Oscar Schmidt (Brazil)

In the history of FIBA basketball, there have been few players who could match the offensive skills and resourcefulness of Oscar Schmidt.

The 2.05m (6ft 8in) Brazil star nicknamed ‘Mano Santa’ (Holy Hand), turned down the possibility to play in the NBA in order to ensure that he could play in international competitions at a time when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) prohibited the participation of professionals in its tournaments.

Schmidt played in five Olympic Games and as many FIBA World Championships. He was the best scorer in three of those 10 combined tournaments. Unfortunately, his scoring flair didn’t translate into great team success as Brazil could not get past the quarter-finals in any of those events.

Perhaps the highlight of his international career came at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, where he scored a total of 338 points in seven games to average an impressive 42.3 points per contest.

At his last Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, the then 38-year-old scored 219 in eight games for an average of 27.4.

Over the course of his five Olympic participations, Schmidt compiled 1,093 points for a record scoring average of 28.8 points per game.

He played professionally from 1978 until 2003 and in those 25 years amassed 49,703 points, the most by any single player in basketball history.

Schmidt retired on 26 May 2003, leaving behind his glory years with the Palmeiras, Caserta, Forum-Valladolid, Corinthians, Bandeirantes, Barueri and Flamengo.

He was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame as part of the 2010 Class.

Profile
Name: Oscar Daniel Bezerra Schmidt
Date of birth: 16 February 1958,
Place of birth: Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Height: 2.05m
Weight: 100kg
Position: Shooting Guard