Pete Maravich is considered one of the most important players in the history of the NBA. Maravich was a trailblazer, someone who played well ahead of his time. Pete Maravich was one of the most offensively innovative players in the history of the NBA and helped change the league in a significant way. Maravich lived a very interesting life, one that almost ended thanks to a scary altercation early on.
Pete Maravich told the story during a public event, from his college days. Maravich was coming back after a great game and decided to go to a bar. A woman approached him and sat next to him. Her partner came behind her and threatened Maravich for sitting next to her. Maravich wasn’t ready to back down and went to fight.
The man jumped him from behind and left him injured and lying in a pool of blood. After that, the woman came back and pulled out a gun, and then put it in his mouth. She threatened him, cocking the gun, and telling him that he was about to die. But Maravich survived, although he didn’t share the details of what happened that allowed him to escape the situation, but did note it cemented his faith in god.
“I was in 9 accidents in college and walked away from all of them. One time I was coming home after putting on a clinic in Pennsylvania. I drove 700 miles and stopped for the night and went down to a local pub… Sat in there and had about 2 beers, and a young lady came over to me. I said ‘how are you, sweetie’? She asks ‘you mind if I sit down here?’. Suit yourself. I was sitting there, I was there 2 minutes, and a guy came up to me about 6’5, 270 lbs. Said ‘what are you doing with my girl?’ I said ‘I’m not doing anything with her sir, I’m just sitting here and having this cold beer, I don’t want any trouble’. He started pushing me. I grew up as a kid knowing that you never back down from anything. I don’t care what the odds are. I told him to get his hands off me… One thing led to another, they said you get out of here. I got up and went out quickly. I stayed behind the door and I was really going to get this guy. He never came, I wanted for about 2 minutes. So I went through the parking lot… I heard this guy come out and yell at me. Little did I know the other guy had gone around the other side. The guy just hit me from behind and beat me up pretty well. As I laid there in that parking lot that night, that girl came up and I was all blood. And she took a .25 automatic pistol and put it in my mouth and cocked it. She said ‘you’re a dead man Pistol Pete, how about that?’. From the depths of my heart I remember feeling ‘kill me, because then I’ll have peace. There’s a god up there that overruled satan that night. I know that. That’s why I fall on my face morning, evening and night.”
Maravich was somehow able to walk away from the incident alive. Pistol Pete never revealed how he was able to escape, but perhaps that was not why he shared the story. Maravic spoke at the end of the speech about his connection with his God, and how surviving the situation helped establish his faith in religion. Pete Maravich has spoken in the past that the real heroes of society are the fathers and not the athletes.
Maravich ended up becoming a revolutionary player in the NBA. While he never won an NBA championship, he became a multiple-time All-Star and even won the league’s scoring title. He noted that he didn’t want to play in the NBA for too long and died early during his career. He only played in the NBA for 10 years and retired from the league at 33 years of age.
