Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Thursday, there are 40 days remaining.He was the greatest showman in the history of basketball, the standard by which every flashy-looking hot shot in the last 40 years could be measured against. And not a one has measured up -- never really come close.
Pistol Pete Maravich stood alone in his glory, a virtuoso in a team sport, an artist who made the game so compelling, so captivating, so incredibly wonderful that you never turned away when he had the ball.
Maravich never won big in basketball, but he never stopped believing in the beauty of the game.
He died too young at age 40, yet doctors marveled afterward that he lived as long as he did, leaving basketball a much-more special game by the way he played it. And not many living stars can say that today.
Maravich died in 1988 of an undetected heart defect, moments after playing a casual game of pick-up basketball with friends and acquaintances at a church gymnasium. He was born without one of the two artery systems that supply the heart with blood, an affliction that often kills before a boy becomes a man.
Thanks goodness, he lived long enough to make us all smile.
Maravich was an icon, a hero to a generation of baby boomers, a white star in a black sport. If you were a suburban kid playing basketball in the late '60s or early '70s, you wanted to be just like Pistol Pete. A whole generation of young boys started wearing droopy socks and shaggy locks because Pistol Pete always did.
He remains the most prolific scorer in college basketball history, averaging 43.8, 44.2 and 44.5 points per game in his three varsity seasons (1967-70) at LSU. Every basket he scored was a spectacle. Many were long range, yet this was before the 3-point shot.He was a magician, a wizard with the ball, keeping it on a string. His between-the-legs, behind-the-back, around-the-neck passes, his circus shots from every possible angle, could electrify a crowd. He never saw a shot he didn't like, and he never, ever hesitated to take one.
He came into the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks, given the richest contract in league history. Throughout his basketball career, he never had the supporting cast that could win, so he carried the burden himself, knowing he was expected to entertain as well as score prolifically .
And he did. He spent 10 years in the league, played in five All-Star Games and averaged 24.2 points. Too often, though, he was injured. His wispy body couldn't withstand the pounding. Only once, his rookie season, did he manage to play 80 games.
He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987 -- less than a year before he collapsed and died. It was an honor well deserved.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
What was that thing in each play that looked liket this long black stick?!?! Though the plays were awesome..especially the insane passes he!
Despite his flamboyance and dazzling array of shots, what made Maravich so amazing was his unselfishness and willingness to pass the ball under any circumstances. Magic Johnson idolized Pete: Magig never fails to credit Maravich for creating everything that Magic used in his arsenal. Maravich was class, heart and creativity. Then there was Maravich's defense: he had amazing hands, and could strip anyone dumb enough to expose the ball anywhere near him. When we discuss the greats, he's rarely mentioned because he never played on the biggest stage, the NBA Finals. This was a great posting: long live Pistol Pete.
An incredible 10 highlights by the Pistol. Hopefully he is never forgotten.
highly overated
first of all-burt is a moron-may not be his fault-he is just ignorant. PISTOL PETE was in a class we did not even know existed kudos to the much hated ervin for admitting what the rest of us knew.
Pistol Peter Magic Maravich was a third or mor of a foot taller version of Bob Cousy. Same fancy ball handling, same eagerness to pass. But he is also just a tiny little bit below the top ten ever in scoring average. He didn`t have the Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, etc., to pass to, the Cous had. But his league leading scoring and assists, though not in the same year, unlike Nate Arhibald, vindicated somewhat his father building the LSU offense around him. A great ball player, maybe not quite as good as Robertson, Havlieck, West, but well up there.
He was one of a kind , there will never be anything like him again..Watching Pete with a basketball in his hands was like watching a champion Yo-Yo player put on a show.
Of course Pete was doing this at full speed. He was just magical.
Burt : Highly overrated. This is a pretty stupid statement. Pete played on a level that never existed before or after him.
If Pete had one fault , ( As all players do.) He didn't seem to be able play down to the level of the other players. But then again he wasn't paid to , he was paid to be Pete !!!
Red Archibald once said , " If Pete played with Boston he'd be even a better ball player. " I would of love to see Pete play for the Celtics or the Knicks of his day. That would of been something.