> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.grumpybuck.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Bob Pettit, 1932-2026: His 5 Greatest Moments - URL: https://www.grumpybuck.com/bob-pettit-1932-2026-his-5-greatest-moments/ - Published: 2026-09-25T14:48:26.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-25T14:48:26.000Z - Description: Bob Pettit, the NBA's first MVP and first 20,000-point scorer, died Sept. 23, 2026, at 93. His 5 greatest moments, from getting cut twice to 50 points in the 1958 Finals. - Author: Brad Riddell - Tags: Sports History, Top 5, Basketball, NBA Bob Pettit died on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at his home in Metairie, La. He was 93. If you're under 60, you may know the name without knowing why it matters. Here's why. Pettit was the first MVP in NBA history. He was the first player to score 20,000 points. When he retired in 1965, he was the league's all-time leading scorer. And he's one of only 4 players named to all 4 of the NBA's anniversary teams, the 25th, 35th, 50th and 75th. The other 3 are Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and George Mikan. He played all 11 of his seasons for the Hawks, in Milwaukee and then St. Louis, and he made the All-Star team in every one of them. These are the 5 moments that made him. ## 5\. Cut twice, then a legend **Cut from his high school team as a freshman and again as a sophomore.** Pettit grew up in Baton Rouge and couldn't make the team at Baton Rouge High. Then he grew about 5 inches, practiced for hours under a lighted hoop in his backyard, and as a senior led Baton Rouge High to a state championship. At LSU he was a 2-time All-American. As a senior in 1954 he averaged 31.4 points and 17.3 rebounds a game, and LSU retired his No. 50 that year, the first jersey the school ever retired in any sport. The Milwaukee Hawks took him No. 2 overall in the 1954 draft. He averaged 20.4 points and 13.8 rebounds and was named Rookie of the Year. The kid who got cut twice was an NBA star at 22. ![Pettit's 1957-58 Topps card, from the first basketball set Topps ever made.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/09/pettit_1957_topps.jpg) Pettit's 1957-58 Topps card, from the first basketball set Topps ever made. ## 4\. The NBA's first MVP **1955-56: 25.7 points per game and the first MVP award the NBA ever gave out.** The league created its MVP award in Pettit's second season, and he won it. The Hawks had just moved to St. Louis, and he led the NBA in scoring. He won it again in 1958-59, when he averaged 29.2 points and led the league in scoring again. That made him the first player to win the award twice. ![Pettit (9) goes up for a layup.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/09/pettit_layup_dark.jpg) Pettit (9) goes up for a layup. ![St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March 16, 1956. That week New York's basketball writers also gave Pettit their Sam Davis Award as the NBA's most valuable player.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/09/np_St_Louis_Globe_Democrat_1956_03_16_28.jpg) St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March 16, 1956\. That week New York's basketball writers also gave Pettit their Sam Davis Award as the NBA's most valuable player. ## 3\. Four All-Star Game MVPs **1956, 1958, 1959 and 1962\. Tied with Kobe Bryant for the most ever.** Pettit played in 11 All-Star Games in his 11 seasons and was named the game's MVP 4 times. He shared the 1959 award with Elgin Baylor. Only one other player has won it 4 times: Kobe Bryant, whose 2009 award was shared with Shaquille O'Neal. Michael Jordan and LeBron James each stopped at 3\. Pettit got his 4 in the 1950s and '60s. He was also named 1st-team All-NBA 10 years in a row. ![Pettit in his All-Star warmup jacket, holding a trophy.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/09/pettit_allstar_trophy.jpg) Pettit in his All-Star warmup jacket, holding a trophy. ## 2\. The first 20,000-point man **Nov. 13, 1964, at Cincinnati.** Pettit came into the game with 19,993 career points. With 10:40 left in the second quarter, he hooked a shot over the Royals' Jerry Lucas and became the first player in NBA history to reach 20,000\. They stopped the game. Hawks owner Ben Kerner handed him the ball, and the Royals gave him a cake. It was a rough night otherwise. He scored 29, and the Royals won 123-106\. He retired at the end of that season at 32, with 20,880 points (26.4 a game) and 12,849 rebounds (16.2 a game). No one had ever scored more. Then he went home to Baton Rouge and spent the next 23 years in banking. ![St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 14, 1964. Left: the hook over Jerry Lucas for No. 20,000. Right: the game ball from Ben Kerner.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/09/np_St_Louis_Post_Dispatch_1964_11_14_6.jpg) St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 14, 1964\. Left: the hook over Jerry Lucas for No. 20,000\. Right: the game ball from Ben Kerner. ## 1\. 50 points to beat the Celtics **April 12, 1958\. Game 6 of the NBA Finals. Hawks 110, Celtics 109.** The year before, the Hawks and Celtics had played the only Finals Game 7 ever to go to double overtime. On April 13, 1957, Boston won 125-123 in double overtime. Pettit scored 39\. With 1 second left and the Hawks down 2, player-coach Alex Hannum threw the ball the length of the court, off the backboard, and Pettit's tip rolled around the rim and out. "We fight all year for this chance," he said afterward, "and then I have to blow the big shot at the end." ![St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 14, 1957. Bill Russell guards Pettit in Game 7.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/09/np_St_Louis_Post_Dispatch_1957_04_14_69.jpg) St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 14, 1957\. Bill Russell guards Pettit in Game 7. A year later they met again. Russell hurt his ankle in Game 3 and missed Games 4 and 5, and the Hawks took a 3-2 series lead. Russell came back for Game 6 in St. Louis, limited. Pettit scored 31 through 3 quarters. Then he scored 19 of the Hawks' last 21 points. His tip-in with about 15 seconds left made it 110-107, and the Hawks hung on to win by 1\. He finished with 50 points and 19 rebounds. The next morning's Post-Dispatch called it the NBA record for a championship series game. Pettit's take: "It wasn't me — it was the team." It's still the most points ever scored in a Finals-clinching game. Giannis Antetokounmpo matched it in 2021 and didn't pass it. It was the only championship the Hawks franchise has ever won. And it was the only Finals Bill Russell ever lost. He went 11-1 in the Finals. The 1 was Bob Pettit. ![St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 13, 1958.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/09/np_St_Louis_Post_Dispatch_1958_04_13_75.jpg) St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 13, 1958. ## Honorable mention: the rest of the resume ![Pettit (9) against the Cincinnati Royals.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/09/pettit_layup_royals.jpg) Pettit (9) against the Cincinnati Royals. The Hawks and Celtics met in 4 Finals in 5 years, from 1957 to 1961\. Pettit scored 40 twice in the 1961 Finals, and Boston won the other 3\. He's in the Hall of Fame, the Hawks retired his No. 9, and LSU put up a statue of him outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in 2016. In a statement this week, the Hall of Fame said he "revolutionized the forward position." What's your favorite Bob Pettit memory? Tell us in the comments.