Pete Maravich's Son Josh Passes Away At Age 42

Pete Maravich's son, Josh Maravich, was reported to have passed away at the age of 42, as announced by Louisville State University. No official cause was named in LSU's statement for Josh, a former NCAA player who played for the Tigers from 2001-2005, fulfilling a childhood dream of his.

"I wanted to come here for my dad to make him proud," Josh Maravich said in a 2005 article in The Daily Reveille, the LSU student newspaper. "I knew I wasn't going to be a star player, but for me being a walk-on was what I always wanted to do."

Josh was never a basketball star but played high school basketball at St. Paul’s in Covington. He was named MVP of the District during his senior season, where he averaged 18 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals per game his senior season. He went on to study at LSU and make the Division 1 Basketball team as a walk-on, not playing any competitive matches.

Pete Maravich hadn't gotten a chance to see his son grow up, passing away at the age of 40 in 1988 due to an undetected heart condition. Pete is the all-time men's NCAA scoring leader, with his long-standing total of 3,667 points being broken by Caitlin Clark in women's NCAA last season. Although, Maravich's all-time scoring average of 44.2 points per game is still the highest in history.

Maravich was one of the most gifted players of his generation but he was born in the new era. Pete shot the ball with limitless range in an era before the three-pointer was even a thing. Some estimates suggest Maravich could have ended up averaging over 50 points in the NCAA if his long jump shots had been judged with the modern 3-point line. 

In the NBA, Pete made four All-NBA Teams and five NBA All-Star teams and led the league in scoring (31.1 ppg) in 1977, his career best. He would eventually get his jersey retired by the Utah Jazz for his contributions to the franchise.

Pete is still remembered as one of the greatest basketball players ever by the likes of Larry Bird, but he never got to receive his flowers due to his untimely passing. Hopefully, Pete and Josh have been reunited wherever they are right now and can shoot some hoops together, especially because Josh lost Pete at the age of four years old.

Josh's elder brother, Jaeson, is the sole remaining son of Pete and is currently 45 years old.