Pete Maravich: A Mens' Basketball Trailblazer
Written by Laya Hartman
Duke Basketball Report
An interview with Pete Maravich, the second all-time leading College Basketball holder and 10-year NBA player, was soft spoken and humble. Sports commentator and journalist Roy Firestone interviewed Pete about his accomplishments playing college basketball at LSU and his performance in the NBA. Roy read off a slip of paper that in 1978, Pat Riley, current president of the Miami Heat and former NBA player, said “Pete Maravich is the most overrated superstar who ever came down the pike.” Pete licked his lips, and listened to Roy with his left eyebrow slightly lifted. Pete looked Roy up and down, and responded “I like Pat a lot. Not only is he a very successful coach, but he’s a very hard working coach. And everybody has an opinion of people.” This harsh talk and public offense didn’t seem to affect Pete.
On the court, “Pistol Pete” was flashy. Like on February 25, 1977, when Pete and the Utah Jazz took on the New York City Knicks in the Jazz’s home arena and flew down the court play after play, stretching the long court with his 6’ 5” tall arms and legs. A close game in the beginning led to Pete taking control and bringing the Utah Jazz to victory, winning 124 over the Knicks’ 107. As Pete creeped closer to his record high, the fans' cheer roared, and got louder after each basket made. “54 and counting,” said the announcers. “And just look at his teammates cheering for him, Coleman leaps into the air when he [Pete] scores,” said the announcer after Pete hit 64. Pete soared over the Knicks, and hit nothing but net. As the announcers and fans showed emotion and celebration for the phenomena that occurred, Pete seemed ever so cool and unfazed. His talent spoke for itself.
Pete Maravich is from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. His father, Press Maravich, was a Collegiate basketball coach at Clemson and LSU (Pete’s alma mater), and taught him the game of ball. But how did Pete really obtain his unique playing style? The answer is simple. Pete believed the ball was an extension of his body. Rumors say that Pete would bring a ball to the movie theaters and dribble in the aisle while the movie played. For the sake of movie-goers, hopefully that’s not true. But true or not, is it clear with Pete’s ability to throw no-look over the shoulder passes– that he learned a rare comfortability and confidence in his interaction with the basketball.
His "funky and flagrant" or "Showtime" style is now the imprint of the NBA (National Basketball Association). The San Antonio Spurs G-league Operations Assistant, Sydney Wood, says that Pete’s game is “flashy, fun, and exciting.” Pete showed his playful love for the game by throwing full court underhand scoop passes for fast break layups. For someone who knows anything about throwing things, it's much harder to make an accurate underhand lob pass the length of the floor. But Pete performed this pass majestically, and he did it often. Pete tried to look cool. And looking cool is entertainment. And entertainment drives more fans, fame, and fortune.
Current players such as the ‘king,’ Lebron James, or collegiate stud Caitlin Clark are scoring phenomenons. But Pete was the first person to showcase this style in the NBA. “You see, like it's starting to catch on,” said Wood. People were instantly drawn to Pete’s new rhythm. “He was the first person to bring that style to the NBA. And now different people come, and then they put their own flair and style onto it,” said Wood. Basketball evolves and new players constantly add their own style to the game.
In 1970 when Maravich first joined the Atlanta Hawks, the NBA was on a slow decline. Basketball was considered boring, and ‘by the book,’ with slow motion offenses which didn’t allow for improvisation, creative ball handling moves, long range shots, or fast transition dunks. At the time, many men’s players joined the ABA, a majority black men’s professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. Pete’s game fit more with the ABA, which had an open-playing style with players entering slam dunk contests and showing off their athletic creativity on the court. Pete was "as one black NBA executive said admiringly, 'A white boy with flavor,'' Mark Kriegel said in his 2008 book Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich. The ABA did not make enough money to finance itself, and ended up merging with the NBA. But the ABA’s flare and Pete Maravich’s improvisation of it in the NBA was crucial for the game to evolve. “Pete has been the NBA's lasting flavor ever since he left in 1980,” said Kriegel.
Nonetheless, Pete Maravich pathed the way to make basketball stars today, able to play with the creative freedom that makes basketball fun. His emergence in the NBA, and commitment to stick to who he was, even when others rejected it, allowed for others to follow in his lead. Basketball would not be where it is today, without people like Pete Maravich to be the first to try something new, on one of the biggest stages in basketball history. Pete Maravich died on January 5, 1988 while playing a pickup game at First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California.
