Oscar Robertson, in full Oscar Palmer Robertson, byname the Big O, (born November 24, 1938, Charlotte, Tennessee, U.S.), American basketball player who starred in both the collegiate and professional ranks and was considered one of the top players in the history of the game. As a player with the Cincinnati (Ohio) Royals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1961–62, he averaged double figures in points (30.8), rebounds (12.5), and assists (11.4) per game, a feat unmatched by any other player until Russell Westbrook did so in 2016–17.
Robertson grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he led Crispus Attucks High School to two state championships. In 1956 he received an athletic scholarship to the University of Cincinnati and became the first African American to play basketball there. In three seasons of collegiate basketball, he averaged 33.8 points per game and helped the Cincinnati Bearcats twice reach the Final Four of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament. He set 14 NCAA records during his college days. In 1960 he won a gold medal in Rome as a member of the U.S. Olympic team.
Oscar Robertson Biography:
Robertson was the first selection of the 1960 NBA draft and earned Rookie of the Year honors that season with the Cincinnati Royals. Measuring 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 meters) and weighing more than 200 pounds (91 kg), Robertson was larger than most guards. He was able to use his size to gain position for scoring and rebounding. He was also a superior ball handler, leading the league in assists six times. He was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the 1963–64 season, in which he averaged 31.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 11 assists per game.
Robertson was traded in 1970 to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he teamed with Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and won the NBA title that season. Robertson retired from the NBA in 1974 with 26,710 career points (25.7 per game), 7,804 rebounds (7.5 average), and 9,887 assists (an NBA record at the time). He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979.
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Oscar Robertson Stats:
Oscar Robertson played 14 seasons for the Royals and Bucks. He averaged 25.7 points, 9.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds in 1,040 regular-season games. He was selected to play in 12 All-Star games. He won the Rookie of the Year award, 1 MVP award and 1 NBA championship. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980.
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Oscar Robertson Facts:
Oscar Robertson was College Player of the Year in 1958, 1959 and 1960. In Rome in 1960, he was part of the U.S. Basketball team which won gold at the summer Olympic Games. Oscar Robertson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980. In 1996, he included in the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
In 1998 Oscar Robertson was honored when the United States Basketball Writers Association renamed their NCAA Division I Player of the Year trophy the Oscar Robertson Trophy. And in 2009 he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. Up until 1970, he held the record for the leading NCAA scorer of all time.The University of Cincinnati awarded Robertson an honorary doctorate in 2007.
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Oscar Robertson Achievements:
NBA Champion (1971)
NBA Most Valuable Player (1964)
12× NBA All-Star (1961–1972)
3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1961, 1964, 1969)
NBA Rookie of the Year (1961)
9× All-NBA First Team (1961–1969)
2× All-NBA Second Team (1970–1971)
2× Helms Foundation College Player of the Year (1959, 1960)
3× UPI College Player of the Year (1958–1960)
2× USBWA College Player of the Year (1959, 1960)
3× Sporting News College Player of the Year (1958–1960)
3× Consensus NCAA All-America First Team (1958–1960)
NBA 35th Anniversary Team
NBA 50th Anniversary Team
#14 Retired by the Sacramento Kings
#1 Retired by the Milwaukee Bucks
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