Pete Maravich
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Peter Press Maravich ( MAIR-ə-vitch; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), also known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. He starred in college at Louisiana State University's Tigers basketball team; his father, Press Maravich, was the team's head coach. Maravich is the all-time leading NCAA Division I men's scorer with 3,667 points scored and an average of 44.2 points per game. All of his accomplishments were achieved before the adoption of the three-point line and shot clock, and despite being unable to play varsity as a freshman under then-NCAA rules. Maravich was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1970 NBA draft, playing four seasons for the team. He was traded to the New Orleans Jazz, then an expansion team, with whom he spent the majority of the rest of his career. His final season was split between the Jazz and the Boston Celtics. Injuries ultimately forced Maravich's retirement in 1980 following a 10-year professional basketball career. He was named an All-Star five times and was named to four All-NBA Teams during his professional career. One of the youngest players ever inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Maravich was considered to be one of the greatest creative offensive talents ever and one of the best ball handlers of all time. He died suddenly at age 40 during a pick-up game in 1988 because of an undetected heart defect. Maravich was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary team in 1996 and 75th Anniversary team in 2021.