Oscar Schmidt 1988 Olympics

[MMyhre]

He played around 35,5 min and had 42.3 PPG on 57/56/92 shooting splits. The 56% from three was recorded on 8 attempts a game. Around 7.5 reb (around 3.5 OReb!) , around 1.6 ast/1.8 to.

Some people said he would be a role player in the NBA, yet he dropped like 24 pts on Pippen and Team USA as an 34 year old way out of his prime, so yeah, probably not.

I had not heard of him, he looks like a 6-9 Klay Thompson with a much more polished offensive game, better drives and honestly probably a better shooter too. Imagine if this guy gets to play better opposition and grow and evolve in an college and then NBA environment from a young age? He scored just below 50 000 pts without the advantage of being able to play and get even better playing and training against the best players, coaches etc...

Huuuuge what if for me. Ridiculous scoring/shooting talent, just comes off screens or turns into twisting shots like its nothing at high speed.

Idk, its just fun to see someone with such ridiculous scoring ability. He said he worked on his game like a madman in the gym. A gym rat. Makes you wonder how much of shooting is talent, but tbf this guy can hit a jumpshot falling backwards in a wheelchair so there is talent there..

He deserves his own thread for this scoring output. Makes you wonder if he could have revolutionized the NBA to more 3pt shooting before Curry, because he seems freaking automatic.

[UcanUwill]

You have not heard of Oscar Schmidt? His biggest problem was definitely not talent, he probably could have been a star in the NBA, but he had huge ego and diva mentality, his famous piano player quote is good example how he saw himself and his teammates.

[Blame Rasho]

Watch on YouTube

One of the best speeches.

[Mirotic12]

Oscar never made it to the EuroLeague and he never won any title worth anything in his long career in Europe.

He was a crazy level shooter and scorer and 6-9, but also the worst team player and defender on every team he was on.

So good European teams didn't want him.

So basically, he would have been great in any bad NBA team, and wouldn't fit in any good NBA team.

[Bologna Smasher]

Echoing what some of the others have said, he would've definitely been able to play at an NBA level, but I highly doubt any NBA team would give him the green light the way he had it in Brazil and Europe. There were some pretty bad NBA teams in the 80's & 90's being led by role-players, so he probably could've actually been the featured player on at least a couple of them.

He also comes off as someone who would bolt from the league if he wasn't being catered to and had to build himself up at the NBA level.

[PRguy23]

He was pissed that the Nets picked him with the 131st pick of the 6th rd. Apparently he understood not going in the 1st rd but not going in the 2nd rd insulted him.

[bdp31770]

I always thought Kiki Vandeghwe could be the closest comparison. About the same size, strong shooter and scorer, but not a strong defender, rebounder, or passer.

[bkkrh]

Oscar never made it to the EuroLeague and he never won any title worth anything in his long career in Europe.

He was a crazy level shooter and scorer and 6-9, but also the worst team player and defender on every team he was on.

So good European teams didn't want him.

So basically, he would have been great in any bad NBA team, and wouldn't fit in any good NBA team.

Well I guess a big factor of him never making it to the Euroleague is the fact that the first season of the EuroLeague was 1996, when he was 38 years old and playing in Brazil again . Even if I consider the FIBA European League, which was the predecessor, that league was implemented in 1991, when he was 33 and playing for a 2nd Division team in Italy.

I could also look at it from the perspective that he played in Italy, which was by far the best domestic league in Western Europe during the 80s, proven by the fact that 5 of 10 FIBA European Champions Cups in the 80s where won by 3 different Italian teams. Here are some US players that played in Italy during the 80s and early 90s: Bob McAdoo, George Gervin, Alex English. Antoine Carr went as the 8th overall pick to Italy for a season because he couldn´t agree on a contract. Danny Ferry did the same thing as the 2nd overall pick. Cadillac Anderson went for a season to Italy after averaging 11.5 points and 11.5 rebounds the season before in the NBA. He got paid 2.1 Million Dollars, that was NBA superstar money at that time.

[Lalouie]

He played around 35,5 min and had 42.3 PPG on 57/56/92 shooting splits. The 56% from three was recorded on 8 attempts a game. Around 7.5 reb (around 3.5 OReb!) , around 1.6 ast/1.8 to.

Some people said he would be a role player in the NBA, yet he dropped like 24 pts on Pippen and Team USA as an 34 year old way out of his prime, so yeah, probably not.

I had not heard of him, he looks like a 6-9 Klay Thompson with a much more polished offensive game, better drives and honestly probably a better shooter too. Imagine if this guy gets to play better opposition and grow and evolve in an college and then NBA environment from a young age? He scored just below 50 000 pts without the advantage of being able to play and get even better playing and training against the best players, coaches etc...

Huuuuge what if for me. Ridiculous scoring/shooting talent, just comes off screens or turns into twisting shots like its nothing at high speed.

Idk, its just fun to see someone with such ridiculous scoring ability. He said he worked on his game like a madman in the gym. A gym rat. Makes you wonder how much of shooting is talent, but tbf this guy can hit a jumpshot falling backwards in a wheelchair so there is talent there..

He deserves his own thread for this scoring output. Makes you wonder if he could have revolutionized the NBA to more 3pt shooting before Curry, because he seems freaking automatic.

was this back then...because foreign players were viewed differently back then

[MMyhre]

I always thought Kiki Vandeghwe could be the closest comparison. About the same size, strong shooter and scorer, but not a strong defender, rebounder, or passer.

He does not come close at all in terms of 3pt volume or %, also shorter.

[MMyhre]

He played around 35,5 min and had 42.3 PPG on 57/56/92 shooting splits. The 56% from three was recorded on 8 attempts a game. Around 7.5 reb (around 3.5 OReb!) , around 1.6 ast/1.8 to.

Some people said he would be a role player in the NBA, yet he dropped like 24 pts on Pippen and Team USA as an 34 year old way out of his prime, so yeah, probably not.

I had not heard of him, he looks like a 6-9 Klay Thompson with a much more polished offensive game, better drives and honestly probably a better shooter too. Imagine if this guy gets to play better opposition and grow and evolve in an college and then NBA environment from a young age? He scored just below 50 000 pts without the advantage of being able to play and get even better playing and training against the best players, coaches etc...

Huuuuge what if for me. Ridiculous scoring/shooting talent, just comes off screens or turns into twisting shots like its nothing at high speed.

Idk, its just fun to see someone with such ridiculous scoring ability. He said he worked on his game like a madman in the gym. A gym rat. Makes you wonder how much of shooting is talent, but tbf this guy can hit a jumpshot falling backwards in a wheelchair so there is talent there..

He deserves his own thread for this scoring output. Makes you wonder if he could have revolutionized the NBA to more 3pt shooting before Curry, because he seems freaking automatic.

was this back then...because foreign players were viewed differently back then

No, it was some clown on reddit, I should have specified, I wrote this just before going to bed. There is no role player that scores like this, his nickname "Mão Santa" (Holy Hand) is perfect.

[MMyhre]

You have not heard of Oscar Schmidt? His biggest problem was definitely not talent, he probably could have been a star in the NBA, but he had huge ego and diva mentality, his famous piano player quote is good example how he saw himself and his teammates.

If I could score easily like that, I would probably be frustrated about others too
I guess a lot of the greats are a bit crazy. Brazilian culture tends to worship stars and fame, so I guess it got to his head like many others.

[Mirotic12]

Oscar never made it to the EuroLeague and he never won any title worth anything in his long career in Europe.

He was a crazy level shooter and scorer and 6-9, but also the worst team player and defender on every team he was on.

So good European teams didn't want him.

So basically, he would have been great in any bad NBA team, and wouldn't fit in any good NBA team.

Well I guess a big factor of him never making it to the Euroleague is the fact that the first season of the EuroLeague was 1996, when he was 38 years old and playing in Brazil again . Even if I consider the FIBA European League, which was the predecessor, that league was implemented in 1991, when he was 33 and playing for a 2nd Division team in Italy.

I could also look at it from the perspective that he played in Italy, which was by far the best domestic league in Western Europe during the 80s, proven by the fact that 5 of 10 FIBA European Champions Cups in the 80s where won by 3 different Italian teams. Here are some US players that played in Italy during the 80s and early 90s: Bob McAdoo, George Gervin, Alex English. Antoine Carr went as the 8th overall pick to Italy for a season because he couldn´t agree on a contract. Danny Ferry did the same thing as the 2nd overall pick. Cadillac Anderson went for a season to Italy after averaging 11.5 points and 11.5 rebounds the season before in the NBA. He got paid 2.1 Million Dollars, that was NBA superstar money at that time.

The first season of EuroLeague was in 1958. It existed the entire time that Oscar Schmidt played in Europe.

Schmidt played in the second level European league (European Cup Winners Cup) and the third level European league (Korac Cup). Schmidt never played in the top tier level European league, which again, existed the entire time that he played in Europe.

Also, while he played in the second and third European leagues, he never won them.

Yes, there is a reason why no teams from the top level European league (European Champions League / EuroLeague) wanted him.

It's because he refused to pass the ball, he refused to play defense, and his teams never won anything.

He was definitely a really great shooter and scorer, but let's not pretend he could fit into good teams.

[bkkrh]

Oscar never made it to the EuroLeague and he never won any title worth anything in his long career in Europe.

He was a crazy level shooter and scorer and 6-9, but also the worst team player and defender on every team he was on.

So good European teams didn't want him.

So basically, he would have been great in any bad NBA team, and wouldn't fit in any good NBA team.

Well I guess a big factor of him never making it to the Euroleague is the fact that the first season of the EuroLeague was 1996, when he was 38 years old and playing in Brazil again . Even if I consider the FIBA European League, which was the predecessor, that league was implemented in 1991, when he was 33 and playing for a 2nd Division team in Italy.

I could also look at it from the perspective that he played in Italy, which was by far the best domestic league in Western Europe during the 80s, proven by the fact that 5 of 10 FIBA European Champions Cups in the 80s where won by 3 different Italian teams. Here are some US players that played in Italy during the 80s and early 90s: Bob McAdoo, George Gervin, Alex English. Antoine Carr went as the 8th overall pick to Italy for a season because he couldn´t agree on a contract. Danny Ferry did the same thing as the 2nd overall pick. Cadillac Anderson went for a season to Italy after averaging 11.5 points and 11.5 rebounds the season before in the NBA. He got paid 2.1 Million Dollars, that was NBA superstar money at that time.

The first season of EuroLeague was in 1958. It existed the entire time that Oscar Schmidt played in Europe.

Schmidt played in the second level European league (European Cup Winners Cup) and the third level European league (Korac Cup). Schmidt never played in the top tier level European league, which again, existed the entire time that he played in Europe.

Also, while he played in the second and third European leagues, he never won them.

Yes, there is a reason why no teams from the top level European league (European Champions League / EuroLeague) wanted him.

It's because he refused to pass the ball, he refused to play defense, and his teams never won anything.

He was definitely a really great shooter and scorer, but let's not pretend he could fit into good teams.

It wasn´t a league, it was a cup that went into some weird group phase in the semi and later in the quarter finals. Only the champions from each country qualified for it and it was a KO phase. There were no "Euroleague teams", you had to qualify to play. That meant each season for Spain it was either Barca or Real, for Yugoslavia either Partizan with Divac, or Jugoplastika with Kukoc and Radja. There weren´t even any really any top clubs he could have went to. You had 3-4 strong Italian clubs, Maccabi Tel Aviv and otherwise clubs behind the iron curtain. So where exactly was he supposed to play?

So yeah,he never played for the best team in at that time probably the 2nd best domestic league in the world. He stayed with a 2nd division team that went for the first time in team history to the 1st division in his 1st season. In 7 seasons with him in the 1st division they finished twice in 2nd place, won one 1 national cup and made it to 3 cup finals, as well as at least 4 times to the semifinals in European competitions. He lead the league in scoring in 7 out of 8 seasons he played there.

So I´m not really sure what your issue is, it´s like complaining that Maradona never won the Champions League with Napoli.

[Mirotic12]

The EuroLeague has existed since 1958. Oscar was never signed by a EuroLeague team, because he wouldn't pass the ball, or play defense.

They already had free agency for foreign players. EuroLeague teams could already sign 4 foreign players when Oscar came to Europe, and 6 foreign players before he left Europe.

Oscar spent many years playing in Europe, playing in Italy, playing in Spain, playing in the European second tier level European Cup Winners Cup, and playing in the European third tier level Korac Cup, and still never won a championship.

In total, 9 seasons in the Italian first division, 2 seasons in the Spanish first division, 2 seasons in the 2nd tier level European Cup Winners Cup, and 7 seasons in the 3rd tier level European Korac Cup.

That's 20 seasons played in European national domestic first divisions and second and third pan European leagues, without a single league championship won.

So that is why 1st tier level EuroLeague teams didn't sign him. Because his style of play, while very fun to watch and leading to huge scoring production, wasn't resulting in his teams getting championships.

[bkkrh]

The EuroLeague has existed since 1958. Oscar was never signed by a EuroLeague team, because he wouldn't pass the ball, or play defense.

They already had free agency for foreign players. EuroLeague teams could already sign 4 foreign players when Oscar came to Europe, and 6 foreign players before he left Europe.

Oscar spent many years playing in Europe, playing in Italy, playing in Spain, playing in the European second tier level European Cup Winners Cup, and playing in the European third tier level Korac Cup, and still never won a championship.

In total, 9 seasons in the Italian first division, 2 seasons in the Spanish first division, 2 seasons in the 2nd tier level European Cup Winners Cup, and 7 seasons in the 3rd tier level European Korac Cup.

That's 20 seasons played in European national domestic first divisions and second and third pan European leagues, without a single league championship won.

So that is why 1st tier level EuroLeague teams didn't sign him. Because his style of play, while very fun to watch and leading to huge scoring production, wasn't resulting in his teams getting championships.

What were the 1st tier EuroLeague teams in the time he played in Europe? Which teams had no interest in signing him?

[MaxZaslofskyJr]

according to Wikipedia "... Schmidt was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in the sixth round of the 1984 NBA draft, and he played with them in their 1984 NBA training camp and preseason." I wonder if there is there any record of how well he did (?)

[Mirotic12]

according to Wikipedia "... Schmidt was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in the sixth round of the 1984 NBA draft, and he played with them in their 1984 NBA training camp and preseason." I wonder if there is there any record of how well he did (?)

Yeah, I've seen the stats before. I think he averaged like 25 to 30 points a game, somewhere around that.



The Nets also had "The French GOAT" Herve Dubuisson at that same training camp.



The Nets didn't sign either of them.

[Calvin Klein]

the ultimate chucker

[bdp31770]

I always thought Kiki Vandeghwe could be the closest comparison. About the same size, strong shooter and scorer, but not a strong defender, rebounder, or passer.

He does not come close at all in terms of 3pt volume or %, also shorter.

I didn't say he did, I said he was the closest comparison.