Oscar Schmidt: Brazil's iconic 'Holy Hand' and Pan Am Games hero

MIES (Switzerland) - Oscar Schmidt is arguably the greatest scorer in world basketball history and the Brazilian's love for his national team along with his performance in guiding the country to the 1987 Pan American Games title contribute to making him a FIBA icon.

 
Schmidt, who was fondly known as 'Mão Santa' (Holy Hand), was a global legend, playing at five FIBA Basketball World Cups and as many Olympic Games. He was the best scorer in three of those 10 tournaments, though Brazil could never get past the Quarter-Finals in any of those events. Brazil's lack of global podium finishes did not however tarnish the image of Schmidt, who was born on February 16, 1958 in Rio Grande do Norte.

Schmidt and Brazil did taste international success at the 1987 Pan Am Games in the United States - and that in magical fashion. Brazil were facing United States in the Final and the South Americans trailed by 14 points at halftime. But Schmidt spearheaded the comeback as he poured in 46 points in a 120-115 victory.

Schmidt, who was a 6ft 8in (2.05m) forward, remains the record holder for most points in a FIBA Basketball World Cup career with 906 in 34 games (26.6ppg). He led the 1990 tournament in scoring with an average of 34.6 points - the highlight average in World Cup history - including 52 points against Australia. Schmidt and Brazil did take bronze at the 1978 World Cup.

 

One of Schmidt's biggest regrets came a year later at the Seoul Olympics, where he missed a potential game-tying shot in the final minute of Brazil's Quarter-Finals showdown against the Soviet Union. He ended up scoring 46 points but they were not enough in a 110-105 defeat.

That summer in Seoul Schmidt averaged 42.3 points per game - including an Olympic record 55 points against Spain. Eight years later at the Atlanta Games in his final Olympics and at age 38, he averaged 27.4 points. All told, Schmidt tallied 1,093 points in the Olympics for an average of 28.8 - still an Olympic record.

Schmidt played for 25 years from 1978 until 2003 and amassed 49,703 points, the most by any single player in basketball history. He played from 1982 to 1993 in Italy for JuveCaserta and Pavia and then moved to Spain and played two seasons with Valladolid before returning to Brazil in 1995. Schmidt ended up retiring on May 26, 2003.

For all of his scoring prowess, what defines Oscar Schmidt almost more than anything else is that he turned down the possibility to play in the NBA to ensure that he could play for Brazil's national team. Until the 1992 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee prohibited the participation of professionals in its tournaments.

Schmidt's accomplishments have been well recognized as he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2010, the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Italian Hall of Fame in 2017.

FIBA