He was Cousy long after Cousy, and Magic even before Magic. An entertainer. “Pistol” Pete Maravich was by most accounts, the greatest showman the game of basketball has ever seen. As a sophomore at Louisiana State he began the greatest scoring rampage in NCAA history. By the time he concluded his unparalleled college career in 1970, when he was named College Player of the Year, Maravich held 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). Maravich brought his thrilling playmaking ability to the NBA after being drafted by Atlanta in 1970. Four years later, the expansion New Orleans Jazz were preparing for their inaugural 1974-75 season. The team needed a marquee player, and who better to launch the franchise than the greatest basketball legend in Louisiana State history? Though the Jazz posted modest records during the 1970’s, they were blessed with a player who emerged as one of the great legends in the history of the game, named one of the NBA’s Fifty Greatest Players of all time in 1996.
Graded GEM MT 10 by PSA, this is the lone example of Pistol Pete’s coveted rookie card (among a total of more than 1,600 PSA-holdered copies) residing at that elite tier. In spite of its “tall boy” stature, this exceptional piece has miraculously avoided even a trace of handling wear. The card's corners are pristine, its print quality is unchallenged in its clarity, and even the issue's tendency toward imprecise focus has been thwarted. In short, it is a model of perfection, undeniably GEM MINT, and as such, stands as one of the most desirable basketball cards in existence.