2026年9月24日 / 美国东部时间晚上8:34 / 美联社
圣路易斯老鹰队极具统治力的得分手和篮板手、1956年NBA首位常规赛最有价值球员（MVP）得主鲍勃·佩蒂特已去世，享年93岁。
佩蒂特的母校路易斯安那州立大学（LSU）于周四宣布，他于前一天离世。校方未透露死因。
佩蒂特在进入NBA前曾是路易斯安那州立大学的全美最佳球员。在NBA的11个赛季里，他每个赛季都入选全明星阵容，且全程效力于老鹰队。他带领球队在1958年总决赛中击败强大的波士顿凯尔特人队，夺得老鹰队队史唯一一座总冠军奖杯。
他还在1959年再次斩获常规赛MVP，并四次当选全明星赛MVP，这一成就只有洛杉矶湖人传奇球星科比·布莱恩特能够比肩。
资料图： 1957年12月10日，圣路易斯老鹰队的鲍勃·佩蒂特在纽约麦迪逊广场花园对阵辛辛那提皇家队的NBA比赛中跃起单手投篮。美联社资料图
在那个NBA拥有威尔特·张伯伦、比尔·拉塞尔、奥斯卡·罗伯特森和埃尔金·贝勒等巨星的时代，佩蒂特绝对是一股不可忽视的力量。但彼时NBA还未通过电视广泛普及，身处小市场球队的佩蒂特未能获得更多观众关注。
身高6英尺9英寸（约2.06米）、体重205磅（约93公斤），发际线严重后移的佩蒂特在大前锋位置上极具身体优势——而“大前锋”这一位置术语当时还未进入篮球领域的通用词汇。他几乎从未缺席比赛，偶尔也会客串中锋，是最早不只会背对篮筐进攻的大个子球员之一。
1955年，佩蒂特当选年度最佳新秀，这也是老鹰队从密尔沃基迁至圣路易斯的最后一年。
次年他便拿下常规赛MVP，以场均25.7分的表现领跑联盟得分榜。他还在1959年以场均29.2分再次成为联盟得分王。
1964-65赛季结束后，佩蒂特宣布退役，职业生涯场均得到26.4分和16.2个篮板。当时他以20880分成为NBA历史得分王，篮板总数12849个则排名历史第二。
他于1970年入选奈史密斯篮球名人堂。
名人堂官网对佩蒂特的介绍写道：“身形瘦削、动作优雅且始终保持良好状态，鲍勃·佩蒂特是最早面向篮筐进攻的大个子球员之一。但真正让他脱颖而出的是他的意志力，他绝不会在比赛中落后于对手。”
小罗伯特·李·佩蒂特于1932年12月12日出生在路易斯安那州巴吞鲁日。他的父亲从事执法工作，曾担任东巴吞鲁日教区警长。佩蒂特在篮球方面起步较晚，直到高三才进入巴吞鲁日高中校队。
高三赛季，他带领巴吞鲁日高中夺得州冠军，随后收到了十余所大学的邀约。他选择留在本地，在路易斯安那州立大学开启篮球生涯——当时的 NCAA 规则要求球员大二年级才能代表校队出战。
他在大学三年的东南联盟得分榜上均位列第一，大二赛季场均25.5分，大三24.9分，大四则达到31.4分。
佩蒂特是仅有的三位入选名人堂的路易斯安那州立大学球员之一，另外两位是皮特·马拉维奇和沙奎尔·奥尼尔。路易斯安那州立大学主场馆皮特·马拉维奇组装中心外矗立着佩蒂特和奥尼尔的青铜雕像。他的50号球衣在路易斯安那州立大学退役，老鹰队也退役了他的9号球衣。
佩蒂特职业生涯的不幸之处在于，他的大部分生涯都与凯尔特人队的冠军王朝重叠——后者是美国职业体育史上统治力最强的王朝之一。
佩蒂特距离三次总冠军仅差两场胜利。他带领老鹰队四次杀入总决赛，对手均为波士顿凯尔特人，其中两次抢七失利。
1957年的首次总决赛对决，凯尔特人在抢七大战双加时取胜。次年老鹰队拿下总冠军，中断了凯尔特人队10年里9次夺冠的统治节奏。老鹰队还在1960年（抢七）和1961年（五场落败）的总决赛中再次输给凯尔特人。
退役后，佩蒂特回到家乡巴吞鲁日，从事银行和金融咨询工作。近年来他经常现场观看路易斯安那州立大学和新奥尔良鹈鹕队的比赛。
Bob Pettit, NBA Hall of Famer and its first MVP, dies at 93
September 24, 2026 / 8:34 PM EDT / AP
Bob Pettit, an imposing scorer and rebounder for the St. Louis Hawks and winner of the NBA’s first Most Valuable Player award in 1956, has died. He was 93.
Pettit’s alma mater, LSU, announced Thursday that he died a day earlier. The university did not provide a cause of death.
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.
He was also the NBA MVP in 1959 and was the MVP of the All-Star Game four times, an achievement matched only by Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant.
FILE – In this Dec. 10, 1957, file photo, Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks leaps to make a one-handed shot in an NBA basketball game against the Cincinnati Royals at Madison Square Garden in New York City. AP Photo/File
Pettit was a force at a time when the NBA featured the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor. But it was also before a time when the NBA was widely seen on television, Pettit — playing in a smaller market — was denied a larger audience.
At 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds and with a deeply receding hairline, Pettit was a physical presence at power forward, before such a position became part of basketball’s vocabulary. He rarely missed a game. He also played center and was one of the first big men who did not play solely with his back to the basket.
Pettit was the Rookie of the Year in 1955, the last year the Hawks played in Milwaukee before moving to St. Louis.
He captured the MVP the next season, leading the league in scoring at 25.7 points a game. He also was the NBA’s scoring leader in 1959 at 29.2 points.
He retired after the 1964-65 season with career averages of 26.4 points and 16.2 rebounds. At that time, he was the NBA’s career leader in points (20,880) and second in rebounds (12,849).
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.
“Lean, graceful, and always well-conditioned, Bob Pettit’s physical build made him one of the first big men to play facing the basket,” reads Pettit’s biographical profile at the Hall of Fame. “But Pettit’s resolve set him apart from his peers; he simply would not be outworked.”
Robert Lee Pettit Jr. was born on Dec. 12, 1932, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His father worked in law enforcement and served as East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff. Pettit was a late bloomer in basketball, not making the Baton Rouge High School varsity until his junior season.
As a senior, he led Baton Rouge to a state championship and wound up with more than a dozen college offers. He chose to stay home and starred at LSU as a sophomore, an era when players could not join the varsity until then.
He led the Southeastern Conference in scoring all three of his seasons, with averages of 25.5 points as a sophomore, 24.9 as a junior and 31.4 as a senior.
Pettit is one of only three LSU players — Pete Maravich and Shaquille O’Neal the others — to earn a place in the Hall of Fame. Bronze statues of Pettit and O’Neal stand outside LSU’s home arena, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. His No. 50 is retired by LSU, his No. 9 by the Atlanta Hawks.
Pettit’s misfortune was that most of his career coincided with a run of Celtics championships that remains one of the most dominant runs in American pro sports history.
Pettit was two victories short of being a three-time NBA champion. Pettit’s Hawks advanced to the finals four times, all against Boston, twice losing in seven games.
The first meeting, won by Boston in 1957, came down to double overtime of Game 7. The second ended with a championship for the Hawks, interrupting Boston’s run of nine titles in 10 seasons. The Hawks also dropped NBA Finals matchups with the Celtics in 1960 (in seven games) and 1961 (in five).
Pettit retired to his native Baton Rouge after leaving basketball and worked in banking and financial consulting. He was a regular at LSU and New Orleans Pelicans games in recent years.
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