Bob Pettit Has Died; the NBA Mourns One of Its Legendary Heroes

The basketball world is mourning the passing of Bob Pettit, one of the most iconic figures in NBA history. The former Hawks star (the team was based in St. Louis during his playing days, before moving to Atlanta) passed away overnight between Thursday and Friday (Italian time) at the age of 93. His death was announced by Louisiana State University, the school where Pettit established himself as one of the best players in U.S. college basketball before turning pro.

Considered one of the pioneers of modern basketball, Pettit was a standout player in the 1950s and 1960s, an era that saw legends such as Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, and Elgin Baylor shine. A power forward even before the position was precisely defined, he revolutionized the way big men played the game thanks to his mobility, technique, and ability to attack the basket while facing the defender.

Drafted by the Hawks in 1954, he was named Rookie of the Year at the end of his first season. The following year, he won the NBA’s first-ever MVP award—an honor established in 1955—which Pettit would go on to win again in 1959. Over the course of his career, he played eleven seasons—all with the same franchise—was selected for the All-Star Game every year, and won the All-Star Game MVP award four times, a record that only Kobe Bryant, decades later, would be able to match.

The pinnacle of his career came in 1958, when he led the St. Louis Hawks to the NBA championship by defeating the heavily favored Boston Celtics in the finals. That remains the franchise’s only championship victory to this day, regardless of its location. Pettit ended his career in 1965 with impressive statistics: 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds per game on average. At the time of his retirement, he was the league’s all-time leading scorer with 20,880 points and the second-best rebounder of all time with 12,849 rebounds.

Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970, he is still remembered as one of the most influential players of his generation. After leaving professional basketball, Pettit returned to his hometown of Baton Rouge, where he pursued a career in banking and financial consulting. In recent years, he was a regular at LSU and New Orleans Pelicans games.

The Atlanta Hawks also paid tribute to their legend with a message of condolence: the club noted that the retired No. 9 continues to serve as an indelible symbol of Pettit’s contribution to the franchise and to basketball, both in the United States and beyond.