Bob Pettit - A Will To Win (13 min Bob Pettit footage)

[CavaliersFTW]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdeiZRW7gSo

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BRusRBik_WM/UohdeCtHV3I/AAAAAAAAE2E/5ghfLckBi9I/s400/bob_pettit_8.jpg

1958 NBA Champion (with a then Finals record 50pts 25rebs in clinching game, 19pts in 4th quarter alone)
(+1 FMVP if that trophy would exist in 1958)
2x NBA MVP (1st recepient of the trophy - lead league in scoring AND rebounding first time he won it)
4x All-Star MVP (tied for record of most ASG MVP's with Kobe Bryant)
Rookie of the Year
11x NBA All-Star (all 11 seasons of his career)
10x All-NBA 1st team
2 x NBA scoring champion
1x NBA rebounding champion
Hall of Famer
NBA 25th Anniversary Team
NBA 35th Anniversary Team
NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
Jersey Retired by the Atlanta Hawks

20880 points (first to ever score 20,000 pts) @ 26.4 PPG
12849 @ 16.2 RPG
2369 @ 3.2 APG

Best Statistical year: 1961-62 - 31 PPG 19 RPG 4 APG

:cheers:

[WillC]

This video blew me away. I've no idea how you managed to get so much quality footage. Bob Pettit is a real gentleman and one of the greatest players ever.

I thought people might enjoy reading these Pettit-related quotes:

Ed Macauley:

[BoutPractice]

Great vid as usual. I see similarities with Timmy, Dirk, Bird and KLove... He paved the way for all the modern tall forwards, and in particular is the prototype for the consistent, loyal, perennial 20/10 PFs we've seen so many of in the history of the league. His game is timeless and based on skill, it would translate very well today if given the same opportunities as contemporary players. A 6'9 player with good balance and a reliable jumper, who can shoot it off the dribble and off the turnaround, with or without the backboard, is always going to find a way to score. Because of the threat of the jumper, he would still get drive and layup opportunities (getting and converting many free throws along the way). Add to that good hands close to the basket, terrific rebounding, off-the-ball movement, and excellent IQ with a knack for being at the right place at the right time, and he would also get plenty of easy points.

[#number6ix#]

Great video... 20,000 points on 2 pointers only in 11 years is crazy

[Round Mound]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdeiZRW7gSo

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BRusRBik_WM/UohdeCtHV3I/AAAAAAAAE2E/5ghfLckBi9I/s400/bob_pettit_8.jpg

1958 NBA Champion (with a then Finals record 50pts 25rebs in clinching game, 19pts in 4th quarter alone)
(+1 FMVP if that trophy would exist in 1958)
2x NBA MVP (1st recepient of the trophy - lead league in scoring AND rebounding first time he won it)
4x All-Star MVP (tied for record of most ASG MVP's with Kobe Bryant)
Rookie of the Year
11x NBA All-Star (all 11 seasons of his career)
10x All-NBA 1st team
2 x NBA scoring champion
1x NBA rebounding champion
Hall of Famer
NBA 25th Anniversary Team
NBA 35th Anniversary Team
NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
Jersey Retired by the Atlanta Hawks

20880 points (first to ever score 20,000 pts) @ 26.4 PPG
12849 @ 16.2 RPG
2369 @ 3.2 APG

Best Statistical year: 1961-62 - 31 PPG 19 RPG 4 APG

:cheers:

Who Gives a **** About His Accolades. Only Women are Interested In Those Details. Just Show The Video.

[Rake2204]

This was a very interesting video. Like many others, I'm largely unfamiliar with Bob Pettit's playing style. This was a great resource that will shed some light on an often overlooked legend.

Sidenote, did anyone else notice the older he got, the more Bob Pettit began looking like Trevor Phillips?

http://pic.pimg.tw/ooo15434/1356174290-3668519847.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Ue1ZNnmWpYc/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAAA/8BPWbZf7VdY/s600-c-k-no/photo.jpg

[Kblaze8855]

This video blew me away. I've no idea how you managed to get so much quality footage.

Im sure its a huge effort. Having made 200+ basketbal lvideos I assure you...its harder than it looks and it takes hours for shitty videos on popular players from the last 20-30 years. Maybe half an hour if you wanted to do like....a Jordan video. Someone with more footage than the president. But you go to make say....a George Gervin video? Guy who is somewhat well known...you might need 2 weeks.

I made this almost 11 years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULvo7__wwBU


and posted it on ISH on servers a guy here let me use and a bunch of file sharing sites and forgot about it. It was like a 50 reply topic in 2003 which at the time was a lot. We didnt have a third of the people here.

Then I notice it on youtube years later and im getting hated on by Bill Simmons for putting Eminem on it(I wanted Aerosmith Dream On but couldnt find it quickly...the internet was different then).

And now when kids put Larry Bird into youtube its the first mix that comes up. Ive had people in person show it to me...not knowing that I made it just to make a point on ISH a decade ago and im watching it like ive never seen it with some kid who had no idea Larry Bird was that good.....

And lets be real....its not even well done. But for 10 years ago when only 4-5 people im aware of were even making them I thought it was nice.

So it was worth the dvd rips, long ass emule downloads, and so on. People get something out of it for years.

And this guy is making videos on people that otherwise almost never get seen. Once id covered virtually everyone possible I started making videos with a theme or something to make a point...but even then...there are 1000 people doing it now. I can just google a guy and get 30 videos. Years ago you couldnt find a Chris Mullin mix to save your life so I made one to make my point for me when I talked about him.

Now....unless its an old guy like Bob, Baylor, or so on its not even needed. And those guys are so hard to cover right. So I respect the effort it takes to do these. 8-9 people say thanks after 2 months work but 20-30 thousand people might get a new respect for people they barely know. So its worth it.

But ill be one of the 8-9 saying thanks anyway.


Bob Pettit is a real gentleman and one of the greatest players ever.

Ever see that Russell interview with Chris Webber where he tells the story of the first time he brought his dad and grandfather to watch him play? It was in an ASG and Bill told them he would win the game and be MVP. And of course he did(19 points 24 rebounds 5 assists). After the game on the way home his grandfather...93 at the time in the early 60s...told him Bob said something along the lines of "Mr.Russell...Sir...its an honor".

And he was kinda emotional about it because Bob Petitt was the first white man who ever called him sir.

Dude is born in like 1870 Misissippi. He was a couple years from being born a slave. And no white person ever said "Sir" to him until Bob at the all star game.

[Round Mound]

He Paved The Way For Powerforwards.

[WillC]

Kblaze8855, thanks for sharing the info about your Bird video. I already knew you made it and I must have watched it well over a dozen times. It's one of the more enjoyable highlight videos on YouTube.

I'd already heard the story about Bill Russell's Dad and Bob Pettit. It's a great story. Russell was a huge fan of Pettit's. In a strange way, I wish the Russell for Macauley/Hagan trade never happened - I'd have loved to see what Pettit and Russell could have done together. Some serious damage, I imagine.

[Kblaze8855]

Bob and Russell vs Wilt and Nate briefly on the Warriors would have been a hell of a battle if they played Nate and Wilt together mroe than they did in reality. Bob was coming up on the end by then but he was still doing 27/15.

[Legends66NBA7]

Who Gives a **** About His Accolades. Only Women are Interested In Those Details. Just show the video.

Relax.

A lot of people who are interested in basketball history give a **** about his accolades and it's also a great way to show some on ISH and who ever else browses the forum a player they may not have known about before.



Anyways, OP, great video. He's often too forgotten about in that era. Is he regarded as the best player from the 50's ?

[Round Mound]

Relax.

A lot of people who are interested in basketball history give a **** about his accolades and it's also a great way to show some on ISH and who ever else browses the forum a player they may not have known about before.



Anyways, OP, great video. He's often too forgotten about in that era. Is he regarded as the best player from the 50's ?

Ok..Mmm I Think He Could Easily Be a Top 5 Player of the 50s

[WillC]

Bob Pettit played from 1954-1965. Russell played less years in the 1950s (1956-1969) than Pettit, but obviously had the better career.

Bob Cousy was the biggest star of the 1950s and played the entire decade.

George Mikan retired in 1956.

So yeah, if we discount Russell (who's best years were in the 1960s), I'd say Pettit along with Mikan were the best players of the 1950s, followed by Cousy.

Dolph Schayes would be next, then probably Paul Arizin, Bill Sharman, etc.

[LAZERUSS]

In watching that video I don't notice anything particularly different in the game that is played today. True, the players of today are generally more athletic. But as we know, basketball is a game of skill more than athleticism or even size. If it were not, then James White and Priest Lauderdale would be dominating in the NBA.

If a Kevin Love can be among the best players in the current NBA, I don't see any reason why a Bob Pettit (or Jerry Lucas) would have any problems playing today.

[CavaliersFTW]

In watching that video I don't notice anything particularly different in the game that is played today. True, the players of today are generally more athletic. But as we know, basketball is a game of skill more than athleticism or even size. If it were not, then James White and Priest Lauderdale would be dominating in the NBA.

If a Kevin Love can be among the best players in the current NBA, I don't see any reason why a Bob Pettit (or Jerry Lucas) would have any problems playing today.
Oscar Robertson would agree with you, when people ask him questions about 'era's' he always seems to be slightly irritated by the question and responds with a (paraphrasing here) "what's so different about todays game? You still rebound, you still score, you still need to get your teammates involved."

The game played today has far far more things in common with the game back than it does differences. At a glance, it's still in large part the exact same sport - with only minor rule tweaks and variations.

[Miller for 3]

^^

Exactly. Main difference is that in the 50s/60s they actually enforced the rules that Dr. Naismith worked so hard to create. Now the NBA blatantly ignores the rules to promote the ESPN hype/propaganda. So much carrying, traveling, HGH use, palming, no defensive 3 seconds, no handchecking, players hiding out of bounds,etc. Makes real basketball fans sick to their stomach. Someone like Lebron would struggle to be the 12th man on the Pistons in the 60s, but is a borderline allstar in today's NBA

[Rose'sACL]

^^

Exactly. Main difference is that in the 50s/60s they actually enforced the rules that Dr. Naismith worked so hard to create. Now the NBA blatantly ignores the rules to promote the ESPN hype/propaganda. So much carrying, traveling, HGH use, palming, no defensive 3 seconds, no handchecking, players hiding out of bounds,etc. Makes real basketball fans sick to their stomach. Someone like Lebron would struggle to be the 12th man on the Pistons in the 60s, but is a borderline allstar in today's NBA
why isn't this guy banned yet?

[aj1987]

why isn't this guy banned yet?
Jeff's alt.


People actually think that AI should be ranked higher than Pettit. :facepalm
http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=314338&page=3

[Legends66NBA7]

Jeff's alt.


People actually think that AI should be ranked higher than Pettit. :facepalm
http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=314338&page=3

Well, that's all really subjective. Not that I agree with Iverson over Pettit, but it's not all that clear cut due to preference. Accolades and achievements might go into Pettit's favor, but trying to differentiate between eras while putting everything into context is very hard.

[aj1987]

While, that's all really subjective. Not that I agree with Iverson over Pettit, but it's not all that clear cut due to preference. Accolades and achievements might go into Pettit's favor, but trying to differentiate between eras while putting everything into context is very hard.
I genuinely don't understand why you don't see Pettit as a better player than Iverson. Care to explain? Even with the different eras and all, evolution of the game is pretty much a given. Obviously AI has better skills.

[Legends66NBA7]

I genuinely don't understand why you don't see Pettit as a better player than Iverson. Care to explain?

Arguing who's a better player is harder than it seems. Especially when you don't have footage of player over the other. Arguing who had a better career is the same thing, but seems to flow with this:

You can only argue what the players did against their competition. Since scaling competition here seems to be a real problem with posters. Accolades are hard to gauge too. Stats really don't help here since the eras were too different.

I will say that Pettit actually did perform better against his peers than Iverson did his peers Never really suggested otherwise, unless I was unclear in my earlier post.

[CavaliersFTW]

Any elite 5-11 player has better 'skills' than a 6-9 player - they HAVE too to even be in the league. Impact however, is a totally different story. An exaggerated comparison would be someone saying AI is a better player than Shaq because he's more skilled. Well duh, he's more skilled, but does that make him a player? Because no matter how much more skilled he is than Shaq that does not mean he was capable of delivering the same impact on the game.

[Legends66NBA7]

Any elite 5-11 player has better 'skills' than a 6-9 player - they HAVE too to even be in the league. Impact however, is a totally different story. An exaggerated comparison would be someone saying AI is a better player than Shaq because he's more skilled. Well duh, he's more skilled, but does that make him a player? Because no matter how much more skilled he is than Shaq that does not mean he was capable of delivering the same impact on the game.

In your opinion, is Bob Cousy a better player than Allen Iverson ?

[CavaliersFTW]

In your opinion, is Bob Cousy a better player than Allen Iverson ?
No, why?

[aj1987]

I will say that Pettit actually did perform better against his peers than Iverson did his peers Never really suggested otherwise, unless I was unclear in my earlier post.
:facepalm My bad.

[Legends66NBA7]

No, why?

Just asking. It's a better comparison since they were both elite guards for their respective eras. Comparing an elite guard to an elite big man from different eras gets tricky to compare.

[CavaliersFTW]

Just asking. It's a better comparison since they were both elite guards for their respective eras. Comparing an elite guard to an elite big man from different eras gets tricky to compare.
I do however think that Jerry West is a better player than AI, as is Oscar Robertson. That said I think AI gets criminally disrespected and underrated today, and I do not agree with the people that try to say he was a loser.

[CavaliersFTW]

Btw I should take a moment to say thank you to the people who've acknowledged the work it takes to put together a mix like this :cheers:

And Kblaze, that Larry Bird video was the first Larry Bird highlight reel I ever watched and I remember it blew me away - thanks!

[LAZERUSS]

Oscar Robertson would agree with you, when people ask him questions about 'era's' he always seems to be slightly irritated by the question and responds with a (paraphrasing here) "what's so different about todays game? You still rebound, you still score, you still need to get your teammates involved."

The game played today has far far more things in common with the game back than it does differences. At a glance, it's still in large part the exact same sport - with only minor rule tweaks and variations.

The game has been played since the 1890's with essentially the same number of players, same court dimensions, same hoop diameter and height, and aside from the 24 second clock, the 3 pt line, and minor other rules...is still being played the same way today.

[fpliii]

:applause: :applause: :applause:

This and Baylor's videos are your best yet.

We can't say it enough, but you're a tremendous asset to the community. Thanks for your hard work, and keep it up.

:cheers:

[PHILA]

Pettit may rank up with Barkley as one of the greatest offensive rebounding forwards to ever play.



Jun 28, 1998

LEARNING A LESSON: Luke Jackson, a powerfully built 6-foot-10 forward, talked about his indoctrination into the NBA after he led the 1964 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in Tokyo.

"When I was a rookie, I had the opportunity to play against Mr. (Bob) Pettit," he said of the former LSU star. "He was one of the finest forwards to ever play in the NBA, and I learned you don't stand on the floor looking up.

"Bob was going up for a rebound one night and I was just looking at him," Jackson said. "I decided from then on that when any rebound was in the air, I was going after it."




http://i.imgur.com/OMHKrXm.png
http://i.imgur.com/8RxTdwt.png

[Collie]

Pettit was one of those guys with a very modern game. You could look at this video and imagine it being done in the 80's or 90's, and still look right.

[CavaliersFTW]

:applause: :applause: :applause:

This and Baylor's videos are your best yet.

We can't say it enough, but you're a tremendous asset to the community. Thanks for your hard work, and keep it up.

:cheers:
Thanks, feel like I'm getting better the more videos I make. I've got a ton of new Oscar and Russell footage so I'm probably going to dive back into one of those two next. Both of them have mixes in progress in various stages of completion.

[senelcoolidge]

I'm still waiting for your Lebron mix. :lol

But seriously great video. Pettit is one of my all time favorites. You, Phila, Lazarus, and a few other guys really make a positive difference on these boards.

[moe94]

In watching that video I don't notice anything particularly different in the game that is played today.

Surely you're not serious. :biggums:

[jlip]

Awesome video!

:applause:

Who was considered the better player at the time, Pettit or Baylor?

[WillC]

Awesome video!

:applause:

Who was considered the better player at the time, Pettit or Baylor?

Upon entering the league in 1958, people were blown away by Elgin Baylor's abilities. However, one year later, Chamberlain entered the league and stole the limelight. Baylor was still the best all-around player. However, even that came to an end when the Big O was drafted (1960).

As Leonard Koppett puts it, people spent many an hour arguing over who was better: Oscar or Wilt. Meanwhile, others were sure the answer was Bill Russell.

Pettit was basically the next guy on the list.

I think the perception at the time was that Baylor was the better player (compared with Pettit), but it must have been incredibly close.

[duskovujosevic]

nice thread, players from that era played with so much heart and enthusiasm. it wasn't about money. they played because of passion towards basketball. nice footage cavaliersFTW

[jongib369]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcThFuKUq7sDuCckEiIv0kiG1SlJTa6yc Sxu6_e9QsjhyAQCdWT6

[SHAQisGOAT]

Never seen this one before. Great stuff :applause:

Bob was tough as nails and he could really shoot that thing, very smart too.. recipe for success.

[jongib369]

https://36.media.tumblr.com/4010feabbfd7c086aa243580bf2e7fe2/tumblr_mlqlhfVJFj1rwppydo1_500.jpg https://40.media.tumblr.com/c319ffe8715a66eba01362cf054df095/tumblr_mlqlhfVJFj1rwppydo5_500.jpg


http://www.thebestsportsblog.com/images/bob-pettit-talks.jpg

[jongib369]

Thanks, feel like I'm getting better the more videos I make. I've got a ton of new Oscar and Russell footage so I'm probably going to dive back into one of those two next. Both of them have mixes in progress in various stages of completion.

https://www.kamersinnederland.nl/files/large/3bb23c755123f92

[MiseryCityTexas]

Bob and Russell vs Wilt and Nate briefly on the Warriors would have been a hell of a battle if they played Nate and Wilt together mroe than they did in reality. Bob was coming up on the end by then but he was still doing 27/15.


That early 60s St. Louis Hawks front court that had Bob Pettit, Zelmo Beaty, Bill Bridges, and Cliff Hagan all on the same team had to have been the the most underrated front front court of that NBA era. :eek:

[MiseryCityTexas]

Pettit was one of those guys with a very modern game. You could look at this video and imagine it being done in the 80's or 90's, and still look right.


I'm pretty sure if a time machine existed to where we could put prime Pettit against a current NBA player, Bob Pettit could possibly drop 40 on current starting Rockets power forward Terrence Jones easily. He could probably drop 40 on Dwight too. All Pettit has to do is knock down mid range jumpers over them like what LaMarcus did to the Rockets in these past play-offs.

[Richesly]

I made a thread three years ago saying Pettit was the best PF to play the game and got negged by like 5 people.