Brazil

Brazilian Basketball Legend Oscar Schmidt Dies at 68

Was Oscar Schmidt the greatest player to never play in the NBA or would he have risked being labeled a one-dimensional novelty had he made the leap?

Published APR 18

Brazilian Basketball Legend Oscar Schmidt Dies at 68

Story

Above: Oscar Schmidt speaks during the 2013 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony on Sept. 8, 2013. Image credit: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

The Facts

Brazilian basketball legend Oscar Schmidt, nicknamed the "Holy Hand" for his shooting accuracy, died on Friday at age 68 after battling a brain tumor for 15 years. He had been hospitalized earlier in the day in the São Paulo metro area after feeling ill.
New York Post
Reuters
The Associated Press
Inducted to both the FIBA Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Schmidt is the all-time leading scorer in world basketball with 49,737 points. Among other records, he is also the all-time leading scorer in both the Olympics and FIBA World Cups and for a national team.
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
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FIBA Basketball
Schmidt played professional basketball from 1974 to 2003, representing the national team from 1977 to 1996. He first showed his scoring abilities to the world at the 1979 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, leading Brazilian side Sírio to win the championship with 42 points in a single game.
CBS News
FIBA Basketball
New York Post
The Nets selected him in the sixth round of the 1984 NBA Draft but Schmidt opted not to join the NBA because league rules at the time disallowed players from competing in international basketball. He then continued to play in Italy, where a young Kobe Bryant grew up watching and admiring him.
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ESPN on Youtube
A 29-year-old Oscar Schmidt scored 46 points to lead Brazil to defeat the U.S., 120-115, at the 1987 Pan American Games final in Indianapolis, the first time that a U.S. team lost a major international tournament at home. This was the first in a series of international losses that influenced the eventual formation of the 1992 U.S. Dream Team.
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FIBA Basketball
FOX News
The Seattle Times
Schmidt's own idol, Larry Bird, and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, whom Schmidt helped pick up and carry off the floor after tearing an ACL in the semifinals of the 1986 FIBA World Cup, mourned his death on Friday. So did Portland Trail Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter, a Brazilian.
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The New York Times
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Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

Oscar Schmidt's death is a massive loss for basketball worldwide. The Brazilian legend became one of the greatest scorers in Olympic basketball history, earning the admiration of Kobe Bryant himself for his prowess in Italy. The sport is mourning a true giant. Unfortunately, many in the U.S. know too little about him because he never played in the NBA.

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Narrative B

Schmidt is indeed a great loss for the sport — and his legacy will endure: a shooter ahead of his time who was living the analytics revolution decades before its arrival. In that sense, it may be good that he never played in the NBA. He could have thrived and changed the game, but there was a risk of writing himself off as a one-dimensional novelty.