Josh Maravich, former LSU player and son of Hall of Famer, dies at 42

Field Level Media|published: Sun 9th June, 13:17 2024

Dec 17, 2022; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; General view of the arena before the game between the LSU Tigers and the Winthrop Eagles at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Maravich, the youngest of the two sons of Hall of Fame member Pete Maravich, has died at age 42.

LSU, where the elder Maravich starred and his son followed as a walk-on to the basketball program, announced his death Saturday. The school said he died Friday at the family home in Covington, La., but did not reveal the cause.

Josh Maravich was a high school basketball standout at St. Paul's in Covington before playing at LSU from 2001-05.

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

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— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) June 8, 2024

In a 2005 interview with the LSU newspaper, The Daily Reveille, he said playing for the Tigers was important to him.

"I wanted to come here for my dad to make him proud," the younger Maravich said. "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."

Josh Maravich was just 5 when his father collapsed and died Jan. 5, 1988, while playing pickup basketball in Southern California. Pete Maravich was 40, and his cause of death was heart failure that was attributed to a previously undiagnosed congenital defect.

Josh and his brother, Jaeson, helped to design the statue of their father that was unveiled in July 2022 on the plaza outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, the Tigers' home court.

Pete Maravich set the record for most points ever in NCAA Division I basketball -- 3,667 -- in 1970 after three seasons at LSU. While it remains the record in men's college basketball, Caitlin Clark broke the all-time record for Iowa this spring.

--Field Level Media