How Good Was Pistol Pete Maravich Actually?

Don't sleep on Pete! Straight legend.

He was light-years ahead of the NBA and basketball period. Born in the wrong Era. Underappreciated. Man was a true wizard. Only true thing held him back was sometimes it seemed he worried more bout scoring than winning.

It's still amazing that Pete amassed all those points with NO 3 POINT LINE. That still blows me away. He was a Superman.

Say what you want, but the dude had one of the coolest nicknames in NBA history.

Best line from a teammate of Pete: If he is looking at you, you aren't getting the ball.

44 ppg in his college career. Still the all time leading scorer in the NCAA without a 3 pt line and only played 3 seasons.

He's underrated when you think of legends

My grandfather was born in 1929 and saw everything in sports up until 2015. He said Pistol Pete was the best college player ever

Pete would have been so at home in today's basketball. Running and gunning, putting dudes on skates and slinging threes.

Pete averaged 24 points a game without the three-point-line. He would have averaged 27-29 per game with the three-point-line. That would put Pete right behind Wilt, Michael Jordan and Kareem in the top 5 all-time for average points per game.

Still the NCAA career scoring leader. A record that has stood for 52 years. Not only was there no three-point shot, he was not eligible to play as a Freshman (no one was). An incredible talent whose career was sadly shortened by injury.

How good was he? A lethal long-range shooter, an incredible efficient scorer and a magician with the ball. To this day, he's still own the highest PPG in a season in NCAA history without a three-point shot!

Rip legend. He changed the game of basketball a lot

One thing to remember was that Pete's ball handling skills came at a time when the league was very strict about palming calls. Give him today's rules, and he would destroy people even more.

A Legend. Much respect. There is a tale about him going to the carnival and winning every prize from shooting the basketball and he made a bet with the carnival guy that if he missed a long shot from almost from the entrance he would give all the prizes back. Let's just say Pete had a lot of gift for the children.

Another thing people forget is that when Pete played you couldn’t carry the ball the way everyone does today. Most players today also walk.. a lot! Pete was the best of his era, and he’d be the best if he played today

Without this Legend .. Legends of the 80s wouldn't be as great as we know today.

I saw Pete in person several times with the Jazz...and his vision on the floor was incredible. He was a chess player 10 moves ahead of everyone, including his fellow players. His first two years his teammates weren't fond of him, because he would hit them with passes in the head, from directions they wouldn't expect. Edit: Pete's life wasn't a tragedy, it was a gift. He lived beyond a heart problem that should have killed him in his teens. The quote was in the New Orleans States-Item, and I remember what it was about. It was about his desire to keep himself in good physical condition, to live a healthy life. I hate that this quote is somehow a strike against him.

I did a Utah Jazz camp as a kid. John Stockton was one of the coaches. John said Pistol Pete was his role model and he believed that Pete was the greatest point guard ever.

I had the great pleasure and opportunity to perform in Mannheim Germany with Pete and Press when I lived in Heidelberg in the mid 70's. He gave me the greatest advice that lead me to become a baseball All-American amd 2nd round pick. I thank God for that meeting and Thank you for creating this bio video. RIP, "Pistol". He was so sincere when he became a Christian and I learned his favorite Bible verse for life. Joshua 1:8.