Basketball icon, Oscar Schmidt had a long career and said goodbye to the courts in Belo Horizonte. It was at Arena Minas Tênis Clube where “Mão Santa” played his last match as a professional, in 2003, at the age of 45.
On that occasion, Oscar dueled with the host Minas in a Brazilian Championship game, on May 14 of that year. The Flamengo fans ended up defeated, but he was the scorer of the match, with 32 points, reaching the thousand mark in the competition.
aged 68, after suffering a cardiac arrest. He leaves a wife and two children – one of them, Filipe, is a former player and played alongside his father at Fla.
Career of Oscar Schmidt
Born in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Oscar began his career in 1975. He played for Palmeiras, Sírio, América-RJ, Caserta-ITA, Pavia-ITA, Forum Valladolid-ESP, Corinthians, Barueri (Banco Bandeirantes and Mackenzie Microcamp) and Flamengo.
From 1977 to 1996, Oscar also played for the Brazilian team, where he made his mark. There is also a curious fact in the former winger’s career: he was selected by the New Jersey Nets in the sixth round of the 1984 NBA draft.
The reason? League athletes were not allowed to play for national teams until 1989.
