Players and coaches praising how great Oscar Robertson was as a player.

[coastalmarker99]

Oscar Robertson was once regarded as a top 5 or top 3 player of all time.

Here are some quotes that demonstrate his sometimes underrated greatness.

Praise from players, coaches


Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (2013)

“LeBron is awesome, MJ was awesome — but I think Oscar Robertson would have kicked them both in the behind,” said Abdul-Jabbar when asked about James and Jordan. “Absolutely. Oscar was awesome. He had brains. […] He had all the skills.”

Red Auerbach

“He Oscar is so great he scares me.”

Jerry Lucas

“He obviously was unbelievable, way ahead of his time. There is no more complete player than Oscar.”

Bill Russell

“Oscar was one of basketball’s great leaders, and his life is one of basketball’s great stories. He was unafraid, unabashed, and unmatched in everything he did. There will never be another like him.”

Rick Barry

“People just don’t have any idea how good Oscar was. The numbers are ridiculous. If you’re getting 30 points and double-figures in rebounds as a point guard and 10 assists a game, that’s sick. He is the greatest athlete in the history of sports in this country who has been overlooked in terms of his greatness.”

Jerry West

“Oscar Robertson was never a rookie. He was the measuring stick for how a player should play. He is a man for the ages.”

John Havlicek

"He Oscar is the best I've seen."

Jerry West

"Oscar Robertson was the greatest player I played against, period."

Magic Johnson

"I never knew how good Oscar was until I tried to do it."

Wayne Embry

“Oscar knew you were open before you knew you were open. [...] He was the greatest player I have ever seen, period.”

Pete Newell

"Oscar Robertson was the most fundamentally flawless player I ever saw."

Bob Boozer

“He played the game like he invented it. Oscar was James Naismith in tennis shoes. He did what he wanted to do.”

John Wooden
"I've always considered Oscar Robertson to be the best player in the game," says John Wooden. "Now I'm not so sure that Larry Bird isn't."

John Salley (on what Michael Jordan told him)

Interviewer: "Who did Jordan tell you is the greatest player ever?"

Salley: "He would say Oscar Robertson."


Praise from media & notable awards

AP Basketball Player of the Century (1999)

Michael Jordan (49)

Oscar Robertson (44)

Wilt Chamberlain (42)

Bill Russell (41)

Earvin Johnson (36)

Larry Bird (34)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (25)

Elgin Baylor (19)

Jerry West (16)

Julius Erving (12)

Karl Malone (6)

Bob Pettit (4)

Bob Cousy (1)

John Havlicek (1)

Selection Panel of Marv Albert, Chick Hearn, Fuzzy Levane, Harvey Pollack, Bill Russell, and Lenny Wilkens


SLAM Magazine Top 75 NBA Players of All-Time (2003)

Michael Jordan

Wilt Chamberlain

Oscar Robertson

Bill Russell

Magic Johnson

Larry Bird

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Jerry West

Shaquille O'Neal

Julius Erving



National Association of Basketball Coaches' Player of the Century

PLAYERS OF THE CENTURY

Larry Bird (Indiana State)

Kareem Abdul Jabbar (UCLA)

Earvin "Magic" Johnson (Michigan State)

Michael Jordan (North Carolina)

Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati)

Bill Russell (San Francisco)

Bill Walton (UCLA)


PLAYER OF THE CENTURY

Oscar Robertson Cincinnati
New York Times (2009

[coastalmarker99]

In 1965 without Jerry Lucas in the lineup Oscar Robertson averaged :

37.1 points

9.4 assist

10.1 rebounds

+9.86 rTS%


While the Royals played at a 52.48 win pace


It could be said that Oscar was the god father of Floor-raising

[coastalmarker99]

Oscar averaged 30/10/11 over his first six seasons while leading the league in TS%.

He was second in scoring (to Wilt), first in assists by a mile (20% more than anyone else), and 10th in rebounds.

He had 148 triple-doubles over those 6 seasons.





Wilt had the second most with 17, and only 6 other players had more than two.


Oscar also finished top 5 in MVP voting each of his first 8 seasons and was the only guard to win the MVP award in the 1960's

[warriorfan]

Jim Barnett has alluded to Oscar being the GOAT before.

[coastalmarker99]

Jim Barnett has alluded to Oscar being the GOAT before.

Some players of that era ranked Oscar above both Wilt and Russell.


It's a shame that Oscar wasted his entire prime with subpar teammates and terrible management before he teamed up with Kareem.



As the first year that he played with a truly elite talent in a young Kareem, the Bucks just destroyed everyone in their path that season in 1970-1971.






It is worth noting that Oscar lead teams regularly posted the #1 or #2 Offensive Rating in the league.

[RogueBorg]

Some players of that era ranked Oscar above both Wilt and Russell.


It's a shame that Oscar wasted his entire prime with subpar teammates and terrible management before he teamed up with Kareem.



As the first year that he played with a truly elite talent in a young Kareem, the Bucks just destroyed everyone in their path that season in 1970-1971.



It is worth noting that Oscar lead teams regularly posted the #1 or #2 Offensive Rating in the league.

When I was in my 20's back in the 90's I used to argue with the old guys about who was better, Oscar or Jordan. 30 years from now, all you young guys now will be arguing with some young punk about who's better, Lebron or whoever the current superstar is at that time.

[Dbrog]

If you think about Westbrook with the intelligence of CP, that is truly a scary player. That's basically Oscar for me

[Dbrog]

Some players of that era ranked Oscar above both Wilt and Russell.


It's a shame that Oscar wasted his entire prime with subpar teammates and terrible management before he teamed up with Kareem.



As the first year that he played with a truly elite talent in a young Kareem, the Bucks just destroyed everyone in their path that season in 1970-1971.






It is worth noting that Oscar lead teams regularly posted the #1 or #2 Offensive Rating in the league.

You failed to mention what happened the season after with a still absolutely stacked Bucks roster (don't forget young Dandridge and Allen)

[coastalmarker99]

You failed to mention what happened the season after with a still absolutely stacked Bucks roster (don't forget young Dandridge and Allen)


Oscar Robertson was playing through injury in 1972 and performed far below his usual standards as a result.


In the 1972 WCF against the Lakers he averaged 9/ 5/ 6/ on 40.2 TS).



The Bucks lost games in that series by 1, 3, and 4 points to the Lakers!



If Oscar is fully healthy the Bucks win those close ones and win the series.

In the Finals, the Lakers easily beat Knicks 4-1 to win the title (Reed was injured). So the Bucks would have likely won back to back titles.

[SouBeachTalents]

Speaking of Oscar, he just said this stupid shit

https://nba.nbcsports.com/2021/08/25/oscar-robertson-with-triple-double-average-russell-westbrook-shouldve-won-2021-nba-mvp/

[coastalmarker99]

Speaking of Oscar, he just said this stupid shit

https://nba.nbcsports.com/2021/08/25/oscar-robertson-with-triple-double-average-russell-westbrook-shouldve-won-2021-nba-mvp/



He said that because the more people obsess over triple-doubles the more his legacy improves.




Westbrook's stat-padding his way to triple-doubles has hurt Oscar's legend and mythical status.


As Westbrook averaging triple-doubles every year makes Big-O's feat more and more irrelevant and seem less impressive than it actually was.