Medical_Track_790 | ATL

277 | a day ago

First player to 20k points, lost a legend

Bitter-Argument4597

138 | a day ago

one of two players to average 20+ ppg and 16+ rpg his entire career. The other is wilt chamberlain

livefreeordont | PHI

41 | 21 hours ago

Also one of two players to lead a team over Russell in the playoffs. The other is wilt

redshoediary4

1 | 7 hours ago

Also the best player of the last all-white NBA champion team.

vaporized_scrotum | ATL

51 | a day ago

first mvp ever too! arguably our best player ever. hopefully we retire Hagan’s number before we lose him too.

Gekthegecko | BOS

33 | a day ago

Not arguable, Pettit is the greatest Hawk of all-time, and it’s not particularly close

RedtheGamer100 | CHA

1 | 10 hours ago

in st louis but Nique is the goat of Atlanta

Gekthegecko | BOS

1 | 4 hours ago

Important qualifier given how far ahead Pettit is

ParisLake2 | LAL

1 | 17 hours ago

Why has Cliff Hagan’s number not been retired?

Crying_in_99Ranch | NBA

4 | 17 hours ago

Retired as the NBA all-time leader in points and rebounds. The first GOAT

Weary-Bonus-1552

407 | a day ago

This guy beat Russell in the finals, same guy who won 11 rings in 13 years. Extremely underrated player, RIP

Ariesthebigram | TOR

230 | a day ago

Up until now, he was one of the oldest living Hall of Famers. The oldest living one: still Bob Cousy, who turned 98 years young last month

Ld511 | CHI

122 | a day ago

Its kinda forgotten how young the nba is and how lucky the sport is to have its legends live so long. Like until 2015 wilt was the only mvp to pass away and kobe was only the third in a league which such tall and genetic freaks is crazy, sadly its getting to the point where thw early history guys are now reaching their time

Eastern-Musician4533

29 | 17 hours ago

When the NBA did its Top 50 celebration in 1996, Pistol Pete was the only deceased player (heart attack). The 75 list had lost, like, 20 (and some couldn’t make it due to health reasons).

dennythedinosaur

42 | a day ago

I did a quick search off the top of my head.

Wayne Embry and Bailey Howell both still alive at 89.

Diamond4Hands4Ever | GSW

39 | a day ago

Cliff Hagan, who was Bob Pettit’s teammate for many years, is still alive at 94.

MrShake4 | PHI

17 | a day ago

TIL: Bob Cousy is still alive

ProjectHarraseeket | NBA

8 | 21 hours ago

He said this quite a couple years back before the Celtics got 18. Hell of a quote.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/BEGopNRygH

TrevorArizaFan | CHA

8 | 14 hours ago

There’s a very funny clip from a few years back where he called into Boston sports radio to shit on JJ Redick’s claim that guys in the 1960s played against “firemen and plumbers”.

MeddlingMike | BOS

41 | a day ago

Broke up a possible 10-peat and forced the Celtics to settle for a pathetic 8-peat and 11 ‘ships in 13 years. It is our shame as Celtics fans to bear…

MeddlingMike | BOS

181 | a day ago

Definitely one of those “lost to history” sorta guys. Arguably the greatest Hawks player of all time. Not his fault that he came before Russell/Wilt and the franchise he won a chip and played his whole career with eventually settled in Atlanta. He was an important star to a fledgling NBA that was on uncertain footing. He built the foundation. RIP Bob.

HokageEzio | NYK

81 | a day ago

Frankly the only argument is that he’s not an Atlanta Hawk, so fans of the franchise don’t know about him as much. His resume is way crazier than Nique’s and that’s saying something.

moon_dos | Puerto Rico

17 | a day ago

loved him on 2k, RIP legend 🫡

MeddlingMike | BOS

15 | a day ago

I’d say there’s an argument revolving around writing off/diminishing accomplishments from that era. It’s the same reason why people don’t put Russell above Jordan despite 11 rings > 6 rings and 5 MVPs each.

HokageEzio | NYK

50 | a day ago

2 MVPs, Rookie of the Year, 1 Championship, 10 first team All-NBA appearances, 11 All-NBA appearances, 4 Finals appearances. Had to go through absolute scrubs like:

Bill Russell
Bob Cousy
Elgin Baylor
Jerry West

Sure, Dominique wasn’t capable of even getting out of the 2nd round and was a 1st round exit for almost his entire career. But he did it on tv, so that actually makes it way better.

MeddlingMike | BOS

15 | a day ago

Dont disagree. Just rehashing the argument that comes up every single time somebody suggests on here that Russell does/doesn’t belong in the GOAT discussion.

inqte1

0 | a day ago

Is that reason that the no. of teams in the league ranged from 8 to 14 for Russells career?

DaExtinctOne | Jeremy Lin

68 | a day ago

With passings like these, it realy goes to show how our league is still so young compared to other sports like football and baseball. Just the past couple of years we’ve lost old school legends Russell, West and Elgin, now Bob Pettit. RIP.

Ld511 | CHI

27 | a day ago

And the fact that being that tall already is often a big disadvantage in living long

MassSwingers

6 | a day ago

I was actually think how many 6 ft 9 people in history have lived to age 93. Surely can’t be a huge number

Sikkly290 | Suns - Fuck Miles Bridges

3 | 19 hours ago

I think being tall goes one of two ways, either you have some sort of health condition that makes life miserable and you probably die young, or you are a freak specimen. Vast majority of NBA players are on the freak specimen side of things, so don’t have the health issues.

SportsDuck_

17 | a day ago

Yeah this would be like Cy Young or Ty Cobb or Rogers Hornsby dying for the MLB.

ProjectHarraseeket | NBA

9 | 21 hours ago

I think that puts things into perspective how old the MLB is.

[deleted]

1 | 17 hours ago

[deleted]

Sweden13 | NOP

54 | a day ago

Excellent player. I got big into 50’s basketball a few years ago, and he’s one of the players I spent a lot of time looking into. He truly got the short end of the stick- he was a 20-20 double-double machine, a bruising physical forward with a shooting touch. He was an elite player to the very end, retiring early to go pursue a job working in a bank. Because of that, I think people subconsciously place him with the Mikans of the era instead of the Russels/Baylors/Wilts.

However, as with all things, Pettit had the dark cloud of racism over his career. I’ve read his autobiography, and his framing really doesn’t do him many favors, but I do think it’s an unfortunately more nuanced deal than a lot of people have carried out. He doubtlessly played a part in the blackballing of Cleo Hill, and its been suggested that he helped push Fred LaCour out of the league as well. Whether it comes down just playing time or racial motivations is anyone’s guess, but forgive me if I assume that Robert E Lee Pettit Jr of Louisiana in the 1930’s had racial prejudices, and his co-runner, Clyde Lovelette, was a lot more blatant with it.

However, I don’t want to strictly disparage him on this count. He was an NBA representative for decades afterwards, and has given plenty of praise to guys like Karl Malone, Wilt, Elgin Baylor and KD. Some black teammates on the Hawks noted how supportive he was, and iirc, Russell said he was the first one to ever call his grandfather “sir.” He’s a complicated case that is really easy to throw in one bucket, and that was one of the defining narratives for his career.

Overall, RIP to another legend of NBA history, and one of the great power forwards of all time.

musthavesoundeffects | SEA

34 | a day ago

The best possible scenario for someone raised in racism is to learn and grow out of it. If it was easy to do the world would be a lot different, and we need to applaud those who can make the change.

VitruvianDude | POR

10 | 19 hours ago

Lenny Wilkins, who scaled the heights as a player and a coach, was drafted by the Hawks in 1960. As a biracial man, he definitely felt the racism on the team in general.

loveandmonsters | POR

2 | 12 hours ago

Robert E Lee lmao

Mitchoppertunity

1 | 3 hours ago

I think he’s put in the Russell chamberlain era

throwawayjoeyboots

31 | a day ago

Wow. I assumed he had died years ago.

The man who brought the Hawks franchise its only championship in like 85 years of existence or something.

HokageEzio | NYK

14 | a day ago

I think Cousy and Richie Guerin are the two oldest Hall of Famers still alive.

Diamond4Hands4Ever | GSW

7 | a day ago

It goes Cousy, then Cliff Hagan, and then Richie Guerin for top 3. Hubie Brown (not as a player but contributor) is after that. Oscar Robertson is also close to the top 5.

itgoesdownandup

1 | 17 hours ago

Has anyone actually interviewed these legends recently to ask about their thoughts on the evaluation of the game or even just their thoughts on the present? Toss Petit and Russell to since if there has been interviews both of those guys would have had recent ones.

sgtpepperslaststand | CLE

2 | 21 hours ago

Guerin was at the Knicks game when they won the title which is insane

HokageEzio | NYK

2 | 21 hours ago

I didn’t catch that he made it out to a game, that’s pretty cool.

sgtpepperslaststand | CLE

2 | 20 hours ago

They showed him on screen and I was like holy shit he’s alive? And he’s able to walk? And go to games?

YodaForceGhost | BKN

20 | a day ago

My 82-0 legend is gone. RIP

CazOnReddit | TOR

86 | a day ago

RIP Robert E Lee Petit

Yes, that is his real legal name

IanicRR | TOR

98 | a day ago

Thankfully unlike the guy he was named after, Pettit was one of the white dudes of the era who supported black players and was an ally.

And on those Hawks teams, that was an extremely rare commodity.

CazOnReddit | TOR

30 | a day ago

Hell, those Hawks teams and St Louis being as racist a city as it was (is? I can’t claim to know what it’s like in 26) is why Bill Russell ended up in the trade to the Celtics

That and the Kings being the Kings with the first overall pick (Then-the Royals but I digress)

p_pio

6 | a day ago

Tbf there’s decent chance that Hawks didn’t have real shot at Russell and rather just agreed for a deal between Celtics and Royals while getting some good players from Celtics thanks to that.

Supposedly Royals were on verge of bankruptcy and Celtics owner promised their owner few Ice Capades in their arena providing financial injection if they’ll pass on Russell.

BCP27 | MIN

6 | a day ago

St. Louis is pretty black, but I can’t say for sure cause I’m a white guy and I’ve only lived here a few years.

Edit: I say this to mean that I don’t think it’s very racist in the city itself.

Edit 2: Yeah I shouldn’t have opened my mouth. Not at all qualified to offer insight on this topic

stevethepirate808 | POR

12 | a day ago

This is a very St. Louis white guy way of saying what you are trying to say. A truly great answer to the question in its own way really.

ProjectHarraseeket | NBA

1 | 21 hours ago

St. Louis Arena where the Blues played and I believe where the Hawks played a few times was actually racially segregated at one point. Don’t know many arenas where that was a thing.

Wise_Passenger_6680

12 | a day ago

But it was Clyde Lovelette, who was the real racist, on his team.

horseshoeoverlook | Gran Destino

5 | a day ago

Wow. And he played with Bill Russell on the Celtics too

Current-Rooster-110

16 | a day ago

Proud to have met him when I was younger. Rest in peace.

DontBlameConan | NYK

-11 | a day ago

That’s not very specific, as any time besides the present would have been meeting him when you were younger.

Would love to hear the story of how you met

Emboar714 | SAS

13 | a day ago

Really could’ve just left the first sentence out.

DontBlameConan | NYK

-1 | a day ago

Yeah true, it seems in a thread like this it definitely comes across as more annoying than amusing

legend023 | NOP

39 | a day ago

Dude’s numbers were insane.

It’s a shame he couldn’t play alongside Bill Russell. That could’ve changed NBA history.

Bitter-Argument4597

25 | a day ago

Getting one over the greatest dynasty ever is a much better accomplishment and much better for his legacy

Dddddddfried | NYK

7 | a day ago

I know a Slim Reaper who disagrees

itgoesdownandup

1 | 16 hours ago

Does he communicate with a hiss?

kimchitacoman

6 | a day ago

13 titles in 13 years

[deleted]

1 | a day ago

[deleted]

Old_Heron_9707

13 | a day ago

RIP. One of the most underrated greats in history

BoringCap7543

12 | a day ago

The Original Tim Duncan, long time before Duncan. Strong, tough, stoic, professional. He only won 1 ring but that ring was against Bill Russell-led Celtics which actually made him a stand-out legend. Also one of the first players who introduced isometrics into his own personal training program.

And also a very nice man in real life, treated Blacks, White, Asians equally and praised the later generations for evolving the sport.

BAHatesToFly | NYK

11 | a day ago

I had no idea he was still alive, wow. Had an argument as a top five player in NBA history for quite a while in the 50s through the 70s. RIP

itgoesdownandup

2 | 16 hours ago

Houdini of the hardwood Bob Cousy is still going too (this was an excuse to write his fire and underrated nickname)

Affectionate-Flan-99 | DEN

9 | a day ago

Man is an 82-0 GOAT. Crazy numbers. RIP big fella 🫡

Vast-Speech-9435

8 | a day ago

Besides wilt this dude was the biggest threat to the Celtics dynasty, rip legend

HokageEzio | NYK

8 | a day ago

The Hawks lost Game 7 of the Finals in double overtime in 1957. And it was a Pettit missed bunny at the buzzer away from going to triple OT. Craziest game lost to history.

stevelevets

6 | a day ago

I mean, the fact that the ball even got to Pettit for him to miss the shot was insane.

HokageEzio | NYK

7 | a day ago

For sure. Literally chucked it off the backboard full court. The fact that they can all recount key details 35 years later shows how crazy the game was.

CurrentRoster | WAS

3 | 20 hours ago

bro a game 7 double over time in the finals would make this sub crash

HokageEzio | NYK

3 | 20 hours ago

It’s not even the only Finals Game 7 overtime that Russell’s Celtics were in. The 1962 Finals against the Lakers also went to OT because Frank Selvy on the Lakers missed an open midrange shot to win the game.

RedtheGamer100 | CHA

1 | 10 hours ago

Not g7 but happened with celtics against the suns in 76 finals I think

IanicRR | TOR

-3 | a day ago

? He was a Celtic dawg. You thinking of Jerry West who is already dead.

Edit: I can’t read dudes. My bad.

ArmiinTamzarian | SAS

7 | a day ago

Dawg you thinking of Bob Cousy

IanicRR | TOR

2 | a day ago

Holy fuck I’m Chris Broussard’s cousin

Vast-Speech-9435

5 | a day ago

Pettit played on the hawks my dude, pretty sure he never played for the celts

IanicRR | TOR

3 | a day ago

Yeah I had an insanely idiotic brain fart where I read it as Cousy.

Vast-Speech-9435

1 | a day ago

You’re good bro

asonkidd

6 | a day ago

You’re the one mistaken thinking it’s Cousy for whatever reason lmao

IanicRR | TOR

1 | a day ago

100% I’m a dumbass

Nice_Animator3379 | DAL

7 | a day ago

A few years ago I was in my dorm playing 2k with my friends and we chose random all time teams and I fried him using Pettit. After that we looked up his stats and highlights and were wondering how he wasn’t considered top 10-15 all time. RIP legend

HokageEzio | NYK

14 | a day ago

I think all of these legends that played for teams that relocated to entirely different cities just get the short end of the stick. The core fanbase of those teams just don’t really have allegiance to those cities, so it’s not talked about in the fanbase the same way and it sort of gets lost to history. Lakers aside obviously because that’s a different animal (but even then it took them a long time to honor the really old MPLS Lakers properly).

Some names that come to mind:

Bob Pettit
Pistol Pete
Dolph Schayes (didn’t get his jersey retired by the Sixers until he was dead, which is a damn shame)
Paul Arizin
Bob McAdoo
Artis Gilmore (his best years were in the ABA for a team that no longer exists)

herseyhawkins33

6 | a day ago

Man go watch highlights of Gilmore and you definitely wonder why he isn’t more highly regarded. Great agility and athleticism with true center size and a nice touch as well. He’s definitely talked about on an all time level but some of that fame lost to the 70s era.

Hnl2Nrt2025

3 | a day ago

Those match ups Laker Spurs , he and Kap going at it. Loved every minute

ParisLake2 | LAL

2 | 17 hours ago

- Pete Maravich, what an absolute baller. If he played today, he would be on TikTok and Sportscenter every night. He was must see television, a great scorer, with very flashy passing abilities.

- Paul Arizin is one of the originators of the jump shot, one of the great jump shooters in history. Great partners to Wilt Chamberlain playing for the Philadelphia Warriors. When the Warriors moved to Golden State, Arizin retired, as he did not want to lose his job at IBM. Paul Arizin, for me, is one of the most underrated and forgotten players in basketball history.

- Artis Gilmore was a monster. As a rookie in the ABA, he averaged 5 blocks a night. 5 blocks a night. WTF. He was the last superstar in Chicago before the arrival of Michael Jordan. He tends to be forgotten because of the ABA-NBA transition.

RedtheGamer100 | CHA

1 | 10 hours ago

Pistol Pete and mcadoo are talked about frequently 😂

HokageEzio | NYK

1 | 9 hours ago

McAdoo’s jersey is not retired by the Clippers and he seemingly has little connection to the franchise. I found one news article where Doc Rivers says the Clippers discussed retiring his jersey and trying to form those old connections with the team’s past… that was 11 years ago. I’m not even sure he’s been invited out to a game.

Hawks didn’t retire Maravich’s jersey until 2017, which was my thought process when I said that. But it doesn’t really fit the theme I was going for since they were already in Atlanta.

RedtheGamer100 | CHA

1 | 9 hours ago

I meant in terms of players brought up. Mcadoo was literally on showtime

ZerroTheDragon | IND

4 | a day ago

That’s one thing I enjoy about 2K compared to other sports games is the classic players, there are a few big names missing (we lost Bill Russell as well sadly) but there are a lot of legends in the game who I’ve discovered thanks to the games

FilterAccoumt

5 | 21 hours ago

fun fact - I have the same last name as Bob and when people use to meet me they would ask if I spelled it like Andy and I would say no like Bob and not once did anyone understand the reference

itgoesdownandup

2 | 16 hours ago

At least you didn’t have the same first name as him

Rare-Humor-9192

4 | a day ago

He had one of the oddest free throw styles I’ve ever seen. But he definitely was a great one.

AnduwinHS

6 | a day ago

Multiple posts about polymarket and a video of Scottie Barnes eating all getting way more attention than a post mourning the death of one of the all-time greats. That’s peak r/NBA right there

ProjectHarraseeket | NBA

2 | 21 hours ago

When these current legends die, who knows how forgotten about they will be.

tarunpopo

3 | a day ago

Rest in peace legend.

johnazoidberg- | DET

3 | a day ago

RIP a true legend of this sport we love. That “aww shit” we all just heard was Bill Russell knowing that pick-up game in the sky is about to get fuck I ng G O O D

IcyAppointment23

3 | a day ago

50 points in a close out game 6 vs the Bill Russell Celtics that they only won by 1 point. RIP to a legend

ThisGuy6266 | BOS

5 | a day ago

Oscar Robertson is the only MVP left from the 50’s and 60’s.

Affectionate-Art9780 | BKN

7 | a day ago

I met him once in the late 70s when I was DJing an event in NYC. We are both still here damnit!

quailinthebrush | PHX

3 | 21 hours ago

bro was DJing since it came out

Affectionate-Art9780 | BKN

2 | 8 hours ago

Born and Bred Baby Boomer from the Big Bad Bronx Baby!

sgtpepperslaststand | CLE

6 | 21 hours ago

Bob Cousy is 98

ProjectHarraseeket | NBA

2 | a day ago

He’s here but the team he’s most remembered for has been gone for over half a century.

carpy22 | BKN

1 | 18 hours ago

The Kings have such a rich history but the average fan today only knows them as basement dwellers in the West.

RedtheGamer100 | CHA

1 | 10 hours ago

They wasn’t the kings then tbf

MoneyManx10 | DET

2 | a day ago

An actual legend of the game. RIP.

OrangeJr36 | MIA

2 | a day ago

RIP to the man who made flashy basketball possible.

RRJC10 | TOR

2 | a day ago

He’s gotta be a top 5 PF of all time. I’m not sure if he’s pushing out Dirk, Malone, or Barkley, but he’s too good to be outside the top 5.

heat_fan_ | TOR

1 | a day ago

Rip Bob

abdeezy112 | CHI

1 | a day ago

RIP

thebigpink | MEM

1 | a day ago

Rip legend

outsidehere | LAL

1 | a day ago

Rest In Peace

horseshoeoverlook | Gran Destino

1 | a day ago

RIP Bob Pettit. He is one of the best stretch fours in 2K.

randy88moss | LAL

1 | a day ago

Honestly didn’t know he was still alive.

HikmetLeGuin

1 | a day ago

Great player. One of the legends of the game.

loopOutnotIn | ATL

1 | a day ago

One of the greatest PFs of all time, played hard with strong rebounding and was a threat because he could drive it in against you but had some range. RIP to the greatest Hawk ever

MinePlay512

1 | a day ago

He was one of the best Hawks in his time. RIP.

herseyhawkins33

1 | a day ago

RIP. One of the more underrated players in league history when you look at his resume.

ZerroTheDragon | IND

1 | a day ago

RIP, he’s fun to use in 2K

HippiesBeGoneInc | LAL

1 | a day ago

The only man Bill Russell feared.

Head-Expert6149 | Puerto Rico

1 | a day ago

One of the greatest athletes to ever come out of Louisiana, Top 10 PF of all time, RIP

StandYourGroundhog | TOR

1 | 20 hours ago

The first MVP

smoothsoul23 | TOR

1 | 18 hours ago

RIP when I first started following, he was one of older legends that I ended knowing about

Gh0stIcon

1 | 12 hours ago

Is he one of those plumbers I keep hearing about?

Own_Pop_9711

1 | 9 hours ago

The name pettit is amazing for his size

Alvalade1993

1 | 6 hours ago

RIP, the man lead the Hawks to a chip against the Celtics Dynasty team in 6 games.

Little fun fact, if you look at that Game 6 close out game, Bob Petit dropped 50pts, 19rbs in that game, yet when we talk about close out game performances on here he never comes up, and I don’t want to hear the league wasn’t as tough, he did that against THE Celtics team and against THE guy in Bill Russell

RIP Champ

glomar_sub_recovery

1 | 3 hours ago

Sleek big man Bob Petitt….the irony

ParisLake2 | LAL

1 | 17 hours ago

One of the great PFs of all time. One of the great players in the 50s, and 60s.

Rest in peace. I can’t believe it.

MrBuckBuck | POR

-2 | a day ago

RIP

Died at the age of 93

[deleted]

1 | a day ago

[deleted]

1 | a day ago

[removed]

[Basketball HOF] The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame mourns the passing of Bob Pettit, a sleek, skilled big man who revolutionized the forward position during his career. The 11-time NBA All-Star and 2-time MVP retired as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history and left an enduring legacy.