By Stefan Acevski/ info@eurohoops.net
Brazilian basketball icon Oscar Schmidt passed away at the age of 68 after feeling sick, his family confirmed.
Schmidt’s family said in a statement that Schmidt fought a brain tumor for 15 years “with courage, dignity and resilience … while remaining a role model of determination, generosity and love of life.”
“Oscar leaves a legacy that transcends sport and inspires generations of athletes and admirers in Brazil and worldwide.”
Oscar Schmidt was a legendary Brazilian basketball player who spent most of his career in the local league. He played for Palmeiras, Sirio, America do Rio, JuveCaserta, Pavia, Valladolid, Corinthians, Bandeirantes, and Flamengo.
During his career, he won the FIBA Intercontinental Cup and was the top scorer of that competition. FIBA included him in the list of the 50 greatest basketball players in 1991, and he was also three times part of the ULEB All-Star. He was the top scorer in Spain and seven times the top scorer in Italy.
He was the MVP of the Italian All-Star in 1987, and a year later, he won the Italian Cup with JuveCaserta, a team he was part of from 1982 to 1990.
Schmidt is the top scorer in the history of the Olympic Games with a total of 1,093 points, 333 of which were scored in a single tournament, which remains a record to this day. Additionally, in that tournament, specifically in 1988, he had an average of 42.3 points per game.
Schmidt played until 45 years old and debuted for Brazil at 19 in 1977 and played in every Olympics from 1980 through 1996. He’s the all-time leading scorer in Olympic history with more than 1,000 points. He was the top scorer at the Olympics in 1988 (42.3 points per game), 1992, and 1996. He still has seven of the 10 highest-scoring games in Olympic history.
He also holds the single-game records for points scored in the Olympics (55 vs. Spain in 1988) and world championships (52 vs. Australia in 1990).
The 1987 Pan Am Games victory in Indianapolis marked the first time a U.S. team lost a major international tournament on home soil. Brazil won 120-115, and Schmidt led the way with 46 points.
He was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2010, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, and the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
His number 18 was retired by JuveCaserta, number 11 by Pavia, and number 14 by Flamengo. He also won a bronze medal at the World Championship in Manila.