SportsCentury

Pete Maravich - GREATEST BASKETBALL PLAYER EVER (ESPN NBA DOCUMENTARY) NBA Hall of Famer "Pistol Pete" Maravich was a spectacular showman who helped open up the game of basketball in the 1970s. After a legendary college career at Louisiana State, he played 10 productive seasons in the NBA, earning five trips to the NBA All-Star Game and one league scoring title. Maravich wasn't the first player to dribble behind his back or make a deft between-the-legs pass. But his playground moves, circus shots, and hotdog passes were considered outrageous during his era and, perhaps because he cultivated a freewheeling image, some basketball purists felt he was more style than substance. But Maravich produced huge numbers, first as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history and later as a potent force for both the Atlanta Hawks and the New Orleans Jazz. Maravich holds nearly every major NCAA scoring record, including most career points (3,667), highest career scoring average (44.2 ppg), most field goals made (1,387) and attempted (3,166), and most career 50-point games (28). And he accomplished all this without the benefit of the three-point basket, which wasn't introduced into the college game until the 1986-87 season.