Bob Pettit
Teams
Milwaukee/Saint Louis Hawks - 1954-65
Playoffs
Appearances - 9 (1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1963,1964,1965)
Conference Finals - 8 (1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1963,1964)
NBA Finals - 4 (1957,1958,1960,1961)
Championships - 1 (1958)
Awards and Honors
Rookie of the Year - 1955
MVP - 2 (1956,1957,1958,1959)
All-NBA First Team - 10 (1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964)
All-NBA Second Team - 1 (1965)
Hall of Fame - 1971
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Rebounds Per Game - #3
Points Per Game - #8
Total Rebounds - #19
Total Points - #45
League Leads
Total Rebounds (#1-1956, #2-1957,1958,1959, #3-1955,1960,1961, #4-1962,1963, #5-1964)
Total Points (#1-1956,1959, #2-1957, #3-1958,1964, #4-1955,1960,1961,1962,1963)
Points Per Game (#1-1956,1959, #2-1957, #3-1958,1962,1963, #4-1955,1960,1961,1964)
Rebounds Per Game (#2-1956,1959, #3-1955,1957,1958,1960,1961, #4-1962,1963, #5-1964)
Bob Pettit was a superstar throughout his entire career at LSU, and after averaging 31.4 points and 17.3 rebounds per game as a senior, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Hawks with the #2 overall pick in the draft.
He was already one of the best players in the league as a rookie. He averaged 20.4 points and 13.8 rebounds, which earned him the Rookie of the Year award and a spot on the All-NBA First Team, and he was just getting started. He would never average fewer points, and only averaged fewer rebounds in his final season. The team, however, missed the playoffs, and they moved to Saint Louis after the season.
He led the league in scoring during his second season, putting up 25.7 per game, and he also led the league in total rebounds with 1164, which averaged out to 16.2 per game. His dominance earned him the NBA's first-ever MVP award at only 23 years old.
Before the next season, the team drafted Bill Russell, then traded him to Boston in exchange for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan. Pettit was still the best player in the league that year, but didn't win the MVP after his numbers dropped to 24.7 points and 14.6 rebounds. He led the Hawks to the NBA Finals that year, where they faced Russell and the Celtics, and even though Pettit averaged 30.1 points and 18.3 rebounds for the series, they fell to Boston in overtime in Game 7.
The next year, the Hawks got their revenge, becoming the only team to ever defeat Bill Russell in the Finals. Pettit scored 50 points in the deciding Game 6, which was the playoff scoring record at the time, and it still the record for most points in a championship-clinching game, a record that was tied by Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021.
The next season was probably Pettit's best overall. He led the league in scoring for the second time, this time with 29.2 per game, and he also grabbed 16.4 rebounds per game, which also earned him his second MVP award. The Hawks lost to the Lakers in the Conference Finals, which kept them from repeating as champions.
Pettit was able to lead the Hawks back to the Finals in each of the next 2 seasons, both of which ended in defeat to the Celtics. His 1960-61 season is another historic one, as he averaged 27.9 points and 20.3 rebounds, one of only 3 players to ever average 20/20 in a full season, joining Wilt and Jerry Lucas.
He set his career high in scoring in 1962 at 31.1 per game, but the Hawks missed the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season. He continued to play at the same high level for the next couple of years, but the Hawks couldn't get back to the NBA Finals. Finally, in 1964-65, he missed 30 games due to injury, and he decided to retire even though he was still one of the top players in the game.
Pettit was one of the top 5 players in the NBA in each of his first 10 seasons, finishing in the top 5 in both scoring and rebounding in each of those seasons. He was a 2-time MVP, 2-time scoring champ, a rebounding champ, and won a championship, but his career was short for a superstar, with only 1 player ahead of him in this countdown playing for fewer years. Even with his short career, there is no denying that Pettit was one of the greatest to ever play the game.
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