Oscar Schmidt, the Brazilian basketball legend and sharpshooter with an unusually long career, died on Friday at age 68, the Brazilian Basketball Confederation (CBB) and his family announced.

Nicknamed "Mão Santa" (Holy Hand), he scored 49,737 points throughout his long and prolific career (1974-2003) for clubs and the national team—a world record that stood for decades until American star LeBron James surpassed it in 2024.

"The greatest player in the history of Brazilian basketball bids farewell as an absolute sports icon, leaving behind a legacy that redefined the limits of what was possible on the court," the CBB said in a statement.

A gifted shooter, Schmidt competed in five Olympic Games, from Moscow 1980 to Atlanta 1996, and remains to this day the all-time leading scorer in Olympic history, with over one thousand total points.

The Brazilian only retired at age 45 in 2003, while playing for the Brazilian club Flamengo.

Married with two children, the former basketball player, who had been battling a brain tumor for years, was hospitalized earlier in the day at a hospital in São Paulo (southeast). The cause of his death was not disclosed.

His son, Felipe, dedicated a message to him on Instagram: "Today, the world loses an idol, I lose my father (...). Rest in peace, Dad."

Oscar Schmidt shone for clubs in Brazil, Italy, and Spain, but never played in the NBA. Drafted by the New Jersey Nets in 1984—the same year Michael Jordan was picked by the Chicago Bulls—he ultimately decided not to play in the North American league.

He stated on multiple occasions that it would have forced him to give up the national team, according to the rules at the time.

This missed opportunity with the NBA was somewhat compensated by a participation in the All-Star Game's Celebrity Game in 2017.

"Oscar Schmidt was not only an extraordinary player. He was the very definition of devotion, passion, and commitment to the sport," emphasized the CBB, for whom "his death marks the end of an era."

AFP