Bob Pettit was the first great NBA power forward and of the
1950s stars, he is the most likely who could excel in today’s game.
Pettit averaged more than 24.0 points and 14.0 rebounds per
game in nine of his 11 seasons. He was an All-Star every single year and his
1957-1958 St. Louis Hawks were the only team to beat the Boston Celtics in the
playoffs from 1956-1957 to 1965-1966.
His advanced stats are just as impressive. He led the NBA in
PER four years in a row, from 1955-1956 to 1958-1959, and never had a PER lower
than 22.6. He topped 10.0 in win shares every except his last when he played in
only 50 games. His career PER still ranks seventh all-time and career win
shares is 33rd all time even though he played only 11 seasons.
If you watch Youtube.com, you see an athletic big man who developed
a turnaround jumper, a pullup jumper and a pick-and-pop jump shot. These are
standard today. In the 1950s, they were revolutionary. When he didn’t have the
ball, he was in constant motion and was adept at spin shots around the rim.
Pettit likely would be ranked in the top 15 if he didn’t
walk away from basketball at the age of 33. The NBA wasn’t a big money league
when he left in 1964-1965. His final salary was $60,000 and he had a banking career
waiting for him in his native Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In an interview when he
turned 80, he said he felt his game was slipping and it was time to walk away. In
1964-1965, Pettit averaged 22.5 points per game and 12.4 rebounds.
Obviously, he had several more years left in him and had he
continued to play, his career ranking would have been much higher than 46th.
“If I’m making $20 million, I might have a different attitude,” Pettit said in the 2012 interview.
“If I’m making $20 million, I might have a different attitude,” Pettit said in the 2012 interview.
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Bob Pettit
bio info
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Career
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1954-1965
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Games
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792
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Points
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26.4
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Rebounds
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16.2
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Assists
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3.0
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FG Pct.
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43.6%
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All-Star games
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11
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NBA MVPs
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2
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NBA titles
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1
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Playoff seasons
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9
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Playoff games
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88
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Points
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25.5
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Rebounds
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14.8
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Assists
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2.7
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FG Pct.
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41.8%
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Hall of Fame
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1971
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Top 100
rankings
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Points
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Top 100 ranking
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1-year
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371.26
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27th
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5-year
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1,737.54
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17th
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10-year
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3,016.67
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18th
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Career
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3,141.13
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46th
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Bob Pettit
at his peak
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1957-1958
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Pettit
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Top 5
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Points
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PER
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26.3
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23.82
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Win Shares
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11.0
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11.94
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Box +/-
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NA
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NA
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VORP
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NA
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NA
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Total Advanced Stats
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37.3
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35.76
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104.31
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Playoff PER
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22.6
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23.25
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Win Shares
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1.2
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1.72
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Box +/-
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NA
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NA
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VORP
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NA
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NA
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Total Advanced Stats
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23.8
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24.97
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95.32
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Reg. Season Win %
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55.71
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55.71
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Playoff Win %
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72.73
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72.73
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MVP Voting (75 points)
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97/400
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18.19
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
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25
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25.00
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Total Score
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371.26
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Pettit’s 10 greatest seasons
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1957-1958
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371.26
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1958-1959
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370.39
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1956-1957
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346.20
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1962-1963
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326.95
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1960-1961
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325.99
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1955-1956
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323.70
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1959-1960
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322.46
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1963-1964
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276.72
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1964-1965
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219.47
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1954-1955
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133.54
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Career
winning percentage
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W
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L
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Pct.
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Regular Season
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426
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375
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53.18%
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Playoffs
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45
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43
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51.14%
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