By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
A member of both the FIBA Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Oscar’s career was full of huge moments with his national team, and the various clubs he played for.
Among them was the FIBA Intercontinental Cup Final on October 6, 1979, when the scoring machine erupted for 42 points for Brazilian outfit Sirio in their 100-98 triumph over Bosna.
It was a sign of just how special a player he was becoming. Just 21 at the time, Oscar gave the fans a real thrill that night in the Ginasio do Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo.
He would go on to have a magnificent career and remains one of Brazil’s most beloved sportsmen.
Oscar has more points than any other player in the history of the FIBA Basketball World Cup. A sweet-shooting, 6ft 8in (2.05m) forward, he amassed 843 points in 33 games of the competition in which he played in 1978, ’82, ’86 and ’90. He once had 52 points in a game against the Australians in 1990.
Nicknamed ‘Mão Santa” (Holy Hand), Oscar reached the podium at his first World Cup in Manila, the Philippines, capturing the bronze medal.
A five-time Olympian who on three occasions led the Summer Games in scoring, Oscar was well known in the United States for his stunning performance at the 1987 Pan American Games when he led the Brazilians to an upset of the Americans in Indianapolis in the battle for gold.
Brazil trailed by 14 points at half-time but Oscar, who had 46 points, spearheaded the comeback as Brazil prevailed, 120-115.
He was inducted into FIBA’s Hall of Fame in 2010, as part of the same class as Arvydas Sabonis, another legend of basketball who left his mark in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.