Hoops Habit
Fansided

Utah Jazz: 25 Best Players To Play For The Jazz

By Phil Watson

Apr 1, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; The trees in full bloom and a general view of at Vivint Smart Home Arena where the Utah Jazz will play the Minnesota Timberwolves. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 1, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; The trees in full bloom and a general view of at Vivint Smart Home Arena where the Utah Jazz will play the Minnesota Timberwolves. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
21 of 26
Next
UNITED STATES – JANUARY 24: Basketball: New Orleans Jazz Pete Maravich (7) in action vs Boston Celtics, New Orleans, LA 1/24/1978 (Photo by James Drake/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (SetNumber: X22082 TK1)
UNITED STATES – JANUARY 24: Basketball: New Orleans Jazz Pete Maravich (7) in action vs Boston Celtics, New Orleans, LA 1/24/1978 (Photo by James Drake/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (SetNumber: X22082 TK1) /

Pete Maravich. 6. player. 118. <strong>How acquired:</strong> Trade, Atlanta Hawks, May 20, 1974.. SG. 1974-80

The New Orleans Jazz went shopping for a star on the day of their expansion draft in May 1974, flipping expansion picks Bob Kauffman and Dean Meminger along with first-round picks in 1974 and 1975, second-round selections in 1975 and 1976 and a 1980 third-rounder to the Atlanta Hawks for All-Star Pete Maravich.

Maravich, a collegiate sensation at LSU, did everything he could for the fledgling Jazz, earning three All-Star bids, three All-NBA nods and finishing third in the MVP voting in 1976-77.

UTA_06_MARAVICH
UTA_06_MARAVICH /

He led the NBA in scoring that season, finishing third in both 1975-76 and 1977-78 and he was fifth in the league in assists in 1974-75. Maravich also led the league in minutes per game in 1976-77 and came in third in 1977-78.

But knee troubles slowed him down and after the team moved to Utah in 1979, his days with the Jazz ended when he was waived in January 1980.

In parts of six seasons in New Orleans and Utah, Maravich averaged 25.2 points, 5.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 38.3 minutes per game, shooting .434/7-for-11/.829.

He was the third overall pick out of LSU by the Hawks in the 1970 NBA Draft and was an All-Rookie selection in 1970-71, a two-time All-Star and an All-NBA pick in 1972-73 in Atlanta.

Five days after being waived by the Jazz, he signed with the Boston Celtics, retiring in September 1980 after being waived again.

Maravich is 28th in NBA history with an average of 37 minutes per game and 18th with an average of 24.2 points per game.

Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987, Maravich died Jan. 5, 1988, from an apparent heart attack after collapsing during a pickup game at a church in Pasadena, Calif. He was only 40 years old.

Next: Developed Into All-Star In Utah

Home/Utah Jazz