Oscar Schmidt, the Basketball Hall of Famer from Brazil, dies at 68
Oscar Schmidt, the Basketball Hall of Famer whom his Brazil compatriots know as the “Holy Hand,” died on Friday. “Oscar leaves a legacy that transcends sport and inspires generations of athletes and admirers in Brazil and worldwide." Earlier, Hospital e Maternidade Municipal Santa Ana in the city of Santana de Parnaiba, outside metropolis Sao Paulo, said Schmidt’s family requested privacy without elaborating.
SAO PAULO (AP) — Oscar Schmidt, the Basketball Hall of Famer whom his Brazil compatriots know as the “Holy Hand,” died on Friday. He was 68. Schmidt’s family said in a statement that Schmidt fought a brain tumor for 15 years “with courage, dignity and resilience .
. . while remaining a role model of determination, generosity and love of life.
" “Oscar leaves a legacy that transcends sport and inspires generations of athletes and admirers in Brazil and worldwide. " Earlier, Hospital e Maternidade Municipal Santa Ana in the city of Santana de Parnaiba, outside metropolis Sao Paulo, said Schmidt’s family requested privacy without elaborating. Schmidt never played in the NBA but he’s beloved in Brazil for committing to the national team, playing in a record-tying five consecutive Olympic Games and setting scoring records that remain.
He also starred in an historic win against the United States in the final of the 1987 Pan-American Games . He began his professional career in 1974 and most of it was at home and Italy, where he became a childhood idol of future great Kobe Bryant . In 1984 the NBA’s New Jersey Nets drafted him in the sixth round and he trained with them but declined a contract.