Billy Cunningham vs. Bob Pettit Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bob Pettit and Billy Cunningham, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Billy Cunningham played 9 years in the NBA, 2 less than Bob Pettit, who played 11. Billy Cunningham had the first of his seasons in 1965-66, while Bob Pettit had his rookie season in 1954-55. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Billy Cunningham	Bob Pettit
Season	1965-66	1954-55
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Milwaukee Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Finals	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	80	26.7	14.3	-	-	7.5	2.6	-	-	-	3.8	5.4	12.6	.426	-	-	-	3.5	5.5	.634
difference:	+8	+10.2	+6.1			+6.3	+0.6				-0.2	+1.8	+5.2	+.019				+2.4	+2.4	+.117
Bob Pettit	72	36.9	20.4	-	-	13.8	3.2	-	-	-	3.6	7.2	17.8	.407	-	-	-	5.9	7.9	.751
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	4	17.3	5.3	-	-	4.5	2.5	-	-	-	2.8	1.3	7.8	.161	-	-	-	2.8	3.3	.846
Bob Pettit	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Billy Cunningham	Bob Pettit
Season	1966-67	1955-56
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	81	26.8	18.5	-	-	7.3	2.5	-	-	-	3.2	6.9	15.0	.459	-	-	-	4.7	6.9	.686
difference:	+9	+12.0	+7.2			+8.9	+0.1				-0.4	+2.1	+5.9	+.030				+3.0	+3.6	+.050
Bob Pettit	72	38.8	25.7	-	-	16.2	2.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.0	20.9	.429	-	-	-	7.7	10.5	.736
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	15	22.6	15.0	-	-	6.2	2.2	-	-	-	3.5	5.5	14.7	.376	-	-	-	3.9	6.0	.656
difference:	+7	+11.7	+4.1			+4.3	+0.1				-1.0	+0.4	+1.3	+.009				+3.5	+2.8	+.187
Bob Pettit	8	34.3	19.1	-	-	10.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.5	5.9	16.0	.367	-	-	-	7.4	8.8	.843

Season 3
	Billy Cunningham	Bob Pettit
Season	1967-68	1956-57
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Finals	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	74	28.1	18.9	-	-	7.6	2.5	-	-	-	3.5	7.0	15.9	.438	-	-	-	5.0	6.9	.723
difference:	+3	+7.0	+5.8			+7.0	+0.6				-1.0	+1.6	+4.9	+.023				+2.5	+2.7	+.050
Bob Pettit	71	35.1	24.7	-	-	14.6	1.9	-	-	-	2.5	8.6	20.8	.415	-	-	-	7.5	9.6	.773
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	3	28.7	20.7	-	-	7.3	3.3	-	-	-	5.3	8.0	14.3	.558	-	-	-	4.7	5.7	.824
difference:	+7	+14.3	+9.1			+9.5	+0.8				-2.0	+1.8	+9.4	+.144				+5.5	+7.6	+.057
Bob Pettit	10	43.0	29.8	-	-	16.8	2.5	-	-	-	3.3	9.8	23.7	.414	-	-	-	10.2	13.3	.767

Season 4
	Billy Cunningham	Bob Pettit
Season	1968-69	1957-58
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Semis	NBA Champion

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	82	40.8	24.8	-	-	12.8	3.5	-	-	-	4.0	9.0	21.2	.426	-	-	-	6.8	9.2	.737
difference:	+12	+4.7	+0.2			+4.6	+1.3				-0.8	+0.7	+0.9	+.016				+1.2	+1.4	+.012
Bob Pettit	70	36.1	24.6	-	-	17.4	2.2	-	-	-	3.2	8.3	20.3	.410	-	-	-	8.0	10.6	.749
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	5	43.4	24.4	-	-	12.6	2.4	-	-	-	4.8	9.8	23.4	.419	-	-	-	4.8	7.6	.632
difference:	+6	+4.3	+0.2			+3.9	+0.6				-2.0	+1.6	+2.5	+.028				+3.0	+3.1	+.097
Bob Pettit	11	39.1	24.2	-	-	16.5	1.8	-	-	-	2.8	8.2	20.9	.391	-	-	-	7.8	10.7	.729

Season 5
	Billy Cunningham	Bob Pettit
Season	1969-70	1958-59
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Semis	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	81	39.4	26.1	-	-	13.6	4.3	-	-	-	4.1	9.9	21.1	.469	-	-	-	6.3	8.6	.729
difference:	+9	+0.5	+3.1			+2.8	+1.2				-1.3	+0.1	+1.7	+.031				+3.0	+3.6	+.030
Bob Pettit	72	39.9	29.2	-	-	16.4	3.1	-	-	-	2.8	10.0	22.8	.438	-	-	-	9.3	12.2	.759
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	5	41.0	29.2	-	-	10.4	4.0	-	-	-	3.8	12.2	24.6	.496	-	-	-	4.8	7.2	.667
difference:	+1	+1.8	+1.4			+2.1	+1.7				-0.5	+2.5	+1.8	+.073				+3.7	+3.6	+.118
Bob Pettit	6	42.8	27.8	-	-	12.5	2.3	-	-	-	3.3	9.7	22.8	.423	-	-	-	8.5	10.8	.785

Season 6
	Billy Cunningham	Bob Pettit
Season	1970-71	1959-60
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	81	38.1	23.0	-	-	11.7	4.9	-	-	-	4.0	8.7	18.8	.462	-	-	-	5.6	7.7	.734
difference:	+9	+2.1	+3.1			+5.3	+1.3				-1.2	+0.6	+2.4	+.024				+2.0	+2.3	+.019
Bob Pettit	72	40.2	26.1	-	-	17.0	3.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.3	21.2	.438	-	-	-	7.6	10.0	.753
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	7	43.0	25.9	-	-	15.4	5.7	-	-	-	4.0	9.6	20.3	.472	-	-	-	6.7	9.6	.701
difference:	+7	+1.9	+0.2			+0.4	+2.0				-0.9	+0.4	+0.6	+.030				+0.9	+0.5	+.053
Bob Pettit	14	41.1	26.1	-	-	15.8	3.7	-	-	-	3.1	9.2	20.9	.442	-	-	-	7.6	10.1	.754

Season 7
	Billy Cunningham	Bob Pettit
Season	1971-72	1960-61
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	75	38.7	23.3	-	-	12.2	5.9	-	-	-	3.9	8.8	19.0	.461	-	-	-	5.7	8.0	.712
difference:	+1	+1.1	+4.6			+8.1	+2.5				-1.0	+1.3	+3.6	+.014				+2.0	+2.6	+.012
Bob Pettit	76	39.8	27.9	-	-	20.3	3.4	-	-	-	2.9	10.1	22.6	.447	-	-	-	7.7	10.6	.724
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bob Pettit	12	43.8	28.6	-	-	17.6	3.2	-	-	-	3.5	9.8	23.7	.412	-	-	-	9.1	12.0	.757

Note: Billy Cunningham didn't play in 1972-73 and 1973-74.

Season 8
	Billy Cunningham	Bob Pettit
Season	1974-75	1961-62
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	80	35.7	19.5	1.6	7.5	9.1	5.5	1.1	0.4	-	3.4	7.6	17.8	.428	-	-	-	4.3	5.6	.777
difference:	+2	+6.4	+11.6			+9.6	+1.8				-0.4	+3.5	+6.9	+.022				+4.6	+6.0	+.006
Bob Pettit	78	42.1	31.1	-	-	18.7	3.7	-	-	-	3.8	11.1	24.7	.450	-	-	-	8.9	11.6	.771
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Billy Cunningham nor Bob Pettit played in the postseason in their season 8

Season 9
	Billy Cunningham	Bob Pettit
Season	1975-76	1962-63
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	20	32.0	13.7	1.5	5.9	7.4	5.4	1.2	0.5	-	2.9	5.2	12.6	.410	-	-	-	3.4	4.4	.773
difference:	+59	+7.1	+14.7			+7.7	+2.3				-0.7	+4.6	+9.5	+.036				+5.3	+6.8	+.001
Bob Pettit	79	39.1	28.4	-	-	15.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.6	9.8	22.1	.446	-	-	-	8.7	11.2	.774
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bob Pettit	11	42.1	31.8	-	-	15.1	3.0	-	-	-	3.1	10.8	23.5	.459	-	-	-	10.2	13.1	.778

Additional Years
* Bob Pettit played 2 seasons more than Billy Cunningham in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 11, from 1964 to 1965—Bob Pettit played in two Playoffs. In those 2 extra years over Billy Cunningham, Bob Pettit got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-Star Game