Pete Maravich

Peter Press Maravich (/ˈmɛərəˌvɪtʃ/ MAIR-ə-vitch; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), also known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player.

Maravich starred in college for Louisiana State University's Tigers basketball team, which was coached by his father, Press Maravich. He is the all-time top scorer in NCAA Division I men's basketball, having scored 3,667 points at an average of 44.2 per game. He accomplished this before the adoption of the three-point line and shot clock, and before freshman were allowed to play varsity by the NCAA.

Maravich was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1970 NBA draft. He played four seasons in Atlanta, then was traded to the expansion New Orleans Jazz, where he spent five seasons and part of a sixth. He played his final part-season for the Boston Celtics, then retired due to injuries. During his 10-year career, he was named an All-Star five times and All-NBA four times.

One of the youngest players inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Maravich was considered among the best ball handlers and creative offensive talents ever to play. He died suddenly at age 40 during a pick-up game in 1988 because of an undetected heart defect. Maravich was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary team in 1996 and 75th Anniversary team in 2021.

Maravich was born to Peter "Press" Maravich (1915–1987) and Helen Gravor Maravich (1925–1974) in Aliquippa, a steel town in Beaver County in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Maravich amazed his family and friends with his basketball abilities from an early age. He enjoyed a close but demanding father-son relationship that motivated him toward achievement and fame in the sport. Maravich's father was the son of Serbian immigrants and a professional player–turned-coach. He showed his son the fundamentals starting when Pete was seven years old. Obsessively, young Maravich spent hours practicing ball control tricks, passes, head fakes, and long-range shots.

While Maravich was in junior high, his father was head basketball coach at Clemson University. Once a classmate bet Maravich five dollars that he could not spin the ball on his finger for an entire hour. Maravich took the bet, and after his finger began to bleed, switched fingers, winning the five bucks.

Maravich played high school varsity ball at Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina, a year before being old enough to attend the school. While at Daniel from 1961 to 1963, Maravich participated in the school's first-ever game against a team from an all-black school.

In 1963, his father departed from his position at Clemson and joined the coaching staff at North Carolina State University. While living in Raleigh, North Carolina, Maravich attended Needham B. Broughton High School, where his famous moniker was born. From his habit of shooting the ball from his side, as if holding a revolver, Maravich became known as "Pistol" Pete Maravich. He graduated from Broughton in 1965 and then attended Edwards Military Institute, where he averaged 33 points per game. Press Maravich was known to be extremely protective of Maravich, and would guard against any issue that might come up during his adolescence; Press threatened to shoot Maravich with a .45-caliber pistol if he drank or got into trouble. Maravich was 6 feet 4 inches in high school and was getting ready to play in college when his father took a coaching position at Louisiana State University.