The Jazz and New Orleans were synonymous—and Pistol Pete Maravich was synonymous with both. So in the summer of 1979, one man’s opinion seemed to matter most of all.
“I think everybody wondered what Pete thought,” said David Fredman, the team’s former head of public relations.
Maravich was a legend in Louisiana. He set the NCAA’s scoring record in three years at LSU while averaging 44 points per game. When, in the summer of 1977, he signed a five-year contract extension with the Jazz, he made it clear where he wanted to be.
“I’ve said it before and I sincerely mean it when I say that I’ve been all over the United States and there is no better place to live and work than the city of New Orleans,” Maravich said.