Jackie Maravich? Top 150 Latest Answer

NBA Legends Brunch Honoree Portraits

NEW ORLEANS – FEBRUARY 17: Jackie Maravich and her sons Jaeson (L) and Joshua pose for a portrait with Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets with a Legends Commemorative award honoring her husband and father, Pete Maravich, at the NBA Legends Brunch on February 17, 2008 at the La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTICE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and/or using this photograph, the user agrees to the terms of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Dav Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images).

PASADENA, Calif. – The beauty of Pickup Ball is how culture affects your income, race, religion, politics, occupation, and car type. Their status is determined by what happens after the s are selected. Then it becomes pure basketball, accepting any recreational player willing to risk an ankle sprain for the love of the basket.

And so, at dawn on January 5, 1988, here at the First Church of the Nazarene, he went to the gym to engage in a game he had been playing all his life. A 40-year-old who recently found God also chose to reconnect with basketball, and that calling was just as spiritual.

“He’s here,” announced Dr. James Dobson, who organized the weekly pickup games. “Pete is here.”

Pete Maravich obviously had credentials well beyond the conglomeration of middle-aged 9-5 year olds excitedly bargaining among themselves to become his teammate. This was a rare exception to the pickup rule where a person’s status matters, although Maravich was not a wrestler and did not retire seven years. He was still thin as linguine and had a mop of hair, but he had taped knees, a back shoulder, and more rust than an antique shop. Most tellingly, his socks stopped flapping.

But: Here in everyone’s mst was a basketball legend, “Pistol Pete” in dry-aged meat, and so…

“Hey guys,” he says happily. “How is everyone?”

Well yes. That question was unnecessary because with Maravich at the gym ready to mingle with regular Joes, this was a you-believe-that story dying to be told in the cooler tomorrow. Everyone loved it, thank you. As fate would have it, the same question would be repeated about 45 minutes later, this time with the tables turned.

Dobson assessing a sweaty Maravich as they stood near the free throw line and caught their breath between games:

“How are you feeling, Pete?”

“I feel great.”

Shaun Powell shares more details about Pete Maravich’s last day.

And then, when Pete Maravich suddenly fell face first to the ground due to heart failure, the cruelty lies in the fact that his body allowed him to live just long enough to tell that lie. Or maybe his defective heart showed mercy and allowed him to live long enough to throw skillful passes, score thousands of points, and generally dribble with amazing control.

Whatever the conclusion, a transformational NBA star tragically died one January morning and immediately in the prime of his life here in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains outside of Los Angeles, and it would be three decades before that would happen again.

Pete Maravich and Kobe Bryant, both game changers, were special from a young age, nurtured by demanding fathers, played at breathless levels and earned a spot on the wall in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Curiously, their final resting places were only 20 miles apart. However, the difference in public reaction to these deaths was large enough to fit their combined score averages.

When a helicopter carrying Bryant and others crashed into a hillside near Calabasas a year ago this month, people as far away as France got melons down their dry throats. The tragedy immediately became a “Where were you?” flash point in the lives of millions, the kind that gets frozen in time and burned into the memory. Thousands of fans did group therapy by loitering quietly, zombie-like outside of the Staples Center for days, leaving behind basketballs and homemade sympathy cards for the Bryant family and holding lit candles while wearing Kobe jerseys. Big, strong NBA players cried. The shock alone, combined with the addition of his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi, in the accident was haunting. Beyonce sang at his memorial in front of 18,000 sniffling mourners at Staples.

Whoever was the Beyonce of 1988 didn’t sing at Maravich’s memorial at First Baptist Church (“Hundreds Mourn Basketball Great” was the Associated Press headline the next day) near LSU’s campus, where he set records broke and every defense against his threw away. The Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics, the franchises Maravich played in his 10-year NBA career, played the next game on the schedule, unlike the Lakers, who were too crushed by Kobe.

Except in Louisiana, where he lived and was worshiped then and still is today, Maravich was the main story for only one day. Surely the world has changed since then. Kobe’s career was just taking off as the NBA’s popularity was mushrooming; he also played in the age of 24-hour sports television and for the most attractive team in the world; and social media amplifies everything now, especially for the famous. Twitter didn’t crash the day Maravich died because Twitter was two decades late.

This wasn’t the first time Maravich was a victim of timing. His basketball tricks made him a highlights pioneer…in the 1970s, before television actually showed basketball highlights. Few players could match the contents of his bag, which included behind-the-back passes thrown from 30 feet, between-the-legs dribbles with both hands, and body-contorting leaps from anywhere on the ground. Slow motion playback wasn’t invented for him, but it explained him. Maravich is one of the few players from bygone eras who wouldn’t need to rework his game to thrive today, and who could actually be more effective now, with anti-handcheck rules and an emphasis on the 3-pointer. He also injured his knee long before surgical medical advances came along to prolong his career.

And so it’s reasonable to conclude: Had he played with current technology this decade to fix those knees, and in today’s viral world, he would have died under exactly the same suddenness as in 1988, the reaction to death from “the pistol” – who was a year younger than Kobe at the time of her death – seismic.

Last but not least, Maravich’s death left a tattoo on the pickup players who witnessed his final moments. These accountants, lawyers and businessmen are still shaken when they see Maravich lying on his stomach and foaming at the mouth. Some in the group hysterically sought help while others were glued to the ground too firmly to move. Maravich died; they bear the scars.

“Pete could have died anywhere in the world, but he died with us and there must be a reason for that,” says Gary Lydic. “We were just a bunch of guys in a gym. We don’t know him, we’ve never met him. We couldn’t find out why he was with us. I still can’t.”

Maravich was in town because his journey of faith took him there. He flew to California from his home in Covington, Louisiana to record a Christian radio show for the Dobson-led ministry Focus on the Family. By then, Maravich had found meaning in his post-basketball life after a desperate personal search that culminated in depression and a bottle fight.

As a child prodigy, basketball was all Maravich knew. His father Press taught him early and often. The two were inseparable during college because Press was his coach every step of the way. Some stories about Maravich’s whimsical practice techniques rang true; others were imaginative. For example: Did he really improve his ball control by dribbling out the window from the passenger seat of the car while his father was driving slowly?

After a college career that will certainly never be repeated – Maravich averaged 44.2 ppg for three years without a 3-point line (!) or shot clock (!!) – his NBA career was Career brilliant bittersweet. When he was healthy and at his peak, Maravich was one hell of an offensive player, a five-time All-Star, twice named All-NBA First Team, and led the league at 31.1 ppg in 1977-78 when he was 68 lost in a game. But he has only played 43 games after the introduction of the 3-point line. His defense often lagged behind. He was caught in mostly poorly managed teams, never with a champion.And he’s hobbled his last three seasons, injuries robbing him of movement and confidence.

Once he finished basketball, Maravich admitted that he was “lost,” and after spending his time in grief and loneliness right after retirement, an age of rediscovery began for him. He dabbled in Hinduism, went vegan before it was fashionable, and even became a UFO truther. Eventually he came to Christianity and religion influenced every facet of his rebirth.

He was a popular speaker for church groups and gatherings and agreed to speak at Dr. Dobson, an evangelical leader and an influential national voice, to spend a few days in Pasadena.

Dobson was also an avid pickup truck player and led a different type of congregation at the church in Pasadena for three days each week.

“I loved to play and inviting Pete over was one of the boldest things I’ve ever done,” says Dobson. “He was Showtime before anyone knew what Showtime was.”

The usual pickup gang was informed days before about a special guest, and the player assigned to pick up Maravich from the hotel at 6am was Lydic, who couldn’t sleep the night before.Lydic was parked at San Dimas Inn and was embarrassed to use his battered Chevy Blazer to transport a VIP, but Maravich immediately reassured him by shaking hands and saying, “That must be the man.”

As Lydic tried to change lanes off the driveway, he suddenly swerved to avoid a speeding delivery truck. He remembers thinking, “Jesus, not now, not with Pete in the car.”

On the way, Lydic Maravich talked about his father’s battle with cancer in Dayton and how it exhausted the family and him personally. Maravich suddenly perked up. His own father, Press, lost a four-year battle with prostate cancer last spring. Pete took over his father’s life during these final years – researching alternative and holistic medicines in Germany, spoon feeding him, changing his clothes and even bathing him.

“Gary,” Maravich said in the car, “I was there and I want to go through that with you.”

They came to see the waiting players. Norm Moline had previously searched his mother’s attic and found a Maravich rookie card he hoped to get signed and also brought a camcorder to film the action. Ralph Drollinger was the only player with pedigree besides Maravich; Drollinger jumped center for two John Wooden championship teams at UCLA and had lunch in the NBA. Chris Hancock was keen to play with and against Maravich and then return home to celebrate his daughter’s birthday, apparently with a lot to talk about, even to a four-year-old.

Drollinger and Maravich were pitted against each other to even it out. The former pros winked and nodded, which was code for let them have their fun.

“Me and Pete were amused by the other guys trying to impress us,” says Drollinger.

Maravich moved slowly and carefully. He already confessed he hadn’t played in months, and even then rarely. His aching shoulder limited his range of motion. He got involved, much to the surprise and relief of a group who initially feared a one-man takeover.

“I remember Pete throwing up a shot that banked when he had no intention of banking,” says Hancock.

The two games were typical of half-court pickup ball, first to 20 wins the game, then extended breaks for panting middles. Moline filmed the first game, then gave his camcorder to someone else and played the next.

“Pete was funny,” says Moline. “We did a few spins to impress him and he said, ‘Don’t believe your own headlines.’ He was having fun, a really pleasant guy. Just teasing and joking.”

After a second pause and as others went to the water fountain, Maravich and Dobson stayed and talked. Just before he said how great he felt, Maravich took a practice shot, which Lydic recovered under the rim.

“I went into the rebound and started passing the ball back to Pete and before I could do that, boom, he hit the ground,” says Lydic. “I knew he had a great sense of humor. I walked over thinking he was going to jump in my face. But that was not the case. As I got closer, I saw his eyes recede, his face change color, and Dr. Dobson began giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.”

The players rushed back to the gym. Moline ran to the church office to call for help — that was before cell phones. Hancock searched a nearly empty campus for someone who knew about CPR. The others gathered around Maravich and fell to their knees. Some prayed, some cried.

“We begged God not to take Pete now because he had a platform, he shared his journey,” says Lydic.

A caravan followed the ambulance to St. Luke’s Hospital. Once there, the players bowed their heads and held hands in the waiting room. It was only five or maybe seven minutes later when the doctor came out. He doesn’t have to speak. The men already knew that “Pistol Pete” didn’t die in an emergency room, but at church and on a basketball court, the twin sanctuaries where he felt most comfortable.

Someone called his home in Covington. His wife Jackie screamed. His two boys, Jaeson (then eight years old) and Josh (five), were unexpectedly and quickly called from St. Peter’s School. When they got home, they saw 20 to 25 cars parked along the street. When Jaeson told her mother what had happened, Jaeson ran upstairs, looked in the bathroom mirror and started to cry. Josh, too young to understand what it all meant, just wanted to know when his dad is coming home so they can get back to shooting on the nerf in the attic.

Somehow, despite annual team checkups since high school, Maravich’s congenital heart defect went undetected. He was born without a left coronary artery, which supplies blood to the heart’s muscle fibers, and the right artery, which compensated for the imbalance, was overwhelmed. It was a medical miracle that he lived to be 40 and that millions of fans were not deprived of a “Pistol Pete” no-look pass thrown out of dribbling with a flick of the wrist.

James Dobson mentions Maravich in speeches at conventions and on radio programs. Two years after Maravich’s death, Dobson suffered a mild heart attack while playing pickup trucks near the same spot on the floor where Maravich collapsed.

Norm Moline is sure he still has the original copy of the blurry video of Maravich’s final minutes somewhere; he must search for it, just as he searched years ago for those Maravich cards that were never signed. Moline says until his recent divorce, Maravich’s death was the worst day of his life.

Drollinger says he was psychologically prepared for Maravich’s death after his family had endured a near-tragedy years earlier. His father tripped and fell while hiking deep in the Sierra Nevada, and a rescue team helicopter crashed while trying to rescue him. another was called and got him airborne just in time.

“What I took away from that day with Pete is that with the fragility of life, you never know if today will be my last day,” he said.

Lydic began a series of basketball camps in Maravich’s memory and continued a series of works that Maravich attempted after his retirement. Lydic’s camp prioritized ks from single-parent households because “Pete’s wife was now a single parent with two boys.”

Parker High School in the First Church of the Nazarene remains unchanged. The hardwood remains polished and sunshine streams through the windows at each end. Nothing indicates that Maravich breathed his last here.

“It doesn’t happen often,” says Melody Bundy, an executive assistant at the Church. “Most of the staff know what happened, but the number of people who were there at the time is decreasing.”

The fitness studio is always busy, is used for a variety of events and serves as a multi-purpose room.Preschool activities take place weekly, plus day camps and other programs for children.

However, Tuesday and Fray nights are reserved. This is for the men’s pickup truck league. Games start early and can run late. It’s a schedule that has continued uninterrupted since Pete Maravich’s collapse.

* * *

Shaun Powell has been covering the NBA for more than 25 years. You can email him here, find his archive here, and follow him on Twitter.

The views expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs, or Turner Broadcasting.

American basketball player (1947–1988)

Peter Press Maravich (June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and grew up in the Carolinas.[1] Maravich played on the varsity Tigers basketball team at Louisiana State University; his father Press Maravich was the team’s head coach.

Pete Maravich is the all-time all-time all-time NCAA Division I scorer with 3,667 points and an average of 44.2 points per game.[2] All of his accomplishments were accomplished before the introduction of the three-point line and the shot clock, and despite not being able to play as a freshman at the varsity under NCAA rules of the time. He played for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams until injury forced his retirement in 1980 after a 10-year professional basketball career.

One of the youngest players ever to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Maravich was considered one of the greatest offensive creative talents of all time and one of the greatest ball handlers of all time.[4][4] [] 5] He died suddenly in 1988 at the age of 40 as a result of an undiagnosed heart defect while playing a pick-up truck.[6]

University Career

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At the time, NCAA rules prohibited freshmen from playing at the varsity level, forcing Maravich to play on the freshman team. In his first game, Maravich had 50 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists against Southeastern Louisiana College.[6]

Maravich at LSU in 1967

In just three years on the college team (and under his father’s tutelage) 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 – at an average of 43.8, 44.2 and 44.5 points per game, respectively. During his collegiate career, the 6’2″ guard averaged 44.2 points per game in 83 contests and led the NCAA in each of his three seasons.[11]

Maravich’s long-standing collegiate goalscoring list is particularly notable when three factors are considered:

• First, for a full quarter of his time at LSU, Maravich was prevented from expanding his career record due to NCAA rules that banned him from competing in varsity during his freshman year. In that first year, Maravich scored 741 points in freshman competition.[10]
• Secondly, Maravich played before the emergence of the three-point line. This significant difference has sparked speculation about how much higher his records would be given his long-range shooting ability and how such a component might have changed his game. Writing for ESPN.com, Bob Carter stated, “Although Maravich played before [..] the 3-point shot was introduced, he loved to shoot from long range.” [12] It has been reported that the former LSU coach Dale Brown has charted every shot Maravich scored and concluded that if his shots from three-point range counted as three points, Maravich’s average would have been 57 points per game[13][14] and 12 threes per game would have been.
• Third, during Maravich’s collegiate career, the shot clock had not yet been introduced into NCAA play. (Time limiting ball possession speeds up the game, requires an additional number of field goal attempts, eliminates lag, and increases the number of ball possessions during the game, all of which result in a higher total score.)[15]

*100039 *

More than 50 years later, however, many of his NCAA and LSU records still stand. Maravich was a three-time All-American. Though he never appeared in the NCAA tournament, Maravich played a key role in reversing a lackluster program that had posted a 3-20 record in the season prior to his arrival. Maravich finished his collegiate career in the 1970 National Invitation Tournament, where LSU finished fourth.

NCAA career stats

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Legend

gp

games played

GS

Games started

MPG

minutes per game

FG%

Field Goal Percentage

3P%

3 point field goal percentage

FT%free throw percentage

role playing game

rebounds per game

APG

assists per game

SPG

Steals per game

BPG

blocks per game

PPG

points per game

Bold

career up

freshman

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At this time, freshman are not playing in the varsity team and these stats do not count in the NCAA record books.

Year

team

gp

GS

MPG

FG%

3P%

FT%

role playing game

APG

SPG

BPG

PPG

1966-67

State of Louisiana

19
19
..
.452
..
.833
10.4
..
..
..
43.6

Uni

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College Awards

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• The Sporting News College Player of the Year (1970)
• USBWA College Player of the Year (1969, 1970)
• Naismith Prize Winner (1970)
• Helms Foundation Player of the Year (1970)
• UPI Player of the Year (1970)
• Sports 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 NCAA Division I with 43.8 ppg (1968); 44.2 (1969) and 44.5 ppg (1970)
• LSU Freshman Team average 43.6 ppg (1967)
• scored a career-high 69 points against Alabama (

  February 7, 1970

  ); 66 vs. Tulane (

  February 10, 1969

  ); 64 vs. Kentucky (

  February 21, 1970

  ); 61 vs. Vanderbilt (

  December 11, 1969

  )

• Holds LSU records for most field goals made (26) and attempted (57) in a game against Vanderbilt on

  29. January 1969

• All-Southeastern Conference (1968, 1969, 1970)
• #23 jersey retired from LSU (2007)
• In 1970, Maravich led LSU to a 20-8 record and a fourth-place finish in the National Invitation Tournament

College Notes

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

  22. December 1969

Early Life

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Maravich was born to Peter “Press” Maravich (1915-1987) and Helen Gravor Maravich (1925-1974) in Aliquippa, a steel town in Beaver County in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh ] Maravich amazed his family and friends with his basketball skills from a young age. He enjoyed a close but demanding father-son relationship that motivated him to achieve success and fame in the sport. Maravich’s father was the son of Serbian immigrants[7][8][9] and a professional player turned coach. He’s been showing him the basics since he was seven. Maravich obsessively spent hours practicing ball control tricks, passing, headfools and long-range shots.[10]

Maravich played high school varsity ball at Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina a year before he was old enough to attend school. While at Daniel from 1961–63, Maravich attended the school’s first-ever game against an all-black school team. In 1963, his father left his position as head basketball coach at Clemson University and joined the coaching staff of North Carolina State University.[2] The Maravich family’s subsequent move to Raleigh, North Carolina enabled Maravich to attend Needham B. Broughton High School. His high school years also saw the birth of his famous nickname.Due to his habit of shooting the ball out of his se as if he were holding a revolver, Maravich became known as “Pistol” Pete Maravich. He graduated from Needham B. Broughton High School in 1965 and then attended Edwards Military Institute where he averaged 33 points per game. Maravich never liked school and disliked Edwards Military Institute. Press Maravich was known to be extremely protective of Maravich and would protect himself from any troubles that might arise during his youth. Press threatened to shoot Maravich with a .45 caliber handgun if he drank or got into trouble. Maravich was 6ft 4in in high school and preparing to play in college when his father took a coaching position at Louisiana State University accepted.

Further reading

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Honors, Books, Movies and Music

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After life and death

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After injuries forced him to retire from football in the fall of 1980, Maravich lived a secluded life for two years. During all of this, Maravich said he was “searching for life.” He tried out the practices of yoga and Hinduism, read the Trappist monk Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain and became interested in the field of ufology, the study of unnamed flying objects. He also researched vegetarianism and macrobiotics and adopted a vegetarian diet in 1982.[23] Eventually, he became a born-again Christian who embraced evangelical Christianity. A few years before his death, Maravich said, “I want to be remembered as a Christian, as a person who serves Him [Jesus] to the utmost, not as a basketball player.”[24]

On January 5, 1988, Maravich collapsed and died of heart failure[25] at the age of 40 while he was with a group performing in the gymnasium of the First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California The pickup basketball game played collapsed the included evangelical author James Dobson. Maravich had flown out of his Louisiana home to tape a segment for Dobson’s radio show, which aired later that day. Dobson has said that Maravich’s last words were less than a minute before his death, “I feel great.” [26] An autopsy revealed the cause of death was a rare congenital defect; He was born with a missing left coronary artery, a vessel that supplies blood to the heart’s muscle fibers. His right coronary artery was greatly enlarged and had compensated for the defect.[27]

Maravich died less than a year after the death of his father and a few years after his mother, who died of suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot. Maravich is buried at Resthaven Gardens of Memory and Mausoleum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Legacy

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Maravich is survived by his wife, Jackie, and his sons, Jaeson, who was 8 years old at the time of his death, and Josh, 5 years old.

Since Maravich’s children were very young when he died, Jackie Maravich initially shielded them from unwanted media attention, not even allowing Jaeson and Josh to attend their father’s funeral.[15] However, a penchant for basketball appeared to be an inherited trait. During an interview in 2003, Jaeson USA Todaysaid that when he was a toddler, “My dad handed me a (nerf) basketball and I’ve been hooked ever since… My dad shot and missed.” , and I got angry and kept shooting. He said his father told him he had done the same.”[28]

Despite some setbacks in dealing with their father’s death and without the benefit that his guardianship could have proved, both sons were eventually inspired to play high school and college basketball – Josh at his alma mater Father’s, LSU.[28] [29]

On June 27, 2014, Governor Bobby Jindal proposed that LSU erect a statue of Maravich in front of the Pete Maravich Convention Center, already bearing the basketball star’s name.Former coach Dale Brown (a friend of Maravich’s) has expressed his skepticism about memorial services (or even shirt retirements), but Maravich’s wow, Jackie McLachlan, was that she had been promised a statue following the death of her husband. McLachlan says she overheard fans struggling to get the Maravich name on camera at the Assembly Center.[30] Another reason Maravich didn’t have a statue was that he was a few credits short of graduating, which violated the policy set for monuments to student athletes.

In February 2016, the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame Committee unanimously approved a proposal to install a statue honoring Maravich on campus, with the necessary regulations revised.[32]

A street in Belgrade, Serbia is named after Pete Maravich.

Memorabilia

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Maravich’s early death and mystique have made memorabilia associated with him some of the most valuable of all basketball collectibles. Maravich jerseys used by the game fetch more money at auction than similar items by anyone other than George Mikan, with the most common items being for Selling for $10,000 and up and a game-used LSU jersey selling for $94,300 in a 2001 Gray Flannel auction.[33] The autographed cue ball from his career-best 68-point night on February 25, 1977 was sold at a 2009 Heritage auction for $131,450.[34]

NBA Awards

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• 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)
• Lead the league scorer in 1977 (31.1ppg), his best career
• Scored a career-high 68 points against the New York Knicks on February 25, 1977
• Jersey #7 retired from the Utah Jazz (1985)
• Jersey #7 retired from the Superdome (1988)
• NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996)
• NBA 75th Anniversary Team (2021)
• Jersey #7 was retired by the New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) (2002) despite never having played for them – one of only four players to have a number retired by a team they weren’t for had played However, Maravich played professionally for New Orleans Jazz and has since become a much admired figure among New Orleans sports fans.
• Atlanta Hawks Jersey #44 Retired (2017)

NBA career stats

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Legend

gp

games played

GS

Games started

MPG

minutes per game

FG%

Field Goal Percentage

3P%

3 point field goal percentage

FT%

free throw percentage

role playing game

rebounds per game

APG

assists per game

SPG

Steals per game

BPG

blocks per game

PPG

points per game

Bold

career up

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league led

Regular Season

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Playoffs

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Year

team

gp

GS

MPG

FG%

3P%

FT%

role playing game

APG

SPG

BPG

PPG

1971
Atlanta

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

1972
Atlanta

6
..
36.5
.446
..
.817
5.3
4.7
..
..
27.7
1973
Atlanta

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

1980
Boston

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

Career[16]

26
..
29.1
.423
.333
.784
3.6
3.8
..
..
18.7

NBA Records

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Free throws, quarters: 14, Pete Maravich, third quarter, Atlanta Hawks vs. Buffalo Braves, November 28, 1973

• Interrupted by Vince Carter on

  23. December 2005

  [38]

Free throw attempts, quarter: 16, Pete Maravich, second quarter, Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls, January 2, 1973

• Interrupted by Ben Wallace on

  11. December 2005

  [39]

Second pair of teammates in NBA history with 2.000 or more points in a season: 2, Atlanta Hawks (1972–73)
Maravich: 2,063
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, April 10, 1977
Maravich: 45
Nate Williams: 41
Dav Thompson of the Denver Nuggets also scored 40 points in that game.

Ranked 4th in NBA history – free throws made, none missed, game: 18-18, Pete Maravich, Atlanta Hawks vs. Buffalo Braves, November 28, 1973

5th place in NBA history – free throws made, game: 23, Pete Maravich, New Orleans Jazz vs. New York Knicks, October 26, 1975 (2 OT)

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Pro Basketball Career

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Atlanta Hawks

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Maravich (with the ball) driving past Tom Van Arsdale in 1974

The Atlanta Hawks selected Maravich with the third pick in the first round of the 1970 NBA draft, where he replaced coach Richie Guerin played. 17] He didn’t fit in Atlanta, since the Hawks already had a top scorer in Lou Hudson at the guard position. Indeed, Maravich’s extravagance was in stark contrast to the conservative play of Hudson and star center Walt Bellamy. And it didn’t help that many of the veteran players turned down the $1.9 million contract Maravich received from the team—a very high salary at the time.[18]

Maravich appeared in 81 games and averaged 23.2 points per contest – good enough to earn NBA All-Rookie Team honors. And he managed to blend in with his teammates, so much so that Hudson posted a career-high 26.8 points per game. But the team stumbled to a 36-46 record – 12 wins fewer than the previous season. Despite this, the Hawks qualified for the playoffs, where they lost to the New York Knicks in the first round.

Maravich struggled a bit in his second season. His pointing average dropped to 19.3 points per game, and the Hawks finished with another disappointing 36-46 record. They again qualified for the playoffs and were once again eliminated in the first round. However, Atlanta struggled hard against the Boston Celtics, with Maravich averaging 27.7 points in the series.

Maravich broke out in his third season, averaging 26.1 points (5th in the NBA) and 6.9 assists per game (6th in the NBA). With 2,063 points, he joined Hudson (2,029 points) as only the second group of teammates in league history to each score over 2,000 points in a single season. [a] The Hawks went up to a 46-36 record but bowed out again in the first round of the playoffs. However, the season was good enough to give Maravich his first NBA All-Star Game appearance and also All-NBA Second Team honors.

The following season (1973-74) was his best yet – at least in terms of individual achievements. Maravich was averaging 27.7 points per game — second in the league behind Bob McAdoo — and earned his second appearance in the All-Star Game. However, Atlanta fell to a disappointing 35-47 record and missed the postseason entirely.

New Orleans Jazz

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In the summer of 1974, an expanding franchise was gearing up for its first competitive season in the NBA. New Orleans jazz was looking for something or someone to create excitement among its new basketball fans. With his exciting game, Maravich was considered the perfect man for the job. Additionally, he was already a celebrity in the state for his accomplishments at LSU. To acquire Maravich, the Jazz traded two players and four draft picks to Atlanta.

The expansion team struggled a lot in their first season. Maravich managed to average 21.5 points per game but shot a career-worst 41.9 percent from the floor. The Jazz posted a 23-59 record, the worst in the NBA.

Jazz management did their best to give Maravich a better supporting cast.The team posted a 38–44 record in its sophomore season (1975–76), but failed to qualify for postseason play despite the dramatic improvement. Maravich struggled with injuries that limited him to just 62 games this season, but he averaged 25.9 points per contest (third behind McAdoo and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and continued his high-profile antics. That year he was selected to the All-NBA First Team.

The following season (1976–77) was his most productive in the NBA. He led the league in scoring with an average of 31.1 points per game. He averaged 40 points or more in 13 games[b] and 50 or more in four games.[c] His 68-point feat against the Knicks[19][20] was the most points ever by a guard were scored in a single game and only two players in any position had ever scored more goals: Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor.[21] Baylor was the head coach of jazz at the time.

Maravich earned his third appearance in an All-Star game and was honored as an All-NBA First Team for the second straight year.

The following season, injuries to both knees forced him to miss 32 games in the 1977-78 season. Though robbed of some speed and athleticism, he still managed to average 27.0 points per game and he also added 6.7 assists per contest, his highest average as a member of the Jazz. Many of those assists went to new teammate Truck Robinson, who had joined the franchise as a free agent during the offseason. During Robinson’s freshman year in New Orleans, Robinson averaged 22.7 points and a league-best 15.7 rebounds per game. Robinson’s presence prevented opponents from fully focusing their defensive efforts on Maravich and lifted the Jazz to a 39-43 record – close to the club’s first-ever appearance in the playoffs.

Knee problems plagued Maravich for the rest of his career. He only played 49 games in the 1978/79 season. He averaged 22.6 points per game this season, earning his fifth and final All-Star appearance. But his scoring and passing skills were severely compromised. The team struggled on the pitch and also faced serious financial problems. Management was desperately trying to make some changes. The Jazz traded Robinson to the Phoenix Suns for draft picks and some cash. However, in 1979 team owner Sam Battistone relocated the Jazz to Salt Lake City.

Last season

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The Utah Jazz began playing in the 1979-80 season. Maravich moved to Salt Lake City with the team, but his knee problems were worse than ever. He made 17 appearances at the start of the season but his injuries prevented him from exercising much and new manager Tom Nissalke had a strict rule that players who were not practicing were not allowed to play. Thus, Maravich was parked on the bench for 24 straight games, much to the dismay of Utah fans and to Maravich himself. During this time, Adrian Dantley appeared as the team’s franchise player.

The Jazz put Maravich on waivers in January 1980. He signed with the Celtics, the league’s top team that year, led by rookie superstar Larry Bird.[22] Adapting to a new role as a part-time employee, Maravich gave Boston a “rental gun”[clarification needed] from the bank. 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 Atlanta career, Maravich was able to make the NBA playoffs. He appeared in nine games this postseason, but the Celtics were upended by Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers in the four-game Eastern Conference Finals to one.

Realizing that his knee problems would never go away, Maravich retired at the end of this season. The NBA introduced the 3-point shot just in time for Maravich’s final season in the league. He had always been renowned for his long-range shooting and his senior year proved to be the official statistical measure of his ability. Between his limited playing time in Utah and Boston, he made 10 of 15 3-pointers, giving him a 66.7% career completion rate from behind the arc.

During his ten-year career in the NBA, Maravich played in 658 games, averaging 24.2 points and 5.4 assists per contest. In 1987, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and his #7 jersey was retired by both the Jazz and the New Orleans Pelicans, as was his #44 jersey by the Atlanta Hawks.

See also

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References

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Marshall Terrill is a famous biographer who has published 15 books. His subjects included Steve McQueen, Elvis Presley and Pete Maravich.