Oscar Robertson: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball’s Greatest

Transcript

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Introduction when looking at some of the best basketball players over the last 30 years, some of the greatest stars tend to be the ones who can basically do it all, they can score, pass rebound and do almost anything that can feel the stat sheet up. Of course, numbers tend to be the best measure of the effects of a player on a team. Because basketball has always been a numbers game in that regard, Some of the best players that have been able to fill the stat sheet up in a hurry include the likes of Lebron, James, Russell, Westbrook, Luca done check, Scottie, pippen, Grant, Hill, Magic, johnson, Nicola, Jokic and several other notable names that have played the sport in the last 3 to 4 decades in NBA history, all of those names were great all around players during their respective prime years due to how the game puts a premium on a player that is capable of doing it all and can fill the stat sheet up. Every team in the league wants someone that can play that role to perfection and every player wants to be able to put up ridiculous stats that are capable of explaining what he can do when he is on the floor and how he affects the game. This is where the triple double comes into mind is one of the most impressive statistics of all time. A triple devil is when a player collects double digits in three separate statistical categories, except for turnovers and files. In most cases, Triple devils involve points, rebounds and assists. But there have been cases when a player was able to collect a triple double by recording double digits in either blocks or steals. When looking at the best triple double machine in NBA history. One cannot look past what Russell Westbrook has done in his career. He's the only player to have multiple seasons of averaging a triple double and he has done it four times when no other player has done it twice, of course, before Westbrook, there have been other statistical beasts such as Lebron, James, Jason Kidd and Scottie pippen who could all put up triple devils from time to time, but not at the same rate as Westbrook, but before Westbrook then most of the other great statistical beasts in the NBA were even born. And before people marveled at how amazing a triple double is. One of the players that blazed the trail for all the great all around stars played at a time when no one in the history of the game has ever seen what he could do. That man is Oscar Robertson As a guard playing during the 1960s in the early 70s, Oscar Robertson paved the way for what in all around players should be like because he could do it all whenever he was on the floor, he could score with the best of them collect more rebounds than bigger players and passed the ball like a maestro. This was how he became the first player to average a triple double in a single season and for more than five decades, he was the only person who did so as his record seemed unbeatable until Westbrook Shattered. It in 2017, Robertson played during an that does not have the same refined brand of basketball that we see in today's more modern NBA, making it not too difficult for a transcendent star playing 40 minutes a night to regularly averaged double digits in rebounds or scored 30 or more points at six ft five, Robertson was bigger than most guards and had the height and build of an old school forward. While it might not be surprising for Robertson to have collected a great deal of points and rebounds at that time due to his amazing physical gifts. In comparison to his peers. What was more impressive was the fact that he collected double digits and assists during the sixties. Take note that before Robertson averaged 11.38 assists during the 1961 62 season, No other point guard in history had averaged double digits and assist. The reason why players struggled to collect assist during this time was the fact that not all players were great at finishing in the 50s, It was quite normal for a player to shoot 30-40% from the field as they did not have the same refined skills that most of the days players on top of that, the game was quite physical back then, contributing to how difficult it was for some players to finish. But despite all the challenges, Oscar Robertson went on to become the first player in NBA history to average double digits and assists. He was a court maestro in every sense of the word because he always had the ball in his hands and he knew what to do with it whenever he was in attack mode. The defensive attention that he absorbed allowed his teammates to get good looks that they were able to finish properly. All that said the fact that he was bigger than most guards and forwards and that he was as true a playmaker as any playmaker could be allowed Robinson to become the first player to average a triple double. While triple depots were not as hyped up back then as they are today. It was still an amazing accomplishment for any player to do so during the 60s and the fact that it took over five decades for someone to do what he did makes it even more impressive in a way. Oscar Robertson was a pioneer in terms of what an all around player could do thanks to his all around prowess as a guard that could do everything all on his own. He was a constant name in the All Star game and was always one of the favorites to win the M. V. P. Award. However, throughout much of his prime years, Robertson seemed like a one man show that could not win the championship if ever there was something that the boston Celtics proved during the sixties, it was that a team wins the championship as great as Bill Russell was. He could not do it all on his own because he had teammates scoring and playmaking for him. Meanwhile, one man armies like Oscar Robertson and even wilt chamberlain struggled to win championships during their prime years. It was during the 1970 70 one season when 32 year old Oscar Robertson left the Cincinnati Royals, a team he played for 10 seasons to join the Milwaukee Bucks in the 23 year old rising star, formerly known as Lew Alcindor and is now known as Kareem Abdul Jabbar at that point he was no longer the all around threat that he used to be, but was still good enough to put up great stats, but it was by playing with another dominant player and a great team that he was finally able to win his first and only NBA championship. While Oscar Robertson is not the first name one would think of when it comes to team success in the N. B. A. In fairness to him, not a lot of non Celtic players were able to win titles during the sixties. He is the prototype of the modern day all around player that we often get impressed by because of their amazing stats. Long before Russell. Westbrook. Lebron James or luka Don checks were putting up, dominate all the round numbers. Oscar Robertson was doing it on a nightly basis, And this is what is meant by building on what the greats before were able to establish. While today's all around stars may have surpassed him, Robertson was one of the true foundations of all around greatness in the early era of the N. B. A, as he rightfully deserves being called one of the 75 greatest players.