Oskar Robertson American basketball player Date of Birth: 24.11.1938 Country: USA

Biography of Oscar Robertson

Oscar Robertson, an American basketball player, grew up in one of the poor neighborhoods of Indianapolis, where black and white communities coexisted separately. Despite baseball being the most popular sport in his surroundings, known as the "game of the poor," Oscar's heart belonged to basketball. He practiced shooting by throwing tennis balls and makeshift balls made of rags tied together into a basket in the backyard of his home. Robertson attended Crispus Attucks High School, a school for African Americans that didn't even have its own sports facility, and whose team was refused to play against "white" schools before Robertson's arrival. Under the guidance of the school coach, Ray Crow, Robertson learned the fundamentals of the game, which, combined with his natural talent and athleticism, made him one of the best players in the country's high schools and later, one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. Oscar averaged 24 points per game and was named the state of Indiana's "Mr. Basketball" in his senior year. In 1955, Robertson's team finished with a record of 31 wins and 1 loss, and in 1956, they went undefeated with 31 wins, setting a state record of 45 consecutive victories and becoming state champions twice in a row. The victory of a school attended only by African Americans caused concerns for the city authorities, who feared that "black people would destroy the city center" during the celebration. The celebration was held outside the city as a precaution.

After high school, Robertson enrolled at the University of Cincinnati, where he continued to shine, averaging 33.8 points per game. He became the leading scorer in the college league three times, was named to the All-Conference Team, and was once named the NCAA Player of the Year. In his three seasons with the Bearcats, the team won 79 games with only 9 losses and reached the Final Four twice. Robertson set 14 NCAA records, including the single-game scoring record of 62 points. His achievement stood for over 10 years until it was broken by the great Pete Maravich in 1970. In 1960, at the Olympic Games in Rome, Robertson, together with the legendary Jerry West, was the co-captain of the US national team, which became Olympic champions. That same year, Robertson was selected by the Cincinnati Royals in the NBA Draft as a territorial pick (a team can claim the rights to any player from a local college in exchange for a first-round draft pick) and signed a contract for $33,000 a year - unprecedented money for a boy from a family so poor that they couldn't even afford to buy him a basketball when he was a child.

In his rookie season in the NBA, Robertson finished third in the league in scoring with an average of 30.5 points per game and was named the Rookie of the Year in the 1960-61 season. He also led the league in assists (9.7 per game), ending Bob Cousy's eight-year reign as the league's best passer. In the same season, Robertson made his All-Star Game debut (the first of 12 consecutive appearances) and was named the Most Valuable Player of the game, scoring 23 points and setting an All-Star Game record with 14 assists, surpassing Cousy's previous record. However, despite Robertson's performance and the contribution of forward Jack Twyman (25.3 points per game), his Royals were unable to climb out of the bottom of the Western Division standings, finishing the season with a record of 33-46. It only took Robertson two seasons to achieve greatness in the NBA. In the 1961-62 season, he averaged a triple-double: 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game. No one, not even the great Magic Johnson or Larry Bird, could replicate this feat. Robertson led the Royals to the playoffs and reclaimed the league lead in assists. With 899 assists in a season, he broke another of Cousy's records (715 assists), which had been set two years earlier. Robertson was also fourth in the NBA in field goal percentage (47.8%) and set a career-high in rebounds (12.5 per game). However, the playoffs were not successful for Robertson's team. The Royals lost the series to the Detroit Pistons 1-3 and were eliminated from the championship race.

In the following season, Robertson continued to shine, averaging 28.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game with a shooting percentage of 51.8%. Thanks to him and Twyman, Cincinnati defeated the Syracuse Nationals in the playoffs and reached the Division Finals, where they were defeated 4-3 by the eventual champion Boston Celtics. In the 1963-64 season, Robertson became one of the most dominant players in the league. He was named the Regular Season Most Valuable Player and the All-Star Game MVP. His Royals finished the season with a record of 55-25, placing second in the Eastern Division. Robertson led the NBA in assists (11.0 per game) and free throw percentage (85.3%), and ranked second in scoring (31.4 points per game). By that time, Robertson's team had significantly strengthened. The core of the team consisted of Robertson and Adrian Smith in the backcourt, as well as Jack Twyman, rookie Jerry Lucas, and Wayne Embry. The new coach of Cincinnati was Jack McMahon, who had played for the Royals when they were still based in Rochester. In the first round of the playoffs, Cincinnati defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in a five-game series and faced the mighty Celtics in the Division Finals. Despite Cincinnati's improvement and Robertson's stellar performance, they couldn't compete with Boston, who won all four games in the series with a minimum margin of 10 points.

Throughout the decade, Robertson averaged no less than 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists per season. During that time, the league was full of stars such as Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Willis Reed, and John Havlicek. Robertson was not just one of these stars; he often outperformed some of the greatest players in history. From 1960 to 1968, Robertson was the only player besides Chamberlain and Russell to be named the Regular Season MVP in the NBA. Only due to Chamberlain's incredible numbers did Robertson not become the league's leading scorer. The NBA had never seen a more versatile player than Robertson. Experts and fans admired his style of play and his complete dedication on the court. The great coach Red Auerbach once jokingly recalled that when he instructed his players to spread their fingers wider to defend against Robertson, "Oscar would shoot through their fingers!" Before the start of the 1969-70 season, when Robertson's peak was nearing its end, Bob Cousy became the new coach of Cincinnati. The team had missed the playoffs for two consecutive years, and attendance at Royals games was very low. To attract fans to the stands, the 41-year-old Cousy played in seven games for the team, pairing up with Robertson on the court. And before the start of the next season, Cincinnati shocked the basketball world by trading Robertson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulk. There were rumors that envy was the reason for the trade. Robertson surpassed many of Cousy's records, and suddenly Cincinnati was too small for both of them.

Led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who became the league's leading scorer and Most Valuable Player (MVP), the Bucks finished the season with the best record in the NBA - 66 wins and 16 losses. In 81 games, Robertson averaged 19.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 5.7 rebounds. In the playoffs, Milwaukee easily defeated the San Francisco Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers, reaching the NBA Finals, where they swept the Baltimore Bullets 4-0 (the first finals in 12 years to end in a sweep). Oscar Robertson's dream of a championship title finally came true. He played three more seasons in the NBA before retiring, and in 1974, the Bucks reached the NBA Finals again, losing in a dramatic seven-game series to the Boston Celtics, 3-4.

During his 14-year career in the NBA, Oscar Robertson played 1,040 games, scoring 26,710 points, dishing out 9,887 assists, and grabbing 7,804 rebounds. Robertson's teams made the playoffs 10 times, and in 86 playoff games, he averaged 22.2 points, 8.9 assists, and 6.7 rebounds per game. He led the NBA in assists six times and free throw percentage twice. In 1979, Oscar Robertson was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame and later included among the 50 greatest players in NBA history.