Oscar Robertson

U.S. History

                                         Oscar Robertson

        Oscar Robertson is an American basketball player who grew up poor in Indiana. He didn’t have much, but was attracted to the sport of basketball. He grew up playing basketball his whole life, and then went to Crispus Attucks High School, an all black school. He led the school to a state title in 1955, this was the first state title won by an all black school. Then the following year he led the team to another state title and an undefeated season. His senior year he was named Indiana Mr. Basketball. After High school he went to the university of Cincinnati to continue his basketball career.

        While at Cincinnati he recorded a scoring average of 33.8 points per game. That is the third highest in college history. He set fourteen NCAA records and 19 school records. However he never won a NCAA championship, but did make two final four appearances. He left college to continue his basketball career as a professional. Now the NCAA division I player of the year trophy is named after him, because of his success in college basketball.

        After his college career he wont on to be co-captain on the 1960 U.S. men’s Olympic team. After his Olympic experience he was drafted into the NBA the same year as legend Jerry West, the Cincinnati Royals drafted Oscar. Growing up poor this was a big moment for Robertson. He didn’t even have enough money to buy a basketball as a kid, and now he was making $33,000 a year. His first year in the league he was third on the scoring list, and was eventually named rookie of the year in 1960.

        Even though he was rookie of the year his first year, it wasn’t until his second year in the league where he made a name for himself. In the 1961-1962 season he averaged a triple double, scoring 30.8 points per game, having 11.4 assists per game and 12.5 rebounds per game. He had a triple double in 41 of his 79 games that is a NBA single season record. Robertson is also the NBA’s all-time leader in triple double games. He would continue his success the following year.

        The 1962-1963 season was a successful one for Robertson but ended in disappointment. Almost averaging a triple double again he led his Cincinnati Royals all the way to NBA Championship. There he would face Bill Russell’s Celtics, a powerhouse in the NBA. The Royals fell to Celtics in game 7 of the finals. Although the disappointing result, Oscar Robertson had a lot more success in his near future.

        Now recognized as a star, Oscar Robertson enters his fourth season as a professional in 1964. This season will end up being a major success for him as an individual. This season he won the league MVP award and the all-star game MVP award. But once again the team was not able to go all the way, the Celtics knocked them out of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Robertson would continue his dominance in the league for five more years, making the all-star game every year, but his team was struggling so eventually he was traded in 1969 to the Milwaukee Bucks.

        Prior to the 1970 Oscar Robertson was part of on of the most important court cases in NBA history. It was the case that would eventually merge the ABA and NBA and would allow players to move from team to team through free agency. Robertson was against the merge of the two leagues and believed that players should stay on one team and not be moving around through free agency. He delayed the merge for six years, but eventually in 1976 after Robertson retired the NBA merged with the ABA, and added free agency and a draft of college players. Which is how the NBA is to this day.