Book Report: Pistol

Pete Maravich was the classic example of an athlete who truly ate, slept and lived the game of basketball. Beginning at the age of seven, his father Press lectured the importance of practice and how it was essential to Pete’s success in the future. Growing up, Pete practiced his ball handling skills for hours and polished his shooting abilities to perfection. Although Press gave his son something to be passionate about, he placed such a heavy importance on improving that it would eventually lead to the only thing that was important to him. It was said that his father required him to make 100 shots from the half-court line in their driveway every night after dinner before he could go to bed. The obsessiveness would set in when Pete would deliberately miss the 100th shot so he could continue shooting.

He attended LSU and averaged an improbable 44.2 points in 83 games for three seasons, leading the NCAA in scoring three times (freshmen weren’t allowed to play varsity). He set an NCAA record by scoring more than 50 points 28 times. Among many of these records that he still holds today, Pete was named a three-time All-American.

In 1970, the Pistol (named because of his gun holster shot) graduated from LSU and was selected third in the first round of that year's NBA draft. He signed a record 1.6 million dollar contract with the Atlanta Hawks. He averaged 23.2 points per game his rookie year and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. He was traded from the Hawks after four seasons to the New Orleans Jazz for eight players. His time in New Orleans would be the climax of his career. The Jazz would move the team to Utah before the start of the 1979-80 season and Pete would later be traded to the Boston Celtics. He would finish the rest of the season playing alongside Larry Bird before his retirement.

Pete’s career was much too short for the caliber of player he was. Many argue that he could have been the best all-time if his leg injury hadn’t shortened his time in the NBA. He would fall into an addiction with alcoholism and avoided having a social life for about two years. The most intriguing part of this story for me, wasn’t the great ability and style he displayed on the court (although that was entertaining), it was what he searched for during the last years of his life. He would experiment with Yoga, Hinduism, vegetarianism, and macrobiotics before discovering the Lord and becoming a Christian.

Before his death in 1988, Maravich would say, “I want to be remembered as a Christian, a person that serves Him to the utmost. Not as a basketball player.”