Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), also known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player.

Maravich starred in college for Louisiana State University's Tigers basketball team, which was coached by his father, Press Maravich. He is the all-time top scorer in NCAA Division I men's basketball, having scored 3,667 points at an average of 44.2 per game. He accomplished this before the adoption of the three-point line and shot clock, and before freshmen were allowed to play varsity by the NCAA.

Maravich was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1970 NBA draft. He played four seasons in Atlanta, then was traded to the expansion New Orleans Jazz, where he spent five seasons and part of a sixth. He played his final part-season for the Boston Celtics, then retired due to injuries. During his 10-year career, he was named an All-Star five times and All-NBA four times.

One of the youngest players inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Maravich was considered among the best ball handlers and creative offensive talents ever to play. He died suddenly at age 40 during a pick-up game in 1988 because of an undetected heart defect. Once in a game, on a three-on-one fast break, he threw a behind-the-back bounce pass through an opponent's legs to a teammate for a layup. "I think, right then, showtime was born in me," Maravich recalled.

Maravich played high school varsity ball at Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina, a year before being old enough to attend the school. While at Daniel from 1961 to 1963, Maravich participated in the school's first-ever game against a team from an all-black school.

In 1963, his father departed from his position at Clemson and joined the coaching staff at North Carolina State University. and then attended Edwards Military Institute, where he averaged 33 points per game. Press Maravich was known to be extremely protective of Maravich, and would guard against any issue that might come up during his adolescence; Press threatened to shoot Maravich with a .45-caliber pistol if he drank or got into trouble.

In his first varsity game, Maravich scored 48 against Tampa. In just his seventh game, he broke Bob Pettit's SEC scoring record with 58 points against Mississippi State.

In the final game of his junior season, LSU faced Georgia and was down by 15 points. Maravich led a comeback to take the game into overtime. LSU won in overtime, and as Maravich dribbled out the clock, he hoisted a 30-foot hook shot that went in the basket. Georgia's cheerleaders carried Maravich off the court.

In his senior season against Alabama, he scored 69 points in a 106–104 win.

thumb|160px|Maravich at [[Louisiana State University|LSU in 1967]]

In only three years playing on the varsity team (and under his father's coaching) at LSU, Maravich scored 3,667 points—1,138 of those in 1967–68, 1,148 in 1968–69, and 1,381 in 1969–70—while averaging 43.8, 44.2, and 44.5 points per game, respectively. For his collegiate career, the guard averaged 44.2 points per game in 83 contests and led the NCAA in scoring for each of his three seasons.

Maravich was the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer among basketball players, until surpassed as such by Caitlin Clark in 2024. Maravich's long-standing collegiate scoring record is particularly notable when three factors are taken into account:

  • First, because of the NCAA rules that prohibited him from taking part in varsity competition during his first year as a student, Maravich was prevented from adding to his career record for a full quarter of his time at LSU. During this first year, Maravich scored 741 points in freshman competition.
  • Second, Maravich played before the advent of the three-point line. This significant difference has raised speculation regarding just how much higher his records would be, given his long-range shooting ability and how such a component might have altered his play. Writing for ESPN.com, Bob Carter stated, "Though Maravich played before the 3-point shot was established, he loved gunning from long range." It has been reported that former LSU coach Dale Brown charted every shot Maravich scored and concluded that, if his shots from three-point range had been counted as three points, Maravich's average would have totaled 57 points per game and 12 three-pointers per game.
  • Third, the shot clock had also not yet been instituted in NCAA play during Maravich's college career. (A time limit on ball possession speeds up play, mandates an additional number of field goal attempts, eliminates stalling, and increases the number of possessions throughout the game, all resulting in higher overall scoring.)

| 83 || 83 || ... || .438 || ... || .775 || 6.5 || 5.1 || ... || ... || 44.2

Professional basketball career

Atlanta Hawks

thumb|left|150px|Maravich in 1970

The Atlanta Hawks selected Maravich with the third pick in the first round of the 1970 NBA draft, where he played for coach Richie Guerin. He was not a natural fit in Atlanta. The Hawks already boasted a top-notch scorer at the guard position in combo guard Lou Hudson. In fact, Maravich's flamboyant style stood in stark contrast to the conservative play of Hudson and star center Walt Bellamy. It also did not help that many of the veteran players resented the $1.9 million contract that Maravich received from the team—a very large salary at that time.

Maravich appeared in 81 games and averaged 23.2 points per contest—good enough to earn NBA All-Rookie Team honors. He managed to blend his style with his teammates, so much so that Hudson set a career high by scoring 26.8 points per game. But the team stumbled to a 36–46 record—12 wins fewer than in the previous season. Still, the Hawks qualified for the playoffs, where they lost to the New York Knicks during the first round, as Maravich averaged 22 points a contest in the five-game series.

thumb|180px|Maravich (with the ball) driving past [[Tom Van Arsdale in 1974]]

Maravich struggled somewhat during his second season. His scoring average dipped to 19.3 points per game, and the Hawks finished with another disappointing 36–46 record. Once again they qualified for the playoffs, and once again they were eliminated in the first round. However, Atlanta fought hard against the Boston Celtics, with Maravich averaging 27.7 points in the series. However, Atlanta sank to a disappointing 35–47 record and missed the postseason entirely. By this point, he and head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons did not get along, with the latter giving him a two-game suspension at one point.

New Orleans Jazz

In the summer of 1974, the expansion New Orleans Jazz franchise was preparing for its first season of competition in the NBA and was looking to generate excitement among its new basketball fans. His exciting style of play made Maravich a good draft target for the franchise. Additionally, he was already a celebrity in the state due to his accomplishments at LSU. To acquire Maravich, the Jazz traded two players and four draft picks to Atlanta.

The expansion team struggled mightily in its first season. Maravich managed to score 21.5 points per game, but shot a career-worst 41.9% from the floor. The Jazz posted a 23–59 record, worst in the NBA. was at the time the most points ever scored by a guard in a single game, and only two players at any position had ever scored more: Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. Coincidentally, Baylor was head coach of the Jazz at that time. Despite Maravich's performance, the team finished at 35–47 (three wins shy of the previous season) and once again failed to make the playoffs.

Maravich earned his third All-Star game appearance and was honored as All-NBA First Team for the second consecutive season. Robinson's presence prevented opponents from focusing their defensive efforts entirely on Maravich, However, in 1979, team owner Sam Battistone moved the Jazz to Salt Lake City. During that time, Adrian Dantley emerged as the team's franchise player.

The Jazz placed Maravich on waivers in January 1980. He signed with the Celtics, the top team in the league that year, led by rookie superstar Larry Bird. Maravich adjusted to a new role as part-time contributor, giving Boston a "hired gun" on offense off the bench. He helped the team post a 61–21 record in the regular season, the best in the league, and for the first time since his early career in Atlanta, Maravich was able to participate in the NBA playoffs. He appeared in nine games during that postseason, but the Celtics were upended by Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference finals, four games to one.

Realizing that his knee problems would never go away, Maravich retired at the end of that season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1970–71

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta

| 81 || || 36.1 || .458 || || .800 || 3.7 || 4.4 || || || 23.2

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1971–72

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta

| 66 || || 34.9 || .427 || || .811 || 3.9 || 6.0 || || || 19.3

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1972–73

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta

| 79 || || 39.1 || .441 || || .800 || 4.4 || 6.9 || || || 26.1

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1973–74

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta

| 76 || || 38.2 || .457 || || .826 || 4.9 || 5.2 || 1.5 || .2 || 27.7

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1974–75

| style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans

| 79 || || 36.1 || .419 || || .811 || 5.3 || 6.2 || 1.5 || .2 || 21.5

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1975–76

| style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans

| 62 || || 38.3 || .459|| || .811 || 4.8 || 5.4 || 1.4 || .4 || 25.9

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1976–77

| style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans

| 73 || || 41.7 || .433 || || .835 || 5.1 || 5.4 || 1.2 || .3 ||style="background:#cfecec;"| 31.1*

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1977–78

| style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans

| 50 || || 40.8 || .444 || || .870 || 3.6 || 6.7 || 2.0 || .2 || 27.0

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1978–79

| style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans

| 49 || || 37.2 || .421 || || .841 || 2.5 || 5.0 || 1.2 || .4 || 22.6

|-

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| 1979–80

| style="text-align:left;"| Utah

| 17 || || 30.7 || .412 || .636 || .820 || 2.4 || 3.2 || .9 || .2 || 17.1

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| Boston

| 26 || 4 || 17.0 || .494 || .750 ||.909 || 1.5 || 1.1 || .3 || .1 || 11.5

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career

| 658 || || 37.0 || .441 || .667 || .820 || 4.2 || 5.4 || 1.4 || .3 || 24.2

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| All-Star

| 4 || 4 || 19.8 || .409 || || .778 || 2.0 || 3.8 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 10.8

Playoffs

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1971

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta

| 5 || || 39.8 || .377 || || .692 || 5.2 || 4.8 || || || 22.0

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1972

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta

| 6 || || 36.5 || .446 || || .817 || 5.3 || 4.7 || || || 27.7

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1973

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta

| 6 || || 39.0 || .419 || || .794 || 4.8 || 6.7 || || || 26.2

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1980

| style="text-align:left;"| Boston

| 9 || || 11.6 || .490 || .333 || .667 || .9 || .7 || .3 || .0 || 6.0

|-

| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2|Career

Eventually, he became a born-again Christian, embracing evangelical Christianity. A few years before his death, Maravich said, "I want to be remembered as a Christian, a person that serves [Jesus] to the utmost, not as a basketball player."

On January 5, 1988, Maravich collapsed and died of heart failure at age 40, while playing in a pickup basketball game in the gym at First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California, with a group that included evangelical author James Dobson. Maravich had flown from his home in Covington, Louisiana, to tape a segment for Dobson's radio show that aired later that day. Dobson has said that Maravich's last words, less than a minute before he died, were "I feel great."

An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a rare congenital defect: his left coronary artery, a vessel that supplies blood to the muscle fibers of the heart, was missing. His right coronary artery was grossly enlarged and had been compensating for the defect.

Maravich was survived by his wife, Jackie, and their sons Jaeson, then 8 years old, and Josh, then 5 years old.

Maravich's children were very young when he died, and Jackie Maravich (also known as Jackie McLachlan) initially shielded them from unwanted media attention, not even allowing Jaeson and Josh to attend their father's funeral. His sons still developed a love for the game, though. During a 2003 interview, Jaeson told USA Today that, when he was still only a toddler, "My dad passed me a (Nerf) basketball, and I've been hooked ever since ... My dad said I shot and missed, and I got mad and I kept shooting. He said his dad told him he did the same thing."

Despite some setbacks coping with their father's death and without the benefit that his tutelage might have provided, both sons eventually were inspired to play high school and collegiate basketball—Josh at his father's alma mater, LSU.

On June 7, 2024, Josh Maravich died in the family home in Covington, Louisiana, at 42 years old.

Legacy

On June 27, 2014, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal proposed that LSU erect a statue of Maravich outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Jackie McLachlan said that she had been promised a statue after the passing of her husband. Others opposed a Maravich statue because he had fallen a few credits short of graduation, so did not meet the requirements for monuments to student-athletes. Magic Johnson admitted to taking the "Showtime" name from Maravich, as well as studying all his moves. Meanwhile, Bob Dylan wrote of idolizing Pete Maravich when he was playing for New Orleans.

In February 2016, the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame Committee unanimously approved a proposal that a statue honoring Maravich be installed on the campus, revising the stipulations required. On July 25, 2022, the statue was unveiled to the public outside of the Assembly Center.

Memorabilia

Maravich's untimely death and mystique have made memorabilia associated with him among the most highly prized of any basketball collectibles. Game-used Maravich jerseys bring more money at auction than similar items from anybody other than George Mikan, with the most common items selling for $10,000 and up and a game-used LSU jersey selling for $94,300 in a 2001 Grey Flannel auction. The signed game ball from his career-high 68-point night on February 25, 1977, sold for $131,450 in a 2009 Heritage auction.

Honors, books, films, and music

  • In 1970, during his LSU days, Acapulco Music/The Panama Limited released "The Ballad of Pete Maravich" by Bob Tinney and Woody Jenkins.
  • He appeared as himself in Alessandro De Gaetano's 1979 film Scoring (originally titled Dribbling), where he leads a men's military basketball team against an all-girl squad.
  • In 1987, roughly a year before his death, Maravich co-authored Heir to a Dream, an award-winning (Gold Medallion) autobiography, with Darrel Campbell. It devotes considerable focus to his life after retirement from basketball and his later devotion to Christianity.
  • In 1987, Maravich and Campbell produced the four-episode basketball instructional video series Pistol Pete's Homework Basketball.
  • In 1988, Frank Schroeder and Darrel Campbell produced the documentary Maravich Memories: The LSU Years, based on Maravich's college career.
  • After Maravich's death, Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer signed a proclamation officially renaming LSU's basketball court the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
  • Bob Dylan wrote about the day he heard Maravich died in his memoir, Chronicles: Volume One. The news startled him, bringing back memories of the time Maravich made a deep impression on him when he saw Maravich play in New Orleans. Referring to him as "the holy terror of the basketball world" and a "magician of the court," Dylan added that "Pistol Pete hadn’t played professionally for a while, and he was thought of as forgotten. I hadn’t forgotten about him, though. Some people seem to fade away, but then when they are truly gone, it’s like they didn’t fade away at all." Dylan then remembers that it was in the early afternoon, when news of Maravich's death began to wear away, that he started writing a new song called "Dignity." Though it would remain unreleased for several years, many would regard it as one of Dylan's greatest compositions from that era.
  • In 1991, The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend, a biographical film written and produced by Darrel Campbell dramatizing Maravich's 8th-grade season, was released.
  • In 1996, Maravich was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History by a panel made up of NBA historians, players, and coaches. He was the only deceased player on the list. At the ceremony during halftime for the 1997 All-Star Game in Cleveland, he was represented by his two sons.
  • Alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins mentions "Pistol Pete" in their song "The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete".
  • In 2001, a comprehensive 90-minute documentary film, Pistol Pete: The Life and Times of Pete Maravich, debuted on CBS.
  • In 2005, rapper Lil Wayne mentioned Maravich in his song "Best Rapper Alive".
  • In 2005, ESPNU named Maravich the greatest college basketball player of all time.
  • In 2007, two biographies of Maravich were released: Maravich by Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill; and Pistol by Mark Kriegel. Also in 2007, to promote Kriegel's book, Fox Sports conducted a contest to find "Pete Maravich's Biggest Fan". The winner was Scott Pollack of Sunrise, Florida.
  • In 2021, Maravich was named one of the members of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team by a panel made up of NBA historians, players, and coaches.
  • The Ziggens, a band from Southern California, wrote "Pistol Pete", a song about Maravich.
  • Hip-hop artist Aesop Rock mentions "Pistol Pete" in his song "Citronella".

Collegiate awards and records

Awards

  • The Sporting News College Player of the Year (1970)
  • USBWA College Player of the Year (1969, 1970)
  • Naismith Award Winner (1970)
  • Helms Foundation Player of the Year (1970)
  • UPI Player of the Year (1970)
  • Sporting News Player of the Year (1970)
  • AP College Player of the Year (1970)
  • The Sporting News All-America First Team (1968, 1969, 1970)
  • Three-time AP and UPI First-Team All-America (1968, 1969, 1970)
  • Led the NCAA Division I in scoring with 43.8 ppg (1968); 44.2 (1969) and 44.5 ppg (1970)
  • Averaged 43.6 ppg on the LSU freshman team (1967)
  • Scored a career-high 69 points vs. Alabama (); 66 vs. Tulane (); 64 vs. Kentucky (); 61 vs. Vanderbilt ()
  • Holds LSU records for most field goals made (26) and attempted (57) in a game against Vanderbilt on
  • All-Southeastern Conference (1968, 1969, 1970)
  • #23 Jersey retired by LSU (2007)
  • In 1970, Maravich led LSU to a 20–8 record and a fourth-place finish in the National Invitation Tournament

Records

  • Highest scoring average, points per game, career: 44.2 (3,667 points/83 games)
  • Points, season: 1,381 (1970)
  • Highest scoring average, points per game, season: 44.5 (1,381/31) (1970)
  • Games scoring 50 or more points, career: 28
  • Games scoring 50 or more points, season: 10 (1970)
  • Field goals made, career: 1,387
  • Field goals made, season: 522 (1970)
  • Field goal attempts, career: 3,166
  • Field goal attempts, season: 1,168 (1970)
  • Free throws made, game: 30 (in 31 attempts), vs. Oregon State,

:*Tied by Ben Woodside, North Dakota State, on

NBA awards and records

  • NBA All-Rookie Team
  • All-NBA First Team (1976, 1977)
  • All-NBA Second Team (1973, 1978)
  • Five-time NBA All-Star (1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979)
  • Led the league in scoring (31.1 ppg) in 1977, his career best
  • NBA free throw scoring leaders: ()
  • NBA minutes played leaders: ()
  • Scored a career-high 68 points against the New York Knicks on February 25, 1977
  • <nowiki>#7</nowiki> jersey retired by the Utah Jazz (1985)
  • <nowiki>#7</nowiki> jersey retired by the Superdome (1988)
  • NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996)
  • NBA 75th Anniversary Team (2021)
  • <nowiki>#7</nowiki> jersey retired by the New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) (2002),

Free throw attempts, quarter: 16, Pete Maravich, second quarter, Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls,

  • Broken by Ben Wallace on

Second pair of teammates in NBA history to score 2,000 or more points in a season: 2, Atlanta Hawks () <br />

Maravich: 2,063 <br />

Lou Hudson: 2,029

Third pair of teammates in NBA history to score 40 or more points in the same game: New Orleans Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets, <br />

Maravich: 45 <br />

Nate Williams: 41 <br />

David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets also scored 40 points in this game.

Ranks 4th in NBA history&nbsp;– Free throws made, none missed, game: 18–18, Pete Maravich, Atlanta Hawks vs. Buffalo Braves,

Ranks 5th in NBA history&nbsp;– Free throws made, game: 23, Pete Maravich, New Orleans Jazz vs. New York Knicks, (2 OT)

See also

  • List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
  • List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game
  • List of National Basketball Association top rookie scoring averages
  • List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 60 or more points in a game
  • List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season scoring leaders
  • List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career scoring leaders
  • List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career free throw scoring leaders
  • List of National Basketball Association annual minutes leaders

References

Notes

Footnotes

Further reading

  • Campbell, Darrel (2019). Hero & Friend: My Days with Pistol Pete. Percussion Films. .
  • Brown, Danny (2008). Shooting the Pistol: Courtside Photographs of Pete Maravich at LSU. Louisiana State University Press
  • Pete Maravich biography at NBA.com
  • Pete Maravich at ESPN
  • Pete Maravich's Greatest Achievement at powertochange.ie
  • ‘68 All College MVP - 4 Days with Pistol Pete at Oklahoman.com
  • Pete Maravich Bio LSU Tigers Athletics