MIES (Switzerland) - The basketball world is mourning the loss of Oscar Schmidt, who passed away on April 17 at the age of 68.
Yet even in grief, the game celebrates the life and legacy of one of its most emblematic figures.
He was one of a kind. Iconic.
Schmidt’s list of achievements reflected his greatness.
Yes, he was a five-time Olympian and a four-time star at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. He also delivered one of the most celebrated performances in Pan American Games history, a 46-point eruption that led Brazil past the USA in the Final of that competition in 1987 in Indianapolis.
Yes, he is in both the FIBA Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
But maybe what was most important of all about Oscar was the connection that he had with friends, with rivals, with his teams, and his fans.
Oscar had a strong connection, for example, with JuveCaserta, his Italian club from 1982 to 1990. The city loved him.
There was a Holy Mass at the Caserta Cathedral that celebrated his life on the Monday after his passing.
Oscar was a perennial all-star, leading scorer of the league and champion while at the club.
In a statement, the club wrote: "Oscar wasn't just an extraordinary champion: he was pure emotion, overwhelming passion, infinite talent.
"With his impossible shots, his charisma, and his boundless love for this sport, he made generations of fans dream, leaving an indelible mark on Caserta and wherever he played.
"Anyone who was lucky enough to see him wear our colors knows that he wasn't just an athlete, but a symbol, an inspiration, a piece of the Juventus heart who will live on in all of our memories."
Oscar truly was a basketball god. He was, after all, such a prolific scorer that his nickname was Mão Santa (Holy Hand).
Andrew Gaze of Australia competed against Oscar on numerous occasions in international basketball.
"Every time you stepped out on the floor to face him, you felt like this was not just a regular game," Gaze told FIBA.basketball. "All our scouting, all our preparation, whenever we played Brazil, was all about, 'How do we stop Oscar?'
"And sometimes we'd hold him to 30 (points) or even 40 and feel like we did a really good job on him, such was his offensive brilliance. He was an unbelievable shooter as it was well known."
Schmidt scored 49,737 points over his entire club and national team career, a high mark that stood for more than 20 years before LeBron James surpassed him in 2024.
The celebration, the fist pump, the emotion, the genuine love of the game was something that I admired about him
In his Olympic career, he scored 1,093 points in all with Gaze next at 789 points, and Spain's Pau Gasol third with 649 points.
"It was more than just what he did on the floor," Gaze said. "To see him work off the floor, the way in which he applied himself, the work ethic that he had and every time you went and saw Brazil, and in particular Oscar, play, just the passion he had, even if they were 20 points up. If Oscar came down and did something good, the celebration, the fist pump, the emotion, the genuine love of the game was something that I admired about him...
"As a youngster, seeing him play, he was one that I looked up to, and tried to emulate a lot of the things that he did."
After their playing days, Gaze often ran into Oscar at Olympics or FIBA Basketball World Cups. There were always hugs and smiles.
"It was a genuine honor to share the floor with the great man and to be mentioned alongside him in the record books with the Olympic Games, it's something that I'm incredibly proud of," Gaze said.
Steve Kerr, a five-time NBA champion as a player, has a history with Oscar.
Kerr played against him at the 1986 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.
One of the greatest shooters I've ever seen in my life
"He was one of the greatest shooters I've ever seen in my life," Kerr said.
"Just no conscience, a little bit of the Steph Curry mentality. Never, ever thought twice about letting it fly. Just a beautiful player with an incredible mentality.”
Kerr, now one of the game's most successful coaches (he led USA to the Olympic gold medal in 2024), tore his ACL in the Semi-Finals of that 1986 World Cup when USA played Brazil.
"He (Oscar) literally picked me up, carried me off the floor," Kerr said. "It was an incredible gesture on his part..."
Puerto Rico and FIBA basketball icon José Rafael "Piculín" Ortiz Rijos, who is in the FIBA Hall of Fame and competed against Oscar, went on Facebook to share his thoughts about the legend.
"His passing marks not only the loss of an exceptional Brazilian basketball player, but also of a good friend and exemplary competitor," Piculín said.
"We all know what an unrivaled competitor he was, but his country and its people know the man who loved his homeland above all financial considerations, the man who represented his people with dignity and heart."
Piculin added: "He was not only an ambassador for his country, but for all Latin Americans."
Oscar was loved and admired by leading players in women's basketball. Brazil legend Hortencia, one of the fiercest and most accomplished players in international hoops history, was thankful to have known Oscar.
"Unfortunately, we lost a great idol who was a role model for my generation, an athlete who had patriotism written all over his face, determined, fearless," she said.
"I am very proud to have been his friend, and today I feel this loss, because for me, an idol is eternal, but unfortunately he is not." Hortencia led Brazil to FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup glory in 1994, in Australia.
"Go with God, Oscar. But you leave a very important legacy for us Brazilians. I can only be grateful."
Another Brazilian, three-time Olympian Marcelinho Huertas, praised Oscar.
"Oscar Schmidt wasn't just one of the biggest names in basketball history," Marcelinho said in an Instagram post.
"He was a presence. A reference. A symbol of obsession, courage and absolute love for the game. Some people leave titles. Some people leave numbers. Oscar left a mark on the way Brazil learned to admire greatness."
Marcelinho offered a different perspective on Oscar's Mão Santa nickname. "There is no such thing as a holy hand," Marcelinho wrote. "There is a trained hand... there is always something greater then the shot.
"There is discipline. There was a delivery. There was a rare hunger to make the most out of life with the talent he was given."
Oscar didn’t just teach how to score. He taught how to honor the gift with effort.
Marcelinho hailed Oscar even more, citing his "strength of mindset" and "refusal to settle." "Oscar didn't just teach how to score," he wrote. "He taught to honor the gift with effort. He taught that genius without practice is waste. Taught that greatness does not come ready made. It's built."
Anderson Varejao, another Brazil national team star, called Schmidt a "natural leader" and his "greatest idol".
Tiago Splitter, a long-time teammate of Huertas and Anderson in the national team, recently made history as the first Brazilian to coach a team, the Portland Trail Blazers, in the NBA playoffs.
He remembered what made Oscar so special on the court in remarks to the Rose Garden Report.
Splitter said before Portland's Game 1 against San Antonio: "He was a 6'10" guy who could really shoot the basketball. Quick trigger and unconscious, which is common now but back then, wasn't a thing still. But he would be shooting 10 or 15 threes a game. Now that's normal, but back then, he was the only guy doing that and scoring a lot."
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