Jaeson Maravich was almost 8 years old when he started understanding his father Pete’s basketball legacy. Pete, a Naismith Hall of Famer who had his jersey retired by three franchises, brought his son alongside him to the 1987 NBA All-Star Game. While there, Jaeson recalls going into the locker room and seeing his father talk with the sport’s luminaries: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan. A decade later, as the NBA celebrated its 50-year anniversary team at the All-Star Game in Cleveland, Isiah Thomas told Jaeson that his father was the original showtime. “Your dad,” Jaeson remembers him saying, “was probably born 50 years too early.”
Unlike Pistol Pete, who set the NCAA men’s college basketball scoring record five decades ago, Iowa star Caitlin Clark grew up in a generation perfect for her game. She is allowed, even encouraged, to pull up for 30-, 35-, 40-foot 3-pointers. She passes with flair — accurately yet with panache. Born 14 years after Maravich’s death in 1988, Clark is an unassailable show. At last year’s Final Four, she joked she had even heard someone call her “Ponytail Pete.” For what it’s worth, Jaeson says, “She looks like she could be my dad’s sister. She’s lanky. She’s got the dark eyes.”
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