If you enjoyed the video, please support the channel: / 1avardac 42 years ago, on February 25, 1977, Pete Maravich scored 68 against the New York Knicks, setting an NBA record for most points by a guard. www.basketball-reference.com/...
I was a gym rat growing up in New Orleans, finding myself in graduate school in the mid 70s when the Jazz were formed. Happened to be in the right place at the right time when the players from the new team moved into the Metairie area where I lived and started showing up at the YMCA where I was hanging out. Got to know many of the players and would fill out 5 on 5 when they were a player short. Pete was great. Simple. Genuine. Not stuck up. He hung the nickname Mile High on me, not because I smoked dope but because at 5’9” I could stick both hands in the rim. His brother Ronnie often came with him. One time the two of them went to the corner behind the line and shot 35 times. Pete made 34. Another time he was on the track that circled the 2 courts from above and asked one of the kids on the floor to throw the ball up to him. He bet the kid a dollar 💵 that he could bounce the ball off the floor and into the net on one try. He did it. Press came by too. I remember Pete giving him a hard time about his conditioning and bet him he couldn’t do 10 push ups. He couldn’t. Elgin Baylor was the assistant coach and Hot Rod Huntley the radio announcer and they would show up too and get in the pick up games. Man those were the days! I cried when Pete passed away.
I had to watch the whole video again. That backward layup while not looking as he fell to the floor is about the most amazing shot I've ever seen. RIP Mr. Pete you were the greatest!
@38:50 is also utterly, thoroughly beyond-absurd ... shammgod (15 years in advance) to a tweener-xover to cook his man on the perimeter, hooking up to _the most casual drive into the throat of double-help D for a perfect finish_ that I've ever seen.
The Elvis Presley of the NBA....Elvis brought Rhythm and Blues to Main Street America; Maravich brought Harlem Globetrotter passing, flair, and skill to Main Street NBA fans. The emotional connection with those Main Street fans remains strong today for both performers.
Also, there was no shot clock, and freshman weren't allowed to play on the Varsity team back then. So his official career total excludes the 741 points he scored on the Junior Varsity (aka All-Freshman) team.
Alan, I saw Maravich and Purdue's Rick Mount go head to head at a college All-Star game at Butler (now Hinkle) Field House in 1969. Pistol had 44 points, Mount 39, but if the three point line were in effect, they both would have had over 50 apiece. They were putting shots up from the hash marks and not even moving the nets.
I was in High School when Maravich was in College. He was beyond belief. Nobody had ever seen anything like him. It's too bad he's always seen as kind of a sideshow. The greatest natural talent ever.
Not just natural talent--the guy put in thousands of hours of practice, thanks to his well-meaning, but pushy father...a classic example of a father trying to "live" through the exploits of his talented son...IMO, the situation was wrong--but Pete indeed became the finest guard of his time in the NBA. He proved that race alone, does not determine how great a player can be!
@@curbozerboomer1773 wow the pistol was one of the best to play in the NBA but I really don't think that he could out do the goat Mike Jordan just my opinion Jerry Mcpherson
@@curbozerboomer1773you just have to wonder, if he played for a legitimate contender, what he may have accomplished. He was a sideshow on a weak team. A big debate is if he was an equal of Sir Lawrence Bird. You really cannot compare them because Bird was total focus and concentration. Bird was the field commander and leader on a dynasty. Besides, Bird did everything and anything to win and dominated an era
I was working in Saudia Arabia, a doctor from Egypt told me that they found Pete had only one coronary artery during his autopsy. That's amazing & sad.
@@peterr6595 The NBA has decided that “gathering the ball” is a thing. A thing that in other levels of the game is called traveling. Keep track of the player’s pivot foot. As you shoot or pass, you’re allowed to lift that foot and as long as it doesn’t hit the ground before you unload the ball. That’s not traveling, at any level of basketball.
Thanks, grandpa. By the way, the Eurostep is perfectly legal and would've been in the 70's as well if they ever tried it. Now go yell at those kids walking too close to your lawn.
Just an old geezer here who remembers watching Pete play live in high school against my school in Durham. Skinniest kid on the floor. So skinny he couldn't keep his socks up. All bones and red socks, but never quit moving... so fast, so quick on a turn, and determined to be the best. Watching him in this game with the Jazz, he's such a better and more mature player than he was in high school.
There were 2 terrible charging calls on Pistol, the last one causing him to foul out. Otherwise, he would have had well over 70, and that's without a 3 point line! What a treat it was to watch this. What an amazing player he was! So smooth and decisive with the ball....way ahead of his time. My late father was a coach and was a huge Pistol Pete fan. I remember my dad having me watch and study Pete's "Maravich Drills" videos. I practiced these ball handling drills religiously, and used some of them as warm up drills before practice and games. Of course, I (or no one else for that matter) could come close to doing what Pistol could do on a basketball court. Equally amazing, is that Pete accomplished all of this with a defective heart. Thanks for posting this, you made my day!
@@williegordon7899 Pete was a baller bad heart & all. I wish they could've caught that heart problem early in his career. But embarrass Clyde & The Pearl never. Pete was a black baller in white skin. So don't get it twisted man.
No doubt of of the greatest players to ever play the game. Pete would play sand lot ball with us at one of the local gyms in BR. I knew his brother and would jog on the LSU track with his father. They were all very nice people. Things have changed ,
@@williamtsmith9668 The game isn't as tough as it was. Non-shooting fouls are called way easier than pre-2000s NBA/ABA basketball. Plus, the amount of three point shooting means higher scoring games, and a lot less under the basket play, which are some of the best highlights in basketball history.
It's ALWAYS showtime. You think Pete and Kobe are practicing together in heaven, with Wilt, waiting for Jordan, Bird, and Kareem, to have a little 3 on 3? 👻
Nobody in his career made as many wild shots, offhand shots, underhand gliding layups, strong hand and off hand hook shots, double pump shots, no look over the head shots, reverse shots, spinning off the backboard shots, between the leg dribbles, no look passes, behind the back passes than Pistol Pete Maravich.
Pistol was GOAT, in college, and his college scoring records will probably never be broken. Also, there was no 3 point line when he played in the NBA, so in looking at the game film, he had at least 5 (or more) shots that would have counted for 3 points today, so his point total for the game would have approached the mid 70's, or even close to 80. He left us too early. Rest in peace, Pistol.
I was at that game. He was unstoppable. Not only did he make a number of shots that would be 3 pointers today but when he fouled out he was called for an offensive foul (bad call)that should have been free throws. Frazier and Beard and Meminger and Monroe had zero chance to stop him. It really was an unbelievable performance.
@@MickyTubbs1985 Lol He was double and triple teamed every game in college and still averaged 44 per game. Did you ever see him play in person? I saw him play live in person a dozen times in New Orleans the year that he won the NBA scoring title. Still the best shooter that I've ever seen. And if he would have had the 3 point line available, like today, he would have been one of the top 3 point shooters of all time.
I love watching The pistol. His methods of player development are the basis for basketball camps and individual player development. Thank you Pete love you man.
For all the people who have a young baller in their family pistol has instructional videos that take thru all his drills ..and if you want some entertainment for the old baller in you . There are still video of games of horse that kind of highlight pistol . These games were played sometimes are halftime. But not always . He smashed pretty much all his Opponents opponent . Check it out . It’s worth your time . You (( will )) be entertained
In from a younger gen, grew up watching the 80s but reached my ball maturity in the 90s, so I don’t have much experience with the 70s game. Watching this, the main thing that separates today’s players from that era was the rules. Take away nutrition, training and modern tech the rules are what separates these players from today. The rules back then prevented players from palming/carrying, from travelling, etc. It gave the defence the advantage as it gave them the ability to be more physical. Since the 3 pt shot was literally non-existent the lanes were congested and the rules allowed players to play TRUE zone to go along with the more physical defence. Having said that, not every player here could adjust as easily in the modern game. Although I do see players in this game doing things better than today’s era (mid range, interior passing) the game has evolved regardless of opportunities. But Pete and MacAdoo would be amazing today. Bob was essentially Durant in his era. He moves and plays like a 6’4 guard not a 6’10 center. With quick 1v1 moves and drives, great mid range and pull-up. I think he’d be unstoppable today exactly as he was back then. Pete was as good as billed. My lord, imagine if someone even dared to do what he was doing today? He just pulls up running full speed without missing a beat and was deadly. He was lightning quick, something I didn’t realize watching highlight clips. I knew about his handles but they were even better watching in game. The ONLY thing that keeps him from being Kyrie are the rules of his era. Otherwise he’d be creating a new style of basketball if his creativity was allowed to be free. A great shooter is always deadly. An aggressive shooter even more so. But a skilled offensive player like him with that kind of mentality and shot are scary. I can honestly see him avg 40 pts today even with that style of dribbling in his era. How would anybody guard him under today’s rules? You can’t, he’s too good of a shooter, too creative to explosive to be defended. Thanks for the upload. Watching this video is making me rethink some players and their ranking.
Pete was one of a kind. He made basketball fun and was the sport's first fashionista with his floppy socks. Pistol sitting in Heaven spinning the ball on his finger and talking to Wilt.
You prolly dont give a damn but does anybody know of a trick to log back into an instagram account? I stupidly forgot the login password. I would love any tips you can give me!
pete also had to combat reverse racism from his own teamates. phete,s numbers would have been off the charts if they hadn't frozen him out so often. That shows you what kind of teammates he had. Other than the Great lou Hudson, pete was surrounded by boys who hated him for his skin Color and had rather lose than win as long as they got THeir 6 or 7 per game. unfortunately, he faced that racism everywhere he went until he ended his career in Boston.
Thank you for this video. Enjoyed reminiscing my favorite sports hero. I watched Pistol Pete playing at what was called the “Cow Palace” at LSU, a coliseum for livestock shows and LSU basketball. I was just twelve years old. I was able to go on floor to after the game to congratulate him. He was just a freshman who were not allowed to play on varsity team. Eventually, “Pete’s Palace” in his honor aside the football stadium. There has discussions to add a statue of him outside the arena with Shaq. Most important, I’m happy to see him finally content with joy and peace as a believer in Christ. There are interviews of him sharing his amazing testimony on RU-vid. He definitely should be honored as one of the greatest BB players of all time. However, it’s also clear that his faith is how he wants to be remembered to influence others. God bless his soul. Much appreciated!
I have not watched Pete play for many years. What a treat it was to see him again. He was a great ballplayer. Everybody knows about his shooting and ballhandling, but he was also very fast, off of the ball, when he needed to be. In other words, very athletic, as well. In addition, he grabbed his share of rebounds, gave out assists, and played defense. Above all, he loved the game, and inspired a lot of little boys like me.
That is what got me about Pete...not only was his shooting skills amazing, but his other court skills were so excellent!...He was just a force of Nature on the court--cannot be compared to anyone else, even today.
@@kevinwalsh4652 Today's rules allow players to palm/carry the ball. If a player from Pete's era dribbled like that they would not make it down the court without hearing a whistle. Game is called much looser which makes it much easier offensively.
I used to watch games at blue collar dive bars back in the 70s and back then the Jazz got no love from anyone in my town, I mean *nobody* , but when Maravich scored, people cheered. I never forgot how he was like America's Sweetheart - at least for basketball fans. Everyone held him in such high esteem and he deserved it 100%.
Was very lucky to see Pete in Charlotte, NC in December 1969 vs Clemson with him putting on a show as kid. The most exciting display of talent with passing, scoring and dribbling. RIP
I saw Pete play.the Lakers; underrated is an understatement- he took 24 shoots in the warm-up from 8 - 20 ft. and made EVERY single shot no matter if a hook jump shot bank ....just amazing to see!
On a pro level your statement may be true , but on a collegiate level this man averaged 44 points a game when the three point shot was not in existence . He was the greatest overall basketball player of all time in my humble opinion .
Yes...I know he scored an average of 44.3 pts./ game at LSU despite having a heart murmur; my comment was simply to illustrate he could handle the basketball about as well as is possible...his running forward back bent jump shot was not done by anyone else! Amazing in college + pros was my idea.
awesome!! i watched this game live. i can't wait to get to heaven, so i can see pistol play again on that heavenly team. now look what you done.....got this old man in tears.
Will have a pick game with Pete when we get there. Yes people that make comments about heaven not being real I feel sorry for them because like you said eternity is not just a long time it’s “FOREVER” glad I’m on Jesus’s team see you there brother.
that was with no 3 point shot at the time. He averaged 12 threes per game based of the shot charts the assistant coach had kept. That would have put his average at 57 points per game for 3 years. With 4 years his point total would have be near 5000 points way beyond Clarks total. The Globetrotters were even jealous of some of his moves.
@@floatsting20 Pete was last white guy to lead NBA in scoring ('77); he was on his way to 2nd scoring title in '78 when he blew out his knee. The guy was hard luck all the way but he found Peace before he left this life.
Bud Stallworth was my team mate at Kansas. I played against Butch Beard when he was at Louisville. When us guys at Kansas heard LSU was going to be playing we all gathered around the tv to watch The Pistol play.
My dad took me to see the Jazz a few times as a kid. I had no idea I was watching greatness. I do remember the announcer saying Pistoooooool Pete! ever time he scored ... which was over and over all night
@Bob S the replay shows the defensive man moving under Pete as he made the layup. Pete wrongly got called for the foul. Foul number 3 , Pete had position on a pass to make a steal and he stole the ball.
I saw him first play in his rookie year against the Sonics. All I can say is that whenever he had the ball, you felt the whole arena had their eyes on him. It felt like a mild electricity, a buzz. I saw him make a couple of moves I had never seen, and haven't seen since.
Pistol Pete is one of the Top Five Players to Ever play in the NBA,, (PERIOD), had the best Handles of anyone to play, Him and Magic Johnson,Pete could score at anytime and anywhere on the Court,He.Did it at LSU, and then the Pro's, if he would have been surrounded by Other top shelf players, He could have won several championships
It's amazing Pete lived until he was 40 with that hole in his heart. It must have been all the exercise thru basketball that took him that far. With all his dribbling, passing, and scoring abilities, the dude is a top 5 point guard all-time.
I do not know what position LeBron plays, but after watching the Lakers last weekend, he is in top 5 point guards of all-time. I was very surprised to see him at the top of the key, initiating plays.
@@michaelnunes5129 in today's NBA there are 10 "point guards" on the floor at any given time, and they all go 1 on 5....and if they don't do that, they're shooting from 40' out.... team ball is dead
I remember this game. WOR Ch 9 with Andy Musser and Cal Ramsey. It was pretty rare for us to see Pete Maravich in NY. My family and Most here didn't have cable in 1977 and only the away Knick games were on free TV. I think the Jazz only played the Knicks twice a year, so Pete probably wanted to put on a little show this night for TV audiences in New York.
I love them too, but all of his FT misses in this game are from being so nonchalant on the free throw line. I do like that he treats it like any other shot- even when the ref gives him a bad pass, he jacks it up like the buzzer is about to go off.
They actually ran plays back then. Pick n roll. Screens. Passing. Today its travel and monster dunk. When Pete scores his 29th pt in this game at 26min made me smile. Play was set up with nice ball movement 4 passes, then he does the baby hook shot.
Wow!!! Didn't realize how good this dude was, and never saw him play before this. Imagine what he could have done in todays NBA game. Has the silkiest shot that I have ever seen.
I was in my early twenties and was given tickets for this game, the only Jazz game I ever saw at the Super Dome. Pete made scoring in the NBA look so easy that for three quarters it seemed he was doing nothing special. But as the points piled-up toward the end, it was clear that it was his magic night. So many of his shots would have been 3-pointers today. Imagine.
Tom, agree totally about how effortless it appeared when Maravich was dribbling, passing, and especially scoring on a jumper. As a Celtics fan who grew up as a young boy watching the Larry Bird-led Cs (incl. that one year when Maravich was with Boston), I knew what it was to watch a dead-eye shooter by watching Bird, and Maravich had that same sense when he shot it--that it was not only going in, but nothing but net often times. And so as many of Pete's shots were like that, it makes me wonder if that's why he got the "Pistol" nickname, because of that nothing-but-net effect?
@@ericbrooks939 Excellent racial slur, you had to at least seen a college with that quality imagination. Btw, pistol has as good a claim on goat as anyone.
I agree, Clyde was one of the best, but he was not close to the pinnacle of his defense of expertise, plus she really was completely unstoppable. As it is with so many stars, motivation seems to always be lacking. Much like everyone will bow their head and tears and say that Kobe could take over the game anytime he wanted. Which begs the question, how come he seldom want to?
Bob Lanier made a stupid remark that if reversed; would today be seen as racist (it is) that Maravich must have some black blood to play like he did...despite such nonsense from Lanier, Maravich was sensational. Played on poor teams with some players around him either jealous or ignorant to play with his entertaining and innovative play
Well said by Chuck at the end... you did it. Pete. You entertained the world, but then you found your place with God. That's gotta be the only thing that's greater than sports... ...hearing God say, "well done, my good and faithful servant." ❤🤙🏀
Really; pistol pete maravich gave walt frazier trouble: pistoo pete maravich was 6 feet 5 inches dribbling expert/ master plus young :: earl monroes didn:t say i want some/ peace of pete maravich
pipe down....this is one game against Walt Frazier. Its also at the end of his career, two years before he retired. Nobody is perfect. There are plenty of games when Tom Brady got his ass kicked.
@Buff kobe pistol pete maravich didn"t have greatest jump.shot than in his early ; how about trick shot basketball contest ;?? pete maravich unbeatable ; dribbling contest ;; passing contest ; pete marabich leave kobe bryant ; machiel jordan. Sheph curry in the dust/ early 1970s pete maravich wouldve said anytime ;; pete maravich after basketball clinic contest; pete maravich victory : then beat machiel jordan& gang in golf ?? Laugh ,; laugh
Got in trouble In high school for trying to play like pistol pete by our coach, because he said he was nothing but a showboat...certainly was one of the best I ever saw.
There's not much I can add to the list of accomplishments about Pistol Pete. God gave him a gift, and he used it to entertain sports fans like no other. Like the ole saying goes, often immatated but never duplicated. R.I. P. Pistol Pete.Gone but never forgotten.
Best ball handler , shooter in the history of basketball. To think he did this with a 1/2 heart before dropping in a pickup game in his low 40s? He is an all time legend Thank you,Pistol for all the highlights.
pete owned the knicks. some great names on the floor, bob mcadoo would finish 5th in scoring that year, pete number 1, mcadoo was number one the previous year and mvp. bill bradley would become a u.s. senator, phil jackson of course would go on to coaching fame, earl monrore, gail goodrich (hurt and not playing) and walt frazier all in the hall of fame.
Pete was always one of my favorites and I got to see him late in his career when he played for the Celtics. I was there when he scored 14 against Detroit in what I believe was his first Celtics' game in Boston.
This was the time I really enjoyed watching the NBA! Absent of the pushing, traveling, jumping in front of offensive players for a so so charge call! No carrying the ball and calling it great ball handling. Just straight up basketball! Actually three seconds called and could you imagine if there had been a three point line?
yeah, i forgot about the legalization of palming the ball which made it easy as pie to to get into the lane. Take that away from allen iverson and he would not have averaged ten points a game in the rec league!
GREAT player - saw this on the tube live - also ... notice how he 'feathers' the ball when he shoots and dribbles.. not trying to mash it into the ground.... EVERY time !! G.O.A.T. stuff right there !! ;)
the pistol 1! # !!! still the Greatest player the game has ever seen !! ,..played only about 640 games ,.. but yet averaged 25 ,, more than Kobe or Jordan ,..
Every now and then you get a once in a generation player. Pistol Pete was ahead of his time and 1 of the rare and unique players who could've played in an era including today. Players like Kareem, magic, bird and Mike. Pete was showtime before showtime. He could pass like magic, shoot like bird and score like Mike. He was the prototypical combo guard for the next generations.
Thanks for the memories. I was a Knicks fan for years and remember all those players and champions. People wondered if "The Pearl" and Clyde could play together on NY. They certainly could. RIP Pete. Your missed.
In today's crybaby NBA the Jazz coach would have taken Maravich out of the game with them up double figures with a few minutes to go in the game and Maravich with more than 60 points. Can't hurt the other teams feeling.
Not sure because it's been more than 50 years ago , but when they showed how big this arena is and how it dwarfed this venue for basketball , I seem to remember another basketball game , probably the greatest I ever saw on television where the crowd was immense and gave you goosebumps between the UCLA Bruins with Lee Alcindor against the University of Houston and Evilan Hayes . UCLA was an incredible team having won something like 71 or 72 games straight without a loss , they got beat that night by Houston and to this day I have never seen a game , college or pro with that type of build up and excitement.
I firmly can’t imagine a player that was more complete and humble. Pete is my choice for 'greatest'! Interesting to see Shelton as such a good scorer as when he was with Seattle he was more of a defender and enforcer.
I met pistol Pete when I was 11 yrs old at a clinic he was putting on. After I saw what he could do a basketball, I was all in. From thru jr. high, thru high school I was always doing ball handling drills. He was simply Amazing!!!
Maravich is one of my favorite players of all time. I'm sitting here watching this video and all of a sudden Mo Howard shows up. I saw him play in grade school. He could dunk it in the 8th grade. If my memory serves me well, he played for a school named Queen of Peace in Philadelphia. I'll never forget seeing him play against my grade school (St. Philip's) at a tournament at LaSalle High School. RU-vid is the best.
I couldn't tell you how many times I've watched this one video I can only say thankyou for leaving available for myself and others to enjoy and appreciate !! Thanks again
Without a 3-point line back then the game was really about being able to pull up off the dribble and shoot the mid-range and nobody could do it like Maravich. He looked like he was really slow, but then he would get the ball and suddenly with one or two quick steps he would create enough space to get off his shot. His style was unique. He didn't so as much fancy stuff in this game. It was just a simple game. Get a bit of space from the defender, maybe using a screen, and shoot it with great shooting technique and touch.
So much fun watching this! I followed the NBA in the 70s as a Cavs' fan. Note the Hall of Famers in this game: Monroe, Frazier, Phil Jackson, Macadoo, and Maravich. I'm not sure about Lonnie Shelton. He was a great power forward and a champion with Seattle. The game was called so differently! Hand checking allowed and traveling and 3 seconds were tightly called. But away from the ball, you could battle. I saw two forwards knock each other down and nothing was called. The defense was only one-on-one. You'd get a technical foul for any zone.
Thank you for clarifying. The game has really changed so much from skill to simple bullying. Today's game comparatively has little defense, a lot of ball carrying, no one called for walking, and the 3 second rule, what's that? I gues they only call 3 seconds in junior high.
I saw him in NY at a basketball camp as a PeeWee team member. Amazing Pistol Pete demonstrated skills and tricks with the basketball at the camp for the us kids. Thank you Pete for the memories.
To Pete, a free throw was just another shot. No time to stand at the line and bounce the ball ten times. No, you take the ball from the ref and quickly march four feet up to the line and take your shot. BOOM!
![The Night of Pistol Pete - Maravich drops 68 points on the Knicks [HD]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
