One of the greatest NBA players of all time, Bob Pettit passed away at the age of 93 BOB PETTIT - FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME

NBA Hall of Fame player Bob Pettit was as tough as they come. Not only could he score but he demanded respect in the lane and a blast from his cast could make you a believer. There was no SISSY BALL during the Pettit era - (The Sporting News Archives - photo) NBA's NEW SISSY BALL ERA

Bob Pettit GOING LEFT played 11 seasons in the NBA and had a career average of 26 ppg. and 16 rpg. The Thin Louisiana Man never had a season where he averaged under 20ppg. Shaquielle O'Neal never had an average of 16 rebounds in a season! - (Screen shot photo)

LA Clippers Kawhi Leonard i - (NBA Photo) Investigation of LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard

Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics ALL TIME NBA 1st TEAM - BREAKING IT DOWN

SPORTS NOTES - BOB PETTIT TAKES IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

One of the greatest NBA players of all time, Bob Pettit passed away at the age of 93. No other player has impressed me so strongly for such a long period of time as Pettit. In this case… time… made a difference. - NBA's ALL TIME BEST PLAYERS 1st and 2nd TEAMS

Wednesday October 21, 2026

BUSTER BAD ASS

Last month the basketball world lost a great player from its community as former NBA great Bob Pettit passed away at the age of 93.

Not many current basketball fans would be familiar with the former Milwaukee/St Louis Hawks star since he played his 11-year NBA career from the 1954-55 seasons to 1964-65,

Pettit, was a dominate scorer and rebounder Hawks and was the winner of the NBA's first MVP award in 1956. He also won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award four times.

Pettit was an All-American at LSU before going on to the NBA, where he was an All-Star for each of his 11 seasons, all with the Hawks. He led them to the 1958 championship over the mighty Boston Celtics, the Hawks' lone title.

I accidently saw Pettit on TV during his rookie season with Milwaukee on our TV set that had a grainy black and white picture. It was weird since at the time NBA games as I recall, only televised games of teams in a local area. In my case it was Philadelphia Warrior territory.

When the Hawks came to town a ticket to the game was on my menu.

I was awestruck by the hustle of the skinny player that had mega hustle. He would run the court with maximum effort. He wasn't the fastest guy on the court and couldn't jump out of the building but he appeared to be the hardest worker. From that point on I followed his career and he became one of my all-time favorite NBA players.

Pettit was cut from the varsity basketball team as both a freshman and sophomore. He played in the church league to hone his skills and on a basketball hoop in his next door neighbor's yard.

In an interview on NBA TV he admitted that he had limited skills but he wanted to outwork his opponent. In one of his revelations he noted that he couldn't dribble with his left hand but he could make two dribbles with it and then shoot or pass.

Quite frankly, at the time the NBA was pretty much an all white league. Since Pettit was from the deep southern state of Louisiana I questioned if he was a racist as many players from the south at that time were. Despite that to me, the most important thing was he was a great player.

Pettit is the toughest NBA player I have ever seen. I don't mean bullying but he was able to take intense physical play. I compared his time in the league by comparison to today's sissy ball play.

Back in the day it was all about playing and loving the game, it wasn't a fashion show and ego that seems to be prevalent with today's NBA players.

To make that point, Kawai Leonard has been caught up in a financial scandal. It seems that his $50 million seasons salary wasn't enough for him to live on. There was a scheme cooked up by the Clippers and his representatives to circumvent league rules to find a way to increase his income. That information is explained in this link.

The point being is Pettit played his entire career for the same money that he signed on for as a rookie… $12,000 a season.

Pettit was the league's scoring leader in four seasons. Pettit averaged at least 20 points per game and at least 12 rebounds per game in each of his 11 NBA seasons. He never finished below seventh in the NBA scoring race. Pettit was one of the greatest.

THS DAY IN THE NBA

October 21, 1967 The expansion Seattle SuperSonics won their first NBA game, defeating San Diego in overtime, 117-110.

October 21, 1972 One day after setting an NBA record by scoring 58 points in the fourth quarter of a 126-118 loss at Boston, the Buffalo Braves scored an NBA record-low four points in the third quarter of a 91-63 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Buffalo.

October 21, 1976 Adrian Dantley and Alex English made their debuts against each other. Dantley's Buffalo Braves defeated English's Milwaukee Bucks 133-112.

October 21, 1979 Guard Sam Smith of the Chicago Bulls scored the first four-point play in NBA history during a 113-111 loss to the Bucks at Milwaukee.

October 21, 1995 The Houston Rockets defeat Buckler Bologna of Italy 126-112 in the championship game of the six-team McDonald's Championship, in front of a sellout crowd of 10,708 at London Arena in London, England. Clyde Drexler is awarded the Drazen Petrovic Trophy as the tournament MVP after averaging 20.5 points and 8.5 assists in two games, including 25 points and 10 assists against Buckler Bologna. The Rockets, who downed Australia's Perth Wildcats 116-72 in the tournament semifinals, are the first reigning NBA Champion to play in the McDonald's Championship