Aizen
Absolute Sovereign
Today was Oscar Robertson's 77th birthday. Most people know him for averaging a triple double for an entire season (1961-1962 season of 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 11.4 assists). But when you average the first 5 seasons of Oscar's career, he averaged a triple-double for those years (30.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 10.6 assists). Unlike some players of the past who might be undersized players if they played today, Oscar Robertson would still be big today in relation to his position. Measured at just under 6'5 barefoot, under today's exaggerated height listings he would be considered 6'6 at the very least or even 6'7. At one point Oscar's weight got up to 220-230 in his peak. It was always said that Oscar was extremely powerful and some of his rebounds came by boxing out centers for the ball, something the legendary Elgin Baylor could do as well.
When LeBron James joined Oscar as being the second player in the top 25 in both points and assists, it highlighted what a great and often overlooked player Oscar was. LeBron is 25th on the all-time assist list and currently 19th on the scoring list, about to pass Reggie Miller to be 18th on the list. Oscar Robertson is 11th on the NBA's all time scoring list and 6th on the assist list. So Oscar is top 11 in both scoring and assists.
Years ago Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went on First Take and they asked him about hypothetical match-ups. Kareem said Oscar would have "whipped everybody" and this YouTuber has the entire segment (begins at 11:06 goes to 12:45).
Back when Oscar played, assists were not counted if a player made a brief move or dribble after catching the pass. Unless a player went immediately into his shot, it was not an assist. Now you see assists counted when players dribble the ball 1-2 times after catching it and the passer still gets an assist. In light of that, there's no telling how many assists Oscar would have had under the more relaxed assist rules that came after his playing days. When you look at old highlights, the dribbling in Oscar's day seems stiff. But palming and traveling were strictly enforced back then. That forced the moves to be more "standard" because you couldn't come under the ball with your dribble. It goes without saying but Oscar played in the era of hand-checking. Obviously, you cannot put your hands on a player today to guide his drive to the side you desire. It's an automatic foul now but The Big O dealt with that his entire career.
Many players of the older eras were athletic too. In the nice interview with Chris Webber, he has a clip of Oscar on his iPad that shows Oscar's hand touching the top of the square to block a shot (starts at 0:40 and ends at 1:16).
So next time ESPN talks about great point guards and they mention Magic, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, and the likes and go on for 30 minutes without mentioning Oscar's name, at least as a student of the game you know better. Happy 77th birthday, Oscar Robertson.
When LeBron James joined Oscar as being the second player in the top 25 in both points and assists, it highlighted what a great and often overlooked player Oscar was. LeBron is 25th on the all-time assist list and currently 19th on the scoring list, about to pass Reggie Miller to be 18th on the list. Oscar Robertson is 11th on the NBA's all time scoring list and 6th on the assist list. So Oscar is top 11 in both scoring and assists.
Years ago Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went on First Take and they asked him about hypothetical match-ups. Kareem said Oscar would have "whipped everybody" and this YouTuber has the entire segment (begins at 11:06 goes to 12:45).
Back when Oscar played, assists were not counted if a player made a brief move or dribble after catching the pass. Unless a player went immediately into his shot, it was not an assist. Now you see assists counted when players dribble the ball 1-2 times after catching it and the passer still gets an assist. In light of that, there's no telling how many assists Oscar would have had under the more relaxed assist rules that came after his playing days. When you look at old highlights, the dribbling in Oscar's day seems stiff. But palming and traveling were strictly enforced back then. That forced the moves to be more "standard" because you couldn't come under the ball with your dribble. It goes without saying but Oscar played in the era of hand-checking. Obviously, you cannot put your hands on a player today to guide his drive to the side you desire. It's an automatic foul now but The Big O dealt with that his entire career.
Many players of the older eras were athletic too. In the nice interview with Chris Webber, he has a clip of Oscar on his iPad that shows Oscar's hand touching the top of the square to block a shot (starts at 0:40 and ends at 1:16).
So next time ESPN talks about great point guards and they mention Magic, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, and the likes and go on for 30 minutes without mentioning Oscar's name, at least as a student of the game you know better. Happy 77th birthday, Oscar Robertson.
