Oscar Robertson

Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938 in Charlotte, Tennessee) is a former NBA player and is considered by many to be one of the greatest basketball players in history. Coaching legend Red Auerbach described Robertson as the most versatile player he had ever seen play. Wilt Chamberlain is quoted to have said "If you don't know the answer to an NBA trivia question, just say 'Oscar Robertson' -- you'll probably be right." To this day, he remains a standard by which other basketball legends are judged.

A three-time All-State selection at Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, the "Big O" attended the University of Cincinnati, from which he graduated in 1960. While there he established 19 school and 14 NCAA records. In his sophomore, junior and senior years Robertson was voted College Player of the Year and lead the nation in scoring.

The 1960 Olympics

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound (1.96 m, 100 kg) Robertson co-captained the 1960 Olympic gold medal team with Jerry West, called by some the greatest assemblage of amateur basketball talent ever. Robertson was a starting forward on the gold medal-winning American basketball team at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Ten of the twelve college players on the undefeated American squad went on to play professionally in the NBA, including Jerry West, Walt Bellamy and Jerry Lucas.

Professional career

His 14-year NBA career as a point guard with the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks included Rookie of the Year honors in 1961, three All-Star Game Most Valuable Player awards (1961, 1964, 1969), and the 1964 NBA MVP Award. As a rookie, he scored 30.5 points per game (third best all-time by a rookie), led the league in assists (the first of his eight assist titles), and averaged 10.1 rebounds per game. His best statistical season was 1961-62, when Robertson averaged a triple-double for the entire season: 30.8 points, 11.4 assists and 12.5 rebounds per game, a feat that has never been duplicated. For his career, Robertson had 181 triple-doubles, far more than any other player. In 1971, he teamed with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to give the Bucks their only NBA title. Robertson earned All-NBA honors 11 times and led the Royals and Bucks to 10 playoff berths.

Robertson averaged more than 30 points per game in six of his first seven seasons — only Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan have more career 30+ point per game seasons. Robertson was the first player to average more than 10 assists per game in an NBA season, and accomplished the feat four times at a time when the criteria for an assist was more stringent than it is today ^*. Robertson also averaged more than 10 rebounds per game three different times in his career. No other guard has averaged ten rebounds per game even once. Robertson ended his career with 26,710 points (25.7 per game), 9,887 assists (9.5 per game) and 7,804 rebounds (7.5 per game), and was then the all-time leader in career assists and free throws made and second all-time leading scorer (to Chamberlain).

Robertson was ranked #3 on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of all time in 2003.

After he retired as an active player, he worked as a color commentator with Brent Musburger on games televised by CBS during the 1974-1975 NBA season.

Since his retirement from basketball, Robertson has served as honorary spokesman for the National Kidney Foundation, and in 1997 donated one of his own kidneys to his daughter Tia, who had suffered lupus-related kidney failure.

The United States Basketball Writers Association renamed their Player of the Year Award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 1998. This trophy honors the top men's college basketball player each year.

Books

Robertson, Oscar The Big O: My Life, My Times, My Game (2003) ISBN 1579547648 autobiography

External links

Oscar Robertson - The Art of Basketball

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Oscar Robertson

The 1960 Olympics

Professional career

Books

External links