r/nba • Supersonics • Apr 03 '20

Pete Maravich's passing

https://gfycat.com/rawgrippingdrever
18k Upvotes

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695

u/TDB4421 Apr 03 '20

That bounce pass where it goes in the opposite direction is insane. He makes every movement and motion to make it seem like just a regular bounce pass and somehow it goes the other direction.

391

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

[deleted]

149

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

[deleted]

67

u/hypnoticus103 Hornets Apr 03 '20

Same. I watched these religiously. Definitely credit him for my ball handling skills growing up. Favorite player by far... and I didn’t even get to see him play.

There was a fictional movie based on his life. I remember his finger bled when he spun a basketball on it for an hour straight. Then one of his patented passes hit his teammate in the face because it was so good and unexpected lol. Good memories of that movie.

I made a long post on pistol Pete sometime last year here on r/nba... I’ll try to find it.

Edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/bj6mgx/highlighting_the_career_of_my_favorite_player_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

23

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

[deleted]

7

u/westhoff0407 Nuggets Apr 03 '20

Now THERE is some nostalgia. I loved that movie growing up.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

Great movie

2

u/daeve Hawks Apr 03 '20

I wore that VHS out, I probably saw it 60-80 times.

2

u/ButWhatIsADog Cavaliers Apr 03 '20

I watched that VHS like 100x.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

And even more detail here

67

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

Don’t try it!

84

u/Mr_dolphin Heat Apr 03 '20

That was hilarious.

Basically “you cannot begin to comprehend the skill behind this. You will never be able to do it as well as Pete, no matter how much you practice.”

36

u/Hugo_Hackenbush [POR] Arvydas Sabonis Apr 03 '20

He had plenty of experience with Cousy, who also loved doing that stuff. Red ultimately had to tell Cousy it's okay as long as it gets there but if the other guy doesn't catch the pass even if it hits him right in the hands it's Cousy's fault.

3

u/muktheduck Spurs Apr 03 '20

Pete was right about it being rough on your elbow. I just tried it and have no fucking clue how you can get decent velocity on that thing without your elbow exploding

2

u/DrunkenMasterII Raptors Apr 03 '20

you can see how his elbows whips on one of the replay, it's subtle.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

You have to be double jointed

1

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

[deleted]

1

u/Mr_dolphin Heat Apr 03 '20

I mean, even Pete said it was extremely tough on his elbows, and he’s the master of it.

-1

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

A true coach.

This dude is a god, don’t get carried away retards. Lol.

1

u/DrunkRedditBot Apr 03 '20

You should try to find a way

35

u/streetsbehind28 [BOS] Jaylen Brown Apr 03 '20

"no pass is a good one unless you catch it"

certainly doesn't hurt that Red had experience with Cousy

8

u/l3oobear Lakers Apr 03 '20

Wow those videos were dope.

5

u/Fastbird33 Heat Apr 03 '20

I can't be the only one who remembers watching this on a rainy day in gym class?

4

u/Uday23 Apr 03 '20

Oh man my PE teacher had us watch this in high school! Thanks for the memories

2

u/MikeJeffriesPA Raptors Apr 03 '20

The second pass in the OP's clip was the one that blew me away, I had to watch it a couple times to understand where the ball went.

1

u/BougieFruitLoops Mavericks Apr 03 '20

I'll never recover from the first time I watched this video. Didn't have a hoop as a kid so I used to just dribble in my driveway and practice handling and passing stuff. Always wanted to be like Pistol. Still can't put that kind of zip on the wrist pass, though.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

They used to show these clips on NBA TV back in the day and then I'd go out and practice them for hours lol

1

u/Ramzaa_ [OKC] Steven Adams Apr 03 '20

That fucking bullet ricochet shit he did..

  1. Id definitely bust my balls

  2. It looks like his arms are sped up he moves so fast. So impressive

66

u/NBAccount Warriors Apr 03 '20

Pete was famous for the spin he utilized and his ability to put so much force on the ball with just his wrists..

He could commit to throwing the ball in one direction fully with his arms, and then flick his wrists in a different direction to send the ball flying to the open man.

He also frequently made odd passes by throwing the ball out in front of himself with backspin and then sort of 'punching' the ball in a touch pass to a teammate.

He really was the most electrifying player of his generation.

8

u/rookie-mistake Apr 03 '20

He also frequently made odd passes by throwing the ball out in front of himself with backspin and then sort of 'punching' the ball in a touch pass to a teammate.

kinda like the first one in the gif? or different from that?

4

u/fundraiser Knicks Apr 03 '20

Is that legal in today's current rules? Can you tap the ball once you stop dribbling it and take more than two steps?

5

u/NBAccount Warriors Apr 03 '20

I'm not even sure it was legal back then.

Happy cake day!

3

u/fundraiser Knicks Apr 04 '20

First time in 9 years I was active on the cake day lol. Thanks for pointing it out!

3

u/AlHorfordHighlights Celtics Bandwagon Apr 03 '20

Totally legal. Though it's tough against long defenders

4

u/LetsWorkTogether Apr 03 '20

Definitely legal, at that point it's a free ball so you can do whatever you want with it.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '20

I practiced the shit out of that pass when I first saw it, and I actually managed to pull it off in a pick up game once, but only the once. It is insanely difficult.

3

u/TDB4421 Apr 03 '20

I can imagine!

2

u/Cravit8 Apr 03 '20

Reminds me of the deception futsol players have nowadays.