Bob Pettit : The Bomber from Baton Rouge

Published on February 18, 2026 5 min. reading

Some nicknames are more memorable than others, and Bob Pettit’s is one we really like at Paris Basket. But the Baton Rouge bomber is not just a name on a plaque in the Hall of Fame. He is the very foundation of modern athleticism in the NBA. A centre/power forward with historic achievements. Twice MVP. A title won against the most formidable dynasty. Pettit was a guaranteed double-double every night. A prolific scorer. A relentless rebounder. He defined excellence in his position. His legacy is quantifiable. He was the first to reach the 20,000-point mark in his career. An icon of the Hawks who dominated the pre-Jordan era.

Discover Paris Basketball

Career Summary

Bob Pettit’s career was marked by a meteoric rise. Drafted in 1954 by the Milwaukee Hawks, he immediately made his mark. He was an extraordinary athlete for his time. It took him only one season to earn his place in the Hall of Fame. His career was a series of records.

The emergence of a double-double machine

Pettit arrived in the NBA after a solid college career at LSU. The transition was brutal. The success was immediate. In his rookie season (1954-1955), he averaged 20.4 points and 13.8 rebounds. These were phenomenal numbers. He logically won the Rookie of the Year award. This double-double would be the hallmark of his career. He never averaged less than 12 rebounds. Never. Nor did he ever score less than 20 points. In short, when Bob was on the court, it was a guarantee of high-volume play.

The First MVP in History

In 1956, the Hawks moved to St. Louis. The change of scenery propelled Pettit to the top. He had a historic 1955-1956 season, averaging 25.7 points and 16.2 rebounds. The impact was such that he became the first player in history to receive the brand new NBA MVP trophy. At 23 years old, what was I doing at 23? A unanimous vote. Yes, we get it. He repeated the feat in 1959. Twice MVP. He proved that the St. Louis franchise was a serious contender.

The 1958 Title : Russell’s Broken Shadow

The turning point in his career came in 1958. The Hawks faced Bill Russell’s Celtics. The Boston dynasty seemed invincible. Pettit refused to give in. The series went to Game 6. That game was a performance for the ages. Pettit scored 50 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. He scored 19 of his team’s last 21 points. A feat never seen before in the Finals. The Hawks won 4-2. It was the only title for the franchise in St. Louis. And one of the rare occasions when Russell was denied a ring at the peak of his career.

The 20,000-point wall

Pettit maintained a rare statistical excellence over time. He compiled 11 consecutive All-Star selections. In 1965, he made collective and individual history. He became the first player in NBA history to surpass 20,000 career points. A colossal milestone. He retired at the age of 32. His statistical engine was simple: 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds per game on average over his career. An unmatched performance.

Ranked among the top five MVPs from the age of 23 to 31, Bob was consistently named to the All-First Team during those years but won only one title.

Do you like the NBA ?

Come and enjoy yourself in Paris !

Bob Pettit’s Playing Style

Pettit was the prototype of the ‘stretch four’ before his time, a power forward whose style was based on a fierce determination to win and relentless activity. He had two lethal weapons that made him impossible to guard. First, his offensive rebounding ability was surgical; he used his mobility and 2.06 m height to turn every miss into a second chance, securing around ten points per game from follow-ups alone. Although smaller than the massive centres of his era, he compensated with what Bill Russell called ‘pure effort’, a constant battle for position.

Second, he revolutionised the game for big men with a devastating mid-range jump shot. By attacking the basket, he forced defences into an unsolvable dilemma: either give up his outside shot or foul him as he drove aggressively to the rim, converting nearly ten free throws per night. This offensive versatility, combined with metronomic consistency, made him a scoring machine capable of averaging over 20 points for almost his entire career, while also being the first player in history to exceed 20 rebounds per game in a season.

Why did Bob Pettit leave his mark on the NBA ?

More than just a statistical anomaly, Bob Pettit stands as a historical bridge, connecting the era of archaic centres to that of modern, athletic basketball.

His dominance has never wavered: he remains the only player in NBA history to have maintained a double-double average throughout his entire career, driven by a sense of positioning that allowed him to grab 16.2 rebounds per game over eleven seasons.

But his legacy goes beyond the numbers; he is the man who took a small franchise to the top by achieving the impossible: bringing down Bill Russell’s Celtics dynasty. His 1958 masterpiece, a 50-point Game 6, remains to this day the most masterful individual performance ever against the Boston armada in the Finals.

His status as an absolute star is sealed by his four All-Star Game MVP titles, a record he shares with Kobe Bryant and Russell Westbrook, proving that he was the undisputed face of excellence even before the advent of Wilt Chamberlain or Oscar Robertson.