Late NBA Star ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich’s Son Dies at 42 at Family Home, LSU Says

LSU Josh Maravich.

Josh Maravich, the son of the late NBA star and Hall of Famer Pete Maravich, died on Friday, June 7, at his family’s home in Covington, Louisiana, Louisana State University announced in a news release.

Josh Maravich, who played college basketball for LSU, was 42, just two years older than his dad was when Pete Maravich died at age 40 in 1988.

“Josh Maravich was one of two sons of the legendary LSU basketball and NBA star, Pistol Pete Maravich,” LSU wrote. The cause of death not given. Josh Maravich played for the LSU men’s basketball team for four seasons, from 2001 to 2005, the team says.

NOLA.com reported that Josh was born only six years before his dad died at age 40 in 1988.

According to NBA.com, Pete Maravich, who is in the NBA’s Hal of Fame, “was a spectacular showman who helped open up the game of basketball in the 1970s.” He played for LSU, where he smashed NCAA scoring records, and then played 10 seasons in the NBA. The father played for the Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Jazz, and Boston Celtics. NBA.com reported that he died on January 5, 1988, of a heart attack “while playing in a pickup three-on-three game in a California gym.”

Josh Maravich Wanted to Play at LSU ‘to Make Him Proud,’ Referring to His Dad, the University Says

The university says that Josh came to LSU because of his dad’s legacy.

“I wanted to come here for my dad to make him proud,” Josh said in a 2005 storyein the LSU school newspaper, The Daily Reveille, according to LSU’s statement. “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.”

According to LSU, Josh Maravich was a high school basketball star at St. Paul’s High School in Covington, where he scored “more than 1,000 points in his three-year career there and was named MVP of the District his senior season. Josh averaged 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals per game his senior season.”

He was born in Metairie, Louisiana, and is survived by his mom Jackie Maravich McLachlan, his stepfather James and his older brother Jaeson, according to LSU.

Josh Maravich Was Involved in Designing a Statute of His Dad, Who Died of Heart Disease, at the University

LSU Basketball extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Josh Maravich.

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“Josh was part of the ceremonies in July 2022 to unveil the long-awaited statue of his basketball star father, on the plaza outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center,” LSU wrote.

According to LSU, Josh and Jaeson Maravich “came up with the iconic pose that is on display on the plaza where his father is enshrined with the other legends of the game – Shaquille O’Neal, Bob Pettit and Seimone Augustus.”

An article in JACC Case Reports, published on the National Library of Medicine website, examines the cause of death for Pete Maravich. “He died suddenly while playing a game of pick-up basketball at 40 years of age, evidently without prior symptoms,” that article says of the father.

It is most likely, the article concludes, that Pete Maravich “who performed for years at the highest physical level in a demanding sport, died from subsequent myocardial disease, perhaps from myocarditis, and not from congenital coronary artery disease as previously assumed.” According to Valley Children’s Healthcare, myocardial disease is disease of the heart muscle.