Josh Maravich, son of basketball legend Pete Maravich, dead at 42

COVINGTON, La. — Josh Maravich, a former basketball player at LSU and the son of Hall of Famer Pete Maravich, died Friday, the university’s athletic department announced on Saturday. He was 42.

Maravich died at his family’s home in Covington, Louisiana, NOLA.com reported. No cause of death was given.

He was one of Pete “Pistol” Maravich’s two sons and played at his father’s alma mater from 2001 to 2005, according to a news release from the LSU athletic department.

Pete Maravich, who starred at LSU and then played 11 seasons in the NBA, was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987. The elder Maravich died from an undetected heart condition in 1988 at the age of 40.

Josh Maravich said it was a honor to play at LSU, where his father set the NCAA men’s Division I scoring record of 3,667 points when he played for the Tigers between 1967 and 1970. The LSU arena is named for Pete Maravich. Pete’s father -- and Josh’s grandfather -- Press Maravich, coached at LSU from 1966 to 1972.

“I wanted to come here for my dad to make him proud,” Josh said in a 2005 article in the LSU school paper, The Daily Reveille. “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 Maravich was born in Metairie, Louisiana, on March 25, 1982, according to the LSU athletic department’s news release. He played basketball at St. Paul’s School, a private Catholic school in Covington.

During his three years at St. Paul’s, Josh Maravich scored more than 1,000 points and was named the MVP of his district as a senior. He averaged 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals per game as a senior, according to LSU.

At LSU, Josh Maravich played in 13 games across three years, according to Sports-Reference.com. He scored four points in his career with the Tigers.

Pete Maravich was back in the news this year when his Division I scoring mark was broken by University of Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark, The Associated Press reported. She finished her career with 3,951 points, according to the news organization.

Josh Maravich is survived by his mother, Jackie Maravich McLachlan and her husband James; and his older brother, Jaeson Maravich, according to LSU.

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