When people talk about inventors that were ahead of their time, some might say Leonardo Da Vinci, Plato, or Hero of Alexandria. But if you ever want to find a man that was born into the wrong era, look no further than "Pistol Pete" Maravich. Now, I'll admit, Pete Maravich isn't exactly a household name in today's NBA and I doubt you'll find him on any all-time lists. However, in the basketball world, there are two main things that Maravich is known for:
1. Having very bad knees.
2. Being one of the best NBA guards of all time.
As the son of a tough basketball coach, Press Maravich, Pete was sculpted into the mould of a great basketball player. The legend of "Pistol Pete" started at Louisiana State University from 1967-1970 and he immediately set the college basketball scene alight. Over 3 seasons, he averaged 44.2 points per game, an NCAA record that still stands to this day and is a stat that arguably makes him the greatest college basketball player of all time. Oh, and by the way, he did it all without a 3-point line! The 3-point line was not introduced into college basketball until 1986 - 16 years after Maravich's last college game. But that didn't stop him from knocking down jump shots from all over the floor, on the way to some pretty impressive scoring performances, including 4 60+ point games.
In the eyes of the NBA, "Pistol Pete's" style was slightly unorthodox and at 6'5", he wasn't the biggest guy on the floor in an age of basketball dominated by centres. Nevertheless, Maravich was drafted 3rd overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1970 NBA draft. Here, Maravich turned from unstoppable scorer, to offensive genius. Even with a team that suffered with chemistry, Maravich still produced to a level that would outshine any current NBA Rookie, stuffing the stat sheet with 23.2 points per game, 4.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds, whilst shooting 45.8% from the field.
Year on year, the legend of "Pistol Pete" continued to grow and entered the prime of his career with the New Orelans Jazz in the 1976-77 season. He led the league in scoring with 31.1 points per game, beating out the likes of Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Julius Erving by over a 5-point margin. The highlight of this season came against the New York Knicks, where he dropped 68 points, which at the time was the most ever scored by a guard. Again, I think its important to emphasise, this guy dropped 68 points - WITHOUT A 3-POINT LINE!.
It's scary to think about the numbers that Maravich would have racked up if the 3-point line was available to him, and there is no question that if it had, you definitely would of seen the Maravich name on several NBA records. Unfortunatley, towards the later parts of his playing career, Maravich was plagued with knee injuries that halted his march up the all-time lists and made him available for only 658 games in a 10 year career. His injuries ultimately forced him into retirement at 32, but still achieved the 18th highest scoring average in NBA history (24.2ppg), during his time in the league - 7th among gaurds.
It's sad to admit, but Maravich's body is what ultimately defined his life and his basketball career. His skill alone could have carried him to multiple league MVP's and Championship rings, but his luck ran out when he collapsed during a pickup game due to a heart defect - he was just 40 years old.
At the end of the day, I could write 1000 more words trying to convince you of the greatness of "Pistol Pete" but I think it's probably best to let another legend speak for him:
"Oscar Robertson was the best I ever played against....Jerry West was the best I ever played with....but Pete, he's the best I've ever seen. - Elgin Baylor
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