Brazilian basketball legend Oscar Schmidt, with an unusually long career, died Friday at the age of 68, the Brazilian Basketball Confederation (CBB) and his family announced. He was nicknamed “mao santa” (the holy hand). Schmidt, who passed away at the age of 68, built his legend with his country and in Italy, setting unbelievable records and historic performances, becoming the greatest player in basketball history to never set foot in the NBA. He scored 49,737 points throughout his long and prolific career (1974-2003) in club and national team, a world record that LeBron James surpassed in 2024.
“The best player in Brazilian basketball history bids farewell as an absolute icon of the sport, leaving behind a legacy that redefined the limits of the possible on the court,” applauded the CBB in a statement.
Shooter extraordinaire, Schmidt competed in five Olympic Games, from Moscow-1980 to Atlanta-1996, and remains the highest scorer in Olympic history to this day, with over a thousand points. The Brazilian retired at the age of 45 in 2003, while playing for the Brazilian club Flamengo. Husband and father of two children, the former basketball player, who had been battling a brain tumor for years, was hospitalized earlier in the day at a hospital in Sao Paulo. The cause of his death has not been revealed. His son, Felipe, dedicated a message to him on Instagram: “Today, the world loses an idol, I lose my father (…). Rest in peace, dad.”
Schmidt excelled in clubs in Brazil, Italy, and Spain, but never played in the NBA. Drafted by the New Jersey Nets in 1984, the same year Michael Jordan was chosen by the Chicago Bulls, he ultimately decided not to play in the North American league. He had stated on multiple occasions that it would have forced him to give up the national team, as per the rules at the time. This missed opportunity with the NBA was somewhat compensated by his participation in the All-Star Game celebrity match in 2017.
“Oscar Schmidt was not just an extraordinary player. He was the epitome of devotion, passion, and commitment to the sport,” emphasized the CBB, stating that “his death marks the end of an era.”
