Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Palmer Robertson, nicknamed "The Big O", is an American retired National Basketball Association player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks. The 6 ft 5 in, 220 lb Robertson played at point guard and was a 12-time All-Star, 11-time member of the All-NBA Team, and one-time winner of the MVP award in 14 professional seasons. He is the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season. He was a key player on the team which brought...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth24 November 1938
CountryUnited States of America
When you go into a game on offense, you make a couple moves and see what the defender is going to do. Then you pretty much can figure out what he is going to do against you - whether he carries his hands low or high, whether he is bumping or pushing, those type of things.
Who do I think was the greatest? This might shock you: Elgin Baylor. He did so many great things. Nobody could guard him, playing in the forward spot. I'd love to see some of today's greats playing against Elgin. They couldn't guard him. Nobody could.
When you play guard, you're not going to block a lot of shots. Inside, you're going to block shots.
You have to teach now - tell a kid how to box out, tell him how to pass, teach him footwork. Players don't understand that anymore.
You look at today, it's a different situation. You have a game that has been transformed into a game where almost every shot is either an outside shot - a three-point shot - or a dunk.
You need a teaching coach who understands the game of basketball, not just some guy coming on the court talking about Xs and Os.
You see what happens in college and high school games today - a three-point shot or a dunk. I think that's the reason that you see a lot of that in the pros today.
The triple-double is just a stat. It's a test of your strength and stamina and playing ability, really.
The Olympics were great, because you had to make the team, and then go to the games. Now, I don't know, these guys today don't want to do anything like that.
Some players are more physical than others, some play with more finesse. Some are just really great all-around players. So you have to change your game.
I think that basketball players should get the job done no matter how it looks on the screen.
But after that you don't see a lot of real good fundamental play. You see a showboat-type basketball which is almost parallel to street basketball.
But I like to think an athlete is an athlete.
I think that teaching coaches are the norm now.