the move to Atlanta did not happen until 1968). With the selection for the All-Star game, a place in the first team of the season and the title of rookie of the year, he started his career very strongly and above all started a nice collection of trophies.

The first MVP in history

In 1956, he became the first MVP in NBA history. He would double the lead in 1959. He was also the league’s leading scorer in 1957 and 1959. An All-Star every year without exception, he would only miss the All-NBA team in his final season in 1965.

Despite complicated regular seasons, the Hawks reached the 1957 Finals against Bill Russell’s Celtics. Russell, then a rookie, who could have played with Pettitte, but the Hawks traded a draft pick early in the season for players from Boston…

Therefore, the Celtics will benefit from the influence of the best defender in history. Despite the “great” Pettitte (29.8 points, 16.8 rebounds in the playoffs), Boston won in the finish of the seventh game and won the title. The next year, the Hawks got their revenge and won the title.

Before that, Bob Pettit won the All-Star Game MVP title with a huge double-double (28 points, 26 rebounds). Along with Kobe Bryant, he still holds the record for All-Star Game MVP trophies with four (1956, 1958, 1959 and 1962).

Third jump in history in average

Although he was “only” 2m06 tall, Bob Pettit was a particularly great rebounder, a solid player, who was not afraid to enter the game to give his team a second chance.

“Bob brought the term ‘second chance’ into the sports vocabulary, explains Bill Russell. “He went at you like no one before. He fought for positions and those rebounds.”

His knee began to creak in 1964, and at age 32 he decided to end his Hall of Fame career (he entered in 1970) after 792 NBA games.

Keep in mind that he became the first player to score 20,000 career points and his stats are pretty huge: 26.4 points, 16.2 rebounds per game! In his 11-year career, he never had a season below 20 points and 12 rebounds.

The ultimate testament to his relentlessness in rebounding, his rebounding average is still third all-time behind backcourt monsters Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

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This article was originally published on December 12, 2021