PETTIT, BOB

born Dec. 2, 1932, Baton Rouge, La., U.S. byname of Robert E. Lee Pettit American professional basketball player, first to score 20,000 points in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A graceful 6-foot 9-inch athlete, he was considered to be the first really agile player of extraordinary height in professional basketball. After graduating from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Pettit played NBA basketball for 11 seasons (1954-65) with the Milwaukee (after 1954-55, the St. Louis) Hawks. In each season but his last, he led the Hawks in scoring and rebounding. Twice (1955-56 and 1958-59) he was the NBA scoring champion and was voted the league's most valuable player. On Nov. 22, 1961, he set an NBA single-game record by scoring 19 free throws without missing. In 792 NBA regular season games, Pettit scored 20,880 points (average 26.4 points a game) and captured 12,851 rebounds. He retired in 1965 and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.