What position did Oscar Robertson play?

[Whoah10115]

Different people here have said different things, and I'm curious. From what I remember watching, he's a PG. But I've heard him talked about as a do-it-all SG from a time where the guard positions weren't so defined. I've also heard some refer to him as the first true point forward.



What do people think? Those who either watched in his time or those (like CavaliersFTW) who have done some extensive research on his game and maybe can give a definitive personal opinion.

[DStebb716]

quarterback

[Money 23]

Different people here have said different things, and I'm curious.

I've always wondered this myself ...

I've heard everything from PG, SG to SF.

[G-train]

He was a guard. At the time you played 2 guards, 2 forwards and a centre. Was no other distiction I believe.

[ShaqAttack3234]

It's true that positions weren't defined the same way, but if you defined them in today's terms then he'd have played both positions.

But for what it's worth, in most of his games that I've seen, he's playing point guard as much as Magic Johnson did, and by that, I mean he's handling the ball and setting up his teammates, but not necessarily always matched up with the other team's smaller guard, or lead guard. And lets be honest, Magic almost never matched up with actual point guards, so if Oscar isn't a point guard then Magic isn't.

By the way, Oscar has described himself as a point guard.

What's interesting is that Jerry West is always called a shooting guard, but there were seasons when his role was clearly as his team's point guard, in addition to being a scorer much like Oscar. West even played with a hall of fame shooting guard.

[TheFan]

im not an oldschool fan... but for the videos ive seen, he seems to be a combo guard, like wade.

[CavaliersFTW]

Different people here have said different things, and I'm curious. From what I remember watching, he's a PG. But I've heard him talked about as a do-it-all SG from a time where the guard positions weren't so defined. I've also heard some refer to him as the first true point forward.



What do people think? Those who either watched in his time or those (like CavaliersFTW) who have done some extensive research on his game and maybe can give a definitive personal opinion.

He was predominately a point guard to the point where it was almost exclusively his position despite his size - like Magic Johnson, though I've seen instances where (just to create a line up change) he was playing the forward position like in a game against the Celtics from the 1966 playoffs. That's the only exception I've seen though, even in superstar riddled all-star games it seems he is always his teams starting/closing quarterback/pointguard. Nobody was better on any team he ever played for (and perhaps nobody was better in the entire NBA league during his tenure) at bringing the ball up the court - keeping it protected - and directing the flow of the offense. He definitely never depended on someone else to pass it to him, the ball stayed in his hands throughout most of his career.

[Euroleague]

Shooting guard and point forward. The talk about him being a point guard is a myth.

[CavaliersFTW]

im not an oldschool fan... but for the videos ive seen, he seems to be a combo guard, like wade.

He was way more demanding of the ball than Wade, like - he screamed at his players if they didn't give him the ball immediately after a rebound. In all my footage of him it is almost exclusively him bringing the ball up the court on every play where he's in the game, and he's getting the ball passed back too him at the top of the key to reset any botched plays in half-court sets. Doesn't matter if it's all star games, playoff, or regular season - he seems much less combo/wade-like and much more stricly "point" IMO... He was on the ball throughout a game as much as say, Rajon Rondo (much more than Wade) the only thing that's less Rondo like and more Wade like is how often he shot the ball and carried some of the offensive load

[CavaliersFTW]

Shooting guard and point forward. The talk about him being a point guard is a myth.

please don't pretend to know about Oscar Robertson.

[Euroleague]

please don't pretend to know about Oscar Robertson.

Stop being an idiot. He was a primary ball handler, not a point guard. Those two things are not necessarily the same thing.

He was a primary ball handler, that played SG/SF.

You are full of shit if you are trying to dispute that here.

[CavaliersFTW]

Stop being an idiot. He was a primary ball handler, not a point guard. Those two things are not necessarily the same thing.

He was a primary ball handler, that played SG/SF.

You are full of shit if you are trying to dispute that here.

I've watched, studied, and have easy access to hours of footage of Oscar in action - you don't... yet I'm the one who's full of shit?

[Whoah10115]

I have to agree with ShaqAttack and Cavaliers FTW. That's how I've always seen him.



But I haven't watched an Oscar Robertson game or clip in a long time. I never really believed he was ever a 2guard, tho I've started to wonder about him as a point forward. He had more of a full-court game tho, from what I remember. And as someone already said, he was definitely one of the two guards.



So it's good to get some feedback.

[Euroleague]

I've watched, studied, and have easy access to hours of footage of Oscar in action - you don't... yet I'm the one who's full of shit?

Yes you are full of shit. He was playing same way as Bird, Pippen, LeBron, etc. Not "point guards", but guys that play a different position, but run the offense.

Meaning....yes, you are full of shit.

[CavaliersFTW]

Yes you are full of shit. He was playing same way as Bird, Pippen, LeBron, etc. Not "point guards", but guys that play a different position, but run the offense.

Meaning....yes, you are full of shit.

Yes you are full of shit. He was playing same way as Bird, Pippen, LeBron, etc. Not "point guards", but guys that play a different position, but run the offense.

Meaning....yes, you are full of shit.

What games have you watched?

I've watched (all multiple times):

1962 NBA all-star game (nearly complete)

1966 G4 NBA playoffs vs Celtics (2nd half)
1966 G5 NBA playoffs vs Celtics (in documentary form, game nearly complete)

1969 NBA All-star game (complete)

1971 Bucks vs Knicks playoff game

1972 NBA All-star game
1972 Bucks vs Lakers regular season game
1972 NBA vs ABA all-star game

and if I compressed all my documentaries and partial game highlights of the league into strictly Oscar plays / highlights I have an additional 30+ minutes of highlights of strictly him from every single season and type of game imaginable. In fact not only do I watch his games and highlights, I take the time to extract them in my video editor, which means I get even more exposure and focus on his plays than if I was just to ever casually watch a game - I literally see everything he's doing throughout games.

So what do I deduce from watching it all?:

He brings the ball up the court and has it in his hands deciding it's fate more than every single one of those players u just mentioned... His stats even reflect this in his higher assists count (in an era where u weren't given the assist when a player dribbled after receiving a pass)... He calls himself a point guard, not(ever) a forward... and others who played with him also have never once called him a forward and always call him a guard and sometimes more specifically, a point guard, not ever a shooting guard... Find a player he played against who calls him a forward or a shooting guard. Find me a game where he isn't bringing the ball up the court virtually every play that he's on the floor and determining everywhere that ball goes. The ball doesn't go anywhere without his permission, he is a point guard not a forward. Not a shooting guard. Go back to watching Euroleague games little lamb, you've strayed too far from your herd of Euro-sheep.