Bob Pettit, NBA’s first MVP and a Hawks champion, dies aged 93

Bob Pettit, the NBA's first Most Valuable Player award winner and the first player in the league to reach 20,000 points, has died aged 93. BBC Sport reported that the Basketball Hall of Fame confirmed his death. No cause was given. His career included two MVP awards, an NBA championship and All-Star selection in every season he played.

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Pettit received the inaugural MVP award for the 1955-56 season and won it again in 1958-59. He also led the league in scoring in both of those campaigns. The two awards were among the individual achievements of a player who spent 11 seasons in the NBA and was named an All-Star in each of them.

His professional career began after he starred at Louisiana State University. The Milwaukee Hawks selected him in the 1954 draft, and he remained with the franchise after its move to St Louis. He spent the rest of his NBA career with the Hawks, with his greatest team success coming in their 1958 championship victory over the Boston Celtics.

Pettit scored 50 points in a game in the 1958 finals as he helped the Hawks secure the title, according to the BBC report. He subsequently returned to the finals with the team in 1960 and 1961. Those appearances added to a career that combined championship success with the scoring milestone of becoming the NBA's first 20,000-point player.

He retired in 1965 with career averages of 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds per game. His contributions were recognised with induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971. LSU had retired his number 50 jersey in 1954, making him the first athlete at the university to receive that honour, the BBC reported.

In its tribute, LSU credited Pettit with helping define the modern NBA power forward and establishing standards that later players found difficult to match. The Hall of Fame also paid tribute when confirming his death. The honours from his university and the Hall reflected achievements spanning his college career and his 11 NBA seasons.