When Peter Press Maravich stepped onto a basketball court, spectators and opponents had to have a carefully trained eye because "Pistol Pete" rarely duplicated the same move twice. Perhaps the greatest creative offensive talent in history, Maravich's offensive repertoire was endless: He could dazzle with Harlem Globetrotter-like dribbling, toss a no-look pass with pinpoint accuracy or sink a fall-away jumper with two defenders draped on him. The basketball court was "Pistol Pete's" personal playground; every night was a show and no one, not even Maravich, knew what scoring records he might shatter. Noted for his mop of brown hair and floppy gray socks, Maravich scored more points in college than any other player in history. In only three years playing for his father Press at LSU, Maravich scored 3,667 points -- 1,138 points in 1968, 1,148 points in 1969 and 1,381 points in 1970 -- while averaging 43.8, 44.2 and 44.5 points per game. In the process, "Pistol Pete" set numerous NCAA, SEC and school records and was named a three-time All-America. In his collegiate career, the six-foot-five guard averaged an incredible 44.2 ppg in 83 contests and led the NCAA in scoring three times. He also set an NCAA record by scoring more than 50 points 28 times.
The 1970 College Player of the Year was selected third overall in the NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks and wasted little time becoming a prime-time player by averaging 23.2 ppg in his rookie season. After spending four seasons in Atlanta, Maravich was traded to the New Orleans Jazz where he peaked as an NBA showman and superstar. He made the All-NBA First Team in 1976 and 1977 and the All-NBA Second Team in 1973 and 1978. He led the NBA in scoring in 1977 with a personal high 31.1 ppg. Maravich finished his career with the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics in 1980. In 10 NBA seasons, Maravich scored 15,948 points in 658 games for a 24.2 ppg average. His NBA single-game high, a 68-point explosion, came against the New York Knicks on Feb. 25, 1977.
