Tag: Pete Maravich

On this day: Pete Maravich passes; Boston guard, Rhodes scholar George Munroe born

On this day, former Boston Celtics guard and Rhodes scholar George Munroe was born, and Pistol Pete left us unexpectedly.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, basketball legend Peter “Pete” Press Maravich died unexpectedly while playing a game of pickup basketball due to an undetected heart condition in 1988.

Born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania in 1947 to mother Helen Gravor Maravich and father Peter “Press” Maravich — a basketball star in his own right, Piston Pete (as he was called as a nickname) picked up his father’s talents and then some as a player, whom he played for at Louisiana State University. His elite offensive talents and amazing handle quickly got the attention of professional teams as a two-time National College Player of the Year and was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Hawks in 1970.

He would play for that team, and the New Orleans and later Utah Jazz before joining the Celtics as a free agent in 1980.

NBA legends explain why Boston Celtics alum Pete Maravich’s skills were unreal

Dropping long-distance bombs well before Stephen Curry ever did — and before the advent of the 3-point line — Maravich could also sling flashy passes around the court with the sort of vision and craft rarely seen in the history of the league.

While some older fans of the Boston Celtics may recall “Pistol” Pete Maravich joining the Celtics in the final season of his Hall of Fame career, fewer recall just how electric a player he was on the offensive end of the court.

Dropping long-distance bombs well before Stephen Curry ever did — and before the advent of the 3-point line — Maravich could sling flashy passes around the court with the sort of vision and craft seldom seen in the history of the league. His swagger and skill presaged much of the artistry of the modern NBA, but it happened in an era that did not have the same audience of today’s elite floor generals and marksmen.

To hear it from his peers in the league from that era firsthand, check out this video from the folks at the Basketball Time Machine YouTube Channel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Rookie Larry Bird once excoriated fellow Hall of Famer Pete Maravich when both were Boston Celtics

Teammate Cedric Maxwell told the tale of their early clash during the sole season the two Hall of Famers were teammates.

It might surprise some younger fans to learn that the tenures of Boston Celtics Hall of Famers “Pistol” Pete Maravich and Larry Bird overlapped for a season on the storied franchise both played for, Maravich signing on for a swan song to his storied career just as The Hick From French Lick’s got started in the 1979-80 NBA season.

And as is not that unusual, the two basketball legends butted heads a bit at first, going at it in the heat of a game after a play did not go the way one thought it ought to according to teammate and Boston legend in his own right Cedric Maxwell.

Speaking to NBC Sports Boston about a recent on-court kerfuffle between the Miami Heat’s Erik Spoelstra, Jimmy Butler, and Udonis Haslem, Maxwell recalled a similar incident going down between Bird and Maravich.

HoopsHype updates their top 75 all-time NBA player list for 2022, dropping several Boston Celtics

We might be biased, but we’re not too crazy about the update.

While some NBA media outlets are dialed into the 2022-23 NBA season for their annual exercise to fill the late September content desert that is ranking season, our sister site HoopsHype has its eyes on a bigger prize.

Drawing on the popular all-time NBA list released adjacent to the NBA’s version put together for the league’s 75th anniversary, HoopsHype has gone a step further and updated the list again for 2022. There’s quite a bit of change (including the absence of many Boston Celtics who made the last list), and to be frank, we are not fans of an all-time list that would see so much turnover a mere 365 days later.

Take a look for yourselves at the various Celtics greats who were omitted and where those who remain are ranked now, and let us know why we are wrong if you feel so compelled.

Boston Celtics alum Pete Maravich’s wrist pass was a devastating weapon

The NBA great was better known for his long-distance shooting (thus the nickname “Pistol”) but was also among the better and more creative floor generals of his time.

There may have been no more devastating of a pass in the early modern era of the NBA than former Boston Celtics guard “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s renowned “wrist pass” that could have a confused defender chasing after a ball that was simply not where his eyes were saying it was supposed to be.

Executed in transition, it was all the more confounding, with defenders sometimes ending up lost and behind the play with a dazed look on their faces as Maravich’s target lays up an easy make. The NBA great was better known for his long-distance shooting (thus the nickname “Pistol“), but he was also among the better and more creative floor generals of his time.

To see how the wrist pass works in action, the folks over at the ESPN Rewind YouTube channel put together a short clip of Maravich deploying it to amazing effect.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EITISGPgF0k

Take a look for yourself in the video embedded above.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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If you think Payton Pritchard’s dribbling drill is intense, you should see Pete Maravich’s

Fast PP may have an intense way to practice his handle, but he’s got nothing on Pistol Pete.

If you squint very hard, you can see the template for a player such as Boston Celtics reserve guard Payton Pritchard in Hall of Fame sharpshooter “Pistol” Pete Maravich — and not just because of their shooting. The taller Maravich was also a fanatic about dribble practice drills, and while Fast PP’s certainly looks intense, the worst thing that happened was that his hands might get bloody from all the callouses he’d develop.

Maravich, on the other hand, took his drills to a whole other level that even made legendary Celtics general manager Red Auerbach nervous watching them for their disaster potential to one’s nether regions.

Take a look at the short embedded below to get a glimpse of Maravich’s infamous dribble drill, courtesy of the NBA’s YouTube channel.

We don’t know about you, but we don’t personally have any plans to try out Pistol Pete’s drill ourselves any time soon.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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2 former LSU players crack ESPN’s Top 76 all-time NBA players list

Find out where the pair of LSU stars landed in ESPN’s rankings.

With the NBA celebrating its 75-year anniversary at All-Star Weekend, ESPN released a list of the top 76 players in that time span. Former LSU basketball stars “Pistol” Pete Maravich and Shaquille O’Neal cracked the list, with Maravich coming in at No. 54 and O’Neal at No. 11.

Maravich was an outstanding basketball player in college. In his first game at LSU, he got a triple-double, scoring 50 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and dished out 11 assists. In three years with the Tigers, Maravich averaged 44.2 points per game. He led the NCAA in scoring all three seasons and won the National Player of the Year Award two times and SEC Player of the Year three times.

He played 11 seasons in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans/Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics. Unfortunately, his NBA career was cut short due to injuries, but Maravich still managed to lead the NBA in scoring with 31.1 points per game during the 1976-77 season. Maravich made four All-NBA honors and was a five-time All-Star.

Meanwhile, O’Neal was a two-time All-American and two-time SEC Player of the Year at LSU. In 1991 he was named AP Player of the Year. O’Neal averaged 21.6 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 4.6 blocks per game in three years with the Tigers.

O’Neal went on to play 20 seasons and the NBA and won four championships. He was a 15-time All-Star, won the MVP award once, and Finals MVP three times. O’Neal is one of the most dominant players to ever play in the NBA with his size, quickness, and strength.

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Julius Erving: I look at the commercial …

Julius Erving: I look at the commercial success that happened with myself, with Larry Bird, with Converse and Spalding as an example, and the next wave with Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. It didn’t just happen. There were shoulders we were standing on. There was Bill Russell, who’s been a dear friend for many, many years. Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and even the lesser-celebrated guys like Walt Bellamy, Lou Hudson, Pete Maravich. We were just trying to kind of give them credit and understand their struggle. They were always taking commercial flights. Before that, I mean, there were guys taking trains and buses. It is so much different now.

On this day: Pete Maravich passes; Boston guard, Rhodes scholar George Munroe born

On this day, former Boston Celtics guard and Rhodes scholar George Munroe was born, and Pistol Pete left us unexpectedly.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, basketball legend Peter “Pete” Press Maravich died unexpectedly while playing a game of pickup basketball due to an undetected heart condition in 1988.

Born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania in 1947 to mother Helen Gravor Maravich and father Peter “Press” Maravich — a basketball star in his own right, Piston Pete (as he was called as a nickname) picked up his father’s talents and then some as a player, whom he played for at Louisiana State University. His elite offensive talents and amazing handle quickly got the attention of professional teams as a two-time National College Player of the Year and was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Hawks in 1970.

He would play for that team, and the New Orleans and later Utah Jazz before joining the Celtics as a free agent in 1980.