Oscar Schmidt, the greatest scorer in the history of Brazilian basketball, died this Friday (17) as a result of a cardiorespiratory arrest, informed the City Hall of Santana de Parnaíba, in Greater São Paulo.
The player, who was 68 years old, lived in the Alphaville district, fell ill at home and was taken by the rescue service to the Santa Ana Municipal Hospital and Maternity Hospital, where he arrived already dead, according to the city hall.
“The Municipality of Santana de Parnaíba expresses its deep regret at the death of Oscar Schmidt, considered the greatest basketball player in the history of Brazil”, says a statement from the municipal management.
On social media, Oscar’s family announced that the farewell took place in a private ceremony, on Friday, reserved for close relatives, and asked for respect for privacy.
Since 2011, Oscar had been dealing with brain cancer. He underwent surgery to remove tumors, and for years he underwent rounds of chemotherapy. In 2022, Oscar made the decision to stop treatment. “I stopped. I decided to stop myself,” he said in an interview. According to him, the experience with the disease had changed his relationship with death.
In 2014, in the United States, Mão Santa reported having suffered an arrhythmia, in an episode that was not related to cancer. In 2015, during the Olympic hearing held at Sheethe said he thought he was going to die.
“My breathing stopped, I vomited a lot, I went to the hospital and they did a ‘kill and resuscitate’ procedure,” the former player told the newspaper in November 2015.
Oscar leaves behind his wife, Cristina, and his children Felipe and Stephanie.
