Basketball legend with an accomplished career at the university level as well as in the NBA, Hall of Famer since 1980, Oscar Robertson (85 years old) has been storing cars for more than forty years already. But the first player to embody the triple double is not about to leave the world of the orange ball.
The “Big O” did not fail to follow the Paris Olympic tournament. If he obviously appreciated the final result and the gold medal brought back by Team USA from the “Avengers”, he appreciated the form much less. And the visual impression of a team ultimately quite amorphous without its individual strokes of genius.
“What bothered me the most was how a guy could outrun us and go to the basket so easily. The guys no longer move their feet in defense! [Nikola] Jokic made us look like goats, all because the backs weren't making the effort to block their guys. I would never have agreed to change [de défenseur] on the screens. I don't know what Coach Kerr was doing but Team USA kept switching and Jokic destroyed us. You can't tell me you want Curry to face Jokic under the basket…”
Trained in the state of Indiana in the fledgling basketball years of the 1950s, the young Robertson is far from being fixed in predefined positions and roles. He plays basketball without question, in any role.
“I learned to play basketball when there wasn’t really a position. My coach told me to defend and make late screens on the inside when I had to get the rebounds. To play outside or inside, that wasn't the question.” he explained recently in the podcast All The Smoke. “A match where I was coaching, I asked a guy who came from a big university to play outside, to position the game a little. And he told me that he didn't know how to do it! For me, it was inconceivable. »
The Incredible Wilt
NBA champion with the Bucks in 1971, and a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, after years of All-Star and even an MVP title in 1964 with Cincinnati, Oscar Robertson was one of the leading figures of the NBA.
Just like his great friend, Wilt Chamberlain, another locomotive who propelled the young League after a bumpy start.
“I loved playing against Wilt because I knew him well. He talked a lot, he said what he was going to do [sur le terrain]. Wilt Chamberlain put on a show for his audience. He carried the NBA at arm's length for years. I always say it but people don't necessarily remember it: the year he scored 50 points per game, I had a triple-double and yet it was my good friend Bill Russell who won the trophy. of MVP! Because his team played well and they won the title. But when you score 50 points over a season, and at the same time, I score a triple-double the same year, it's quite remarkable! »
Having spent his entire career crossing swords with the legendary pivot, except for his final turn in 1973-74, Oscar Robertson is full of praise for his comrade. A colorful character!
“Wilt was an incredible athlete. He was sprinting, high jumping, volleyball! And he talked as much as he could on the way! But hey, he had the right because he made everyone agree on the pitch. Because he played the whole match or almost. Once [le 24 novembre 1960]he finished a game with 50 rebounds [55, ndlr]. And I think Russell opposite had finished at 48 [19 en fait, ndlr] ! »
Rather annoyed by the generally unfavorable comparisons to players of older generations, including his own, Oscar Robertson recognizes that the game has evolved over more than fifty years. And that's normal!
“Wayne Embry was 2m03 and 120 kilos, he was a beautiful baby. When he played against Wilt, Wilt couldn't push him under the circle like with the others, it was a hell of a fight.”remembers Oscar Robertson with a smile on his face. “But, at the time, there were quite a few guys who were ready to show their fists. You just had to know who they were and not tickle them unnecessarily. I have witnessed several situations myself but it was usually very quick. Two or three little blows and it was over. There was no suspension. It was a regulatory fine of 50 dollars, that's all! »
Threatened with death by the Klan!
A native of Tennessee, Oscar Robertson was obviously no stranger to the ordinary racism of American society, and particularly in the South of the country. But he also revealed that he had simply been threatened with death by the Klu Klux Klan, while he was going to participate in a basketball tournament in Alabama.
“The telegram said: 'If you play, we will shoot you.' I simply gave the paper to my coach. And later that day someone came knocking on my door. I opened [comme si de rien n’était] and I found a little white kid from Alabama who wanted my autograph. Well, I gave it to him. It didn't bother me more than that. I knew about the Klan from my youth, but the white and black communities were protective of each other where I grew up. It's the only death threat I've received in my life and it didn't bother me that much. »
As strong in his basketball as in his head, Oscar Robertson had something to do with his parents who, he said, only rested on Sundays… or when it rained!
A fan of “rhythm & blues” and soul, the “Big O” was a metronome on stage. Who has his opinion, amusing (because of his age), on the evolution of the American music scene…
“The Temptations are my favorite band, what I listen to the most. But there is also Fat Domino, the classics like Jackie Wilson, Ruth McFadden, The Four Tops. Ah, they knew how to write songs. Of different types. Fast, slow. There was text. It's not like now with songs where you don't even hear the words anymore. »
| Oscar Robertson | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 1960-61 | CIN | 71 | 43 | 47.3 | 82.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 10.1 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 30.5 | |
| 1961-62 | CIN | 79 | 44 | 47.8 | 80.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12.5 | 11.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 30.8 | |
| 1962-63 | CIN | 80 | 44 | 51.8 | 81.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 10.4 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 28.3 | |
| 1963-64 ★ | CIN | 79 | 45 | 48.3 | 85.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9.9 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 31.4 | |
| 1964-65 | CIN | 75 | 46 | 48.0 | 83.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 30.4 | |
| 1965-66 | CIN | 76 | 46 | 47.5 | 84.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 11.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 31.3 | |
| 1966-67 | CIN | 79 | 44 | 49.3 | 87.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.2 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 30.5 | |
| 1967-68 | CIN | 65 | 43 | 50.0 | 87.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 29.2 | |
| 1968-69 | CIN | 79 | 44 | 48.6 | 83.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.4 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 24.8 | |
| 1969-70 | CIN | 69 | 42 | 51.1 | 80.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.1 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 25.3 | |
| 1970-71 | MIL | 81 | 39 | 49.6 | 85.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 19.4 | |
| 1971-72 | MIL | 64 | 37 | 47.2 | 83.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.1 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 17.4 | |
| 1972-73 | MIL | 73 | 38 | 45.4 | 84.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.9 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 15.5 | |
| 1973-74 | MIL | 70 | 35 | 43.8 | 83.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12.7 | |
| Total | 1040 | 42 | 48.5 | 83.8 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 7.5 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 25.7 | ||
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
