Although he retired before many of today’s basketball fans were born, Oscar Robertson still is considered the greatest all-around player the NBA has seen.
The “Big O” was a big-time scorer, of course, but he also was such a great ballhandler and passer, and such a strong rebounder and defender, that he practically invented the term “triple-double.” In fact, Robertson averaged double digits in points, rebounds, and assists for an entire season, in his second NBA season of 1961–62. He scored 30.8 points per game, with 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists a night.
When Robertson left the NBA in 1974, he was the career-scoring leader among guards with 26,710 points and also was the assists leader. He’s been passed in those areas since, but not by the same person.
“He is so great, he scares me,” Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach once said of Robertson.1
While Robertson wasn’t as sharp a shooter as Jerry West—his teammate on the 1960 Olympic gold medal team—he was close. He also was 6-5, 205 pounds of muscle, which helped the “Big O” play big under the basket. Many of his points came on drives to the hoop, where he could use his size and power, or off rebounds because he was so comfortable under the basket.
“I always felt it was important to get to the basket when someone else shot,” he said. “If you could keep the ball alive or score off a rebound, you helped your team as much as if you shot from the outside.”2
The league and All-Star Game most valuable player in the 1963–64 season, Robertson played for the Cincinnati Royals during his first ten pro seasons. He made the NBA All-Star team in nine of those years after capturing Rookie of the Year honors by scoring 30.5 points and getting 10.1 rebounds and 9.7 assists a game—incredible numbers for a veteran, let alone a first-year player.
But something was missing for Oscar: a championship. The Royals, while a very good team, never could get past the Boston dynasty or some strong Philadelphia clubs.
In 1970, seeking that title, Robertson joined the Bucks in a trade. Milwaukee already had a young center, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—then named Lew Alcindor—and needed some veteran leadership. And some extra scoring.
Robertson provided both, averaging 19.4 points while guiding the youthful Bucks to 66 wins, the NBA’s best record. He added 18.3 points a game in the playoffs and, at last, earned that championship ring.
