Pete Maravich is one of the most underappreciated scorers in NBA history and a name that is often forgotten about while discussing the all-time greats in the sport. He never won a championship, and he didn’t have a long prime, but Maravich was easily one of the most dangerous scorers in the league during his prime.
Maravich’s peak with the New Orleans/Utah Jazz ended with his knee issues being bad enough for him to be waived by the team before he was picked up by the Boston Celtics in 1979, just as a rookie Larry Bird was coming into the team.
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The pair had a very tenuous argument during practice, as recalled by Vernon Maxwell, who recalled what happened when Maravich got upset that Bird was shooting over double teams instead of passing him the ball when he was open.
“Larry, Larry, they’re double-teaming you man, you can’t force up those kinds of shots,” Maxwell recalled Maravich telling Bird.
Larry Legend’s response to Pistol Pete?
“If you were any damn good, they wouldn’t be double-teaming me.”
Maxwell said he was in shock, but that the teammates later worked it out. (h/t NBC Sports)
Bird and Maravich may have had that tiff, but they had immense respect for each other. Prior to his passing in 1988, Maravich named Bird, the best player in the NBA. Bird held Pistol Pete in high regard as well, saying that the ball was a part of his hand while talking about his natural scoring ability.
‘Pistol Pete’ Maravich’s Incredible NBA Career
Pete Maravich might be forgotten by the casual fan, but NBA fans know that this man was an absolute bucket. Maravich averaged 24.2 points, 5.4 assists, and 4.2 rebounds in his career. He led the league in scoring once, during his third season with the New Orleans Jazz, when he averaged 31.2 points as a 6’5″ guard before the 3-point line existed.
Maravich was a complex character who often thought about life. He openly said that he didn’t want to have a 10-year-long NBA career just to die from a heart attack at the age of 40. Though he played 11 seasons, he ended up passing away at the exact age he didn’t want to.
He had incidents in his life where he showed he wasn’t afraid of death, such as when a woman and her boyfriend almost killed Pete after a bar altercation. He never feared to speak his mind and was incredibly principled. He would attack his GMs publicly, but all because of the passion he felt for the game.
Maravich left messages that could be applicable to today’s generation, like when he openly said that athletes shouldn’t be idols to children but their own fathers should. He was a basketball maestro and had a great career but was taken before his achievements could be properly appreciated.
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