Oscar Schmidt
(Born 1958)
Hall of Fame Induction: 2013
Card Shown:
2016 Custom Card
Cut Signature
Position: SG/SF
Height: 6’9″
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Oscar Schmidt was a 6’9″ shooting guard/small forward who became the most prolific scorer in the history of basketball with over 49,000 points. Although he never played in the NBA, Oscar gained fame playing in European leagues and leading his Brazilian National Team into five consecutive Olympic games (Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, and Atlanta 1996).
Awards and Honors
- Eight times Oscar was the top scorer in the Brazilian League.
- He led his team to three Brazilian League championships in 1977, 1979, and 1996.
- Oscar led his Brazilian National Team to three South American Championships in Chile (1977), Brazil (1983), and Colombia (1985).
- In 1988, 1992, and 1996 Schmidt was the leading scorer in the Olympics. In 1988 he averaged 42.3 points per game to set an all-time Olympic record.
- Oscar was inducted into the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Hall of Fame in 2010 and was named to FIBA’s 50 Greatest Players list in 1991.
Points of Interest
- Perhaps the greatest player to never play in the United States, Oscar Schmidt is recognized as the greatest scorer in the history of basketball. Unofficially recognized as having scored over 49,000 points, he far exceeds Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA career record of 38,387 points.
- Schmidt played on eight teams in his 29-year career from 1974-2003. He retired in 2003 at the age of 45.
- Oscar is known only by his first name in his home country of Brazil. He has also earned the nickname “Mao Santo,” which means “The Holy Hand.”
- In the 1987 Pan American Games, Oscar scored 46 points to lead Brazil to an upset over the heavily-favored American team. The loss was one of the factors that eventually led USA Basketball to use professional players at the Olympics in 1992 when the Dream Team was created.
- The Nets drafted Oscar in the sixth round of the NBA draft in 1984. However, Schmidt declined offers to play in the NBA because signing to play would have made him ineligible to play for the Brazilian National Team. Instead he played in Europe and in five Olympic games representing Brazil from 1980-1996.
- Oscar is the leading scorer in Olympic basketball history, tallying 1,093 points.
- Schmidt has had his jersey retired by four different teams