Sixty Cool Pistol Pete Facts
Compiled by John Hareas, Andrew Pearson and Chad Sanders
3 Was a three-time unanimous All-American in college ('68, '69, '70)
3 Third overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in 1970 NBA Draft (behind No. 1 Bob Lanier, Detroit Pistons and No. 2 Rudy Tomjanovich, Houston Rockets)
5 Five-time NBA All-Star
7 His No. 7 jersey was retired by the Utah Jazz in 1985
7 His No. 7 jersey was retired by the New Orleans Hornets in 2003
11 Owns 11 NCAA records
17 As a freshman as LSU, Pistol led the frosh team to a 17-1 record while the Varsity compiled a 3-23 mark
20 Neighbors remember seeing Pete dribbling a basketball outside the passenger window of a moving car driving at 20 miles per hour
23.2 Pistol scored 23.2 ppg in his rookie NBA season, good for ninth in the league, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team
31.1 Led NBA in scoring in '76-77 with 31.1 ppg
34 Owns 34 Southeastern Conference records
43.8, 44.2 and 44.5Pistol's points per game averages in his LSU varsity seasons
44.2 All time leading NCAA scorer with career average of 44.2 points per game (Pistol played college ball before the 3-point line was instituted)
43.6 Maravich played for LSU's freshman team in 1966-67 and averaged 43.6 points per game
50 50 or more points 28 times in college
50 During his senior season he scored 50 or more points in 10 of LSU's 31 games, setting an NCAA record for most points (1,381) and highest scoring average in a single season (44.5)
68 His 68 points against the Knicks are the highest total ever for a player who was disqualified from a contest. He fouled out in the waning minutes of the game on two questionable charge calls
69 Set the mark (since broken) for most points scored against a Division I opponent with 69 against Alabama during his senior season
500 At the age of 11, he once made 500 consecutive free throws
1,000 First player to score 1,000 points in a single college season
1970 NCAA Player of the Year in 1970
1987 Was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in May 1987 at the age of 39, the youngest player ever inducted
3,667 All time leading NCAA scorer (3,667 points) in only three seasons; NCAA rules at the time prohibited first-year students from playing at the varsity level
$1.9 million Made NBA history by signing richest contract ever offered to a college player
24.2 Averaged 24.2 points per game during his 10-year NBA career
15,948 Scored 15,948 points over his 10-year NBA career
Pistol Pete Quotes
"There is nothing wrong with dedication and goals, but if you focus on yourself, all the lights fade away and you become a fleeting moment in life."
"I lived my life one way for 35 years, for me. And then the focus came in on what I really was."
"It's hard when your father's the coach. Sometimes you don't know where one leaves off and the other begins."
"Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan."
"I don't want to play 10 years in the NBA and then die of a heart attack at 40." -- Maravich was 25 years old when he gave Pennsylvania reporter Andy Nuzzo that quote. Maravich died while playing 3-on-3 basketball in Pasadena, Calif., on January 5, 1988.
Quotes About Pistol Pete
"He was like a great singer with a style all his own, a pacing that was different, a flair for the unusual." - Chick Hearn
"He [Pete] was an artist. His canvas was the basketball floor and his brush was the basketball." -- Paul Westphal
"Jerry West was the best I ever played with. And Pete is the best I've ever seen." - Elgin Baylor
"You were never quite sure what he was going to do with the ball in the open court. He had a thousand moves to either shoot it or pass it." -- Jack Ramsay, Hall of Fame Coach
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Wow, that's a lot fo stuff. Some of it is kind of... different
denner4
Front 'O, MY
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If Pistol had played with the 3 point line in place, his stats would be much better. If he had played for good teams during his career and got some titles, he'd be revered as the one of the greatest ever. Top 10 or even Top 5 Greatest.
Mac is the Demon of…
Fort Hood, TX
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A little eccentric but certainly an interesting and talented guy.
DC#44
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The 3-point line and 4 years of eligibility in college would have made all of his stats practically untouchable.
G.O.A.T. is back?
Scranton, PA
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Read my review of "Maravich," by Terrill and Federman, on Amazon.com if you want the full view of what Winner the Pistol was - which is not how basketball generalists regard him. Playing on a horrible expansion team - the New Orleans Jazz - the Jazz were the most successful basketball franchise ever up to that point. Look at the expansion teams over the last 20 years. Specifically, look at their records during the first five-year stretch. They get the #1 picks, which Pete never had the luxury of. The Jazz had incompetent leadership at the top, including ownership, and so Pete never had the great young talent around him. OK, here's a few things not on the list of 60, which I really enjoyed: 1) Pete was the first white player to be offered a bonafide contract, worth millions, to play for the Harlem Globetrotters. 2) Pete would often put on ball-handling exhibitions before games during his collegiate and early pro years (that's because the fans showed up for it). 3) I love how people say Pete didn't do much winning while at LSU. Dear God, when he was a Freshman, the Varsity went 3-23. By the time he was a senior, LSU went 22-10 and was in the Final Four of the N.I.T. when that tournament meant something. Remember, in 1969-70 - Pete's senior season - only between 16 and 25 teams made the NCAA tournament, vs. the 64 we see today. So, with only win representative coming from a conference, Kentucky almost always came out of Pete's SEC. 4) Pete's 69 vs. Alabama is far more impressive than Kelvin Bradshaw's 81 vs. U.S. International (who??). Had Pete had the 3-Point line, experts say he would have been in the mid-80's. 5) Want to talk about the complete player? Do your homework. Take a look at Pete's career assists and rebound averages while in college. Simply unreal. He carried that whole team. And know what? Imagine even being about to get off 50 shots a game with every defense in the country rigged against you - their sole purpose to stop YOU. Sure, Press let him fire away. But executing that strategy? Far more than the "selfish" label often associated with Pete. More to come, but if you Pete Maravich on the Celtics, Trailblazers, Suns, or Bullets teams of the 70's, the man is wearing three rings, easy. By the way, my friend Bill Walton told me that. I am one of the country's preeminent experts on Pete. I helped with chapter outlines for "Maravich," and appear on pages 348+349. I also co-wrote "David Thompson: Skywalker," the great DT's autobiography. When you hear people like Walton and Thompson talk about their friend Pistol Pete - well, that's all that matters in my book. They say Pete's game was other-worldly. That's good enough for me.
Pistol's #1 Fan
Lenexa , KS
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