There may have been no more devastating of a pass in the early modern era of the NBA than former Boston Celtics guard “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s renowned “wrist pass.” It could have a confused defender chasing after a ball that was simply not where his eyes were saying it was supposed to be.
Executed in transition, it was all the more confounding, with defenders sometimes ending up lost and behind the play with a dazed look on their faces as Maravich’s target lays up an easy make. The NBA great was better known for his long-distance shooting (thus the nickname “Pistol“), but he was also among the better and more creative floor generals of his time.
To see how the wrist pass works in action, the folks over at the ESPN Rewind YouTube channel put together a short clip of Maravich deploying it to amazing effect.
Take a look for yourself in the video embedded above.
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
