Pistol Pete Maravich's Son Josh Dies At 42 - Lived Just 2 Years Longer Than His Father

Josh Maravich, the youngest son of NBA great Pistol Pete Maravich, died Friday at his family's home in Covington, Louisiana, near New Orleans at age 42, LSU confirmed Saturday in a news release.

Cause of death has not been released by the family, but Josh's brother Jaeson Maravich had previously told OutKick that his brother was battling some medical issues.

The elder Maravich died at age 40 on Jan. 5, 1988, of a heart attack while playing pick-up basketball at a church gym in Pasadena, California. Josh was 5 years old at the time.

Like his father before him, Josh Maravich played basketball at LSU. After a stellar career at St. Paul's High in Covington, the younger Maravich walked on to the LSU team in 2001 and played sparingly as a backup from 2002-05 in an arena named after his father - the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

"What's it like playing in your dad's building? Basically, it feels like home, you know," Maravich says in a Baton Rouge Advocate story on March 13, 2003, when he was a red-shirt freshman. "It feels right."

Josh Maravich (left) and his older brother Jaeson attend a ceremony at the NBA All-Star game on Feb. 9, 1997, in Cleveland that honored their father Pistol Pete Maravich when he was named posthumously as one of the 50 best players in NBA history. (NBA Entertainment/Getty Images).

Maravich had four points at the time in that 2002-03 season, but each of his made jumpers drew standing ovations from the Maravich Assembly Center crowd. Pistol Pete never got to play in the Assembly Center as it was not completed until 1972 - two years after he finished playing for the Tigers. But his son got to play in what was called "The House That Pete Built." The arena was renamed the Pete Maravich Assembly Center not long after Maravich's death.

Josh Maravich Scored In The Pete Maravich Assembly Center

"His dad would've been so proud of him," Jackie Maravich said of her son Josh's first points as an LSU Tiger in the Advocate story.

She waited after the game for Josh just as she did more than 30 years previously for Pete, who married her after his LSU career while with the Atlanta Hawks, who selected him as the third pick of the 1970 NBA Draft.

"She said she was about to cry when I scored," Josh said on the night he scored. "I'm glad I made her feel good about it." 

Josh Maravich was survived by his mother Jackie and his older brother Jaeson.

EXCLUSIVE: Pete Maravich's Son Jaeson Compares Caitlin Clark To His Dad

Josh and Jaeson were born and grew up in the New Orleans area. Their dad played for the New Orleans Jazz in the NBA from 1974-79. Maravich retired because of recurring knee problems after finishing the 1979-80 season with the Boston Celtics and a rookie named Larry Bird in the Eastern Conference finals.

Maravich became a legendary and iconic figure on his way to setting the all-time NCAA career scoring record at LSU with 3,667 points in three seasons from 1967-70 after playing on the Tigers' freshmen team in 1966-67. At the time, freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity.

Jaeson Maravich spoke with OutKick multiple times over the last two years as his father's career scoring record was challenged, then broken last season by Iowa's Caitlin Clark.

Pete Maravich's oldest son Jaeson told OutKick last spring that he thought his dad and Caitlin Clark had similar dark eyes as Clark was chasing his father's scoring record. (Getty Images)

Maravich's scoring record stood until March 3, 2024, when Clark broke it and finished with 3,951 in four seasons. He still holds the all-time NCAA points per game record at 44.2 before there was a 3-point shot.

Josh never got to see his dad play in the NBA.

"It's not that I always wanted him to see me play," he told the Advocate. "I just wanted a dad. I just missed him. I didn't see him as Pistol Pete. I saw him as my father, like anybody else would. That's all I miss now - growing up without a father. Especially my father."

Josh and Jaeson Maravich unveiled a statue of their father outside the Maravich Assembly Center in 2022.

Both sons were on the court at the NBA All-Star game in 1997 in Cleveland when their dad was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.

"We met all these former NBA players who played with dad," Josh said in 2003. "He must've really been great, because they couldn't stop talking about him to us. I'll always remember that."