Another season-long series CBS did back then was Red (Aeurbach) on Roundball. Pistol was his go-to guy when the subject was ball handling:
I want a horse competition in the NBA today like that. No stupid which dunk can we do, but true shooting skills like the Pistol
You must not be watching much NBA lately, this isn't the no shoot league any longer. Thank goodness the NBA has evolved again and has a lot of great shooters and a lot of guys who have perfected the medium range jump shot, a lost art a few years ago.
It has really transformed back into good basketball again, you should maybe give it try. Especially during the playoffs. I find it much better than the college game now as I believe the one and done has had a giant negative effect.
The thing that impressed me most (as always with Pete) were the 15-18 foot textbook perfect jump shots and clean crisp two-handed bounce passes. Watch some of the highlights, they're in there. Yes, he did some amazing things with a basketball, things that seemed superhuman. But, IMO, what set him apart from many of the other "flashy" players who came after (or who you might see in a pick-up game) is that Pete had a rock solid fundamental foundation to his game.
I remember as a teenager listening to all the Jazz games on the radio, keeping track of gameday stats in it's entirety. God I hated Rich Kelley. Gail Goodrich, Truck Robinson (definitely my 2nd favorite player after Pistol Pete), Aaron James, Jim McElroy, Joe Meriweather. I still remember that fateful night with the Jazz up 30 points against Buffalo and Pete still on the floor (why? I don't know) and he tried a fancy between the legs pass at midcourt on a breakaway and he suffered a bad knee injury. End of season. End of playoff chances (they were going to make it that season). End of Pistol's greatness as a player. End of the Jazz. Sad, sad night.
