Bob Pettit

Bob Pettit
	Pettit with the St. Louis Hawks in 1961
Personal information
Born	December 12, 1932; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school	Baton Rouge; (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
College	LSU (1951–1954)
NBA draft	1954: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Drafted by	Milwaukee Hawks
Playing career	1954–1965
Position	Power forward / center
Number	9
Career history
1954–1965	Milwaukee / St. Louis Hawks
Career highlights
	NBA champion (1958); 2× NBA Most Valuable Player (1956, 1959); 11× NBA All-Star (1955–1965); 4× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1956, 1958, 1959, 1962); 10× All-NBA First Team (1955–1964); All-NBA Second Team (1965); NBA Rookie of the Year (1955); 2× NBA scoring champion (1956, 1959); NBA rebounding leader (1956); NBA anniversary team (25th, 35th, 50th, 75th); No. 9 retired by Atlanta Hawks; Consensus first-team All-American (1954); Consensus second-team All-American (1953); No. 50 retired by LSU Tigers;
Career NBA statistics
Points	20,880 (26.4 ppg)
Rebounds	12,849 (16.2 rpg)
Assists	2,369 (3.0 apg)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference
	Basketball Hall of Fame
	Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

Robert E. Lee Pettit Jr. (/ˈpɛtɪt/ PET-it; born December 12, 1932)^[2] is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965). In 1956, he became the first recipient of the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award and he won the award again in 1959. He also won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award four times. As of the end of 2024-2025 regular season, Pettit is still the only regular season MVP in the history of the Hawks. Pettit is the leader for most career rebounds (12,849), and most rebounds per game with 16.2 in Hawks franchise history.

The first NBA player to score more than 20,000 points, Pettit was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970. He is one of four players who was named to all four NBA anniversary teams and one of only two living members as of 2025 with Bob Cousy. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time.^[3]^[4]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ "Stats at NBA.com". Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
^ "Legends profile: Bob Pettit". NBA.com. August 23, 2017. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
^ "All-Time #NBArank: Duncan tops list of best power forwards ever". ESPN. January 15, 2016. Archived from the original on June 11, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
^ "Top 10 power forwards in NBA history". Fox Sports. October 20, 2016. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.

[2] "Stats at NBA.com". Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.

[3] "Legends profile: Bob Pettit". NBA.com. August 23, 2017. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2021.

[4] "All-Time #NBArank: Duncan tops list of best power forwards ever". ESPN. January 15, 2016. Archived from the original on June 11, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

[5] "Top 10 power forwards in NBA history". Fox Sports. October 20, 2016. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.

[a]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]