Oscar Schmidt, the Brazilian basketball star who holds the record for the most points in a single Olympic basketball game, has died at the age of 68.
According to the Associated Press and other local media, Schmidt passed away on Monday. After retiring, Schmidt worked as a motivational speaker before being diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2011, which he battled until his death.
Born in 1958, Schmidt began his professional career at age 16 in 1974, playing in Brazilian and Italian leagues. Standing 203 centimeters tall, he was known for his strong three-point shooting. After being selected for the Brazilian national A team in 1977, Schmidt competed in five consecutive Olympics from the 1980 Moscow Games through the 1996 Atlanta Games, scoring a total of 1,093 points. He achieved this record even though Brazil failed to reach the semifinals in all five Olympics.
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he led his team to fifth place while averaging 42.3 points per game during the tournament. In 1984, he received an offer from the NBA's New Jersey Nets but declined, as joining the NBA would have prevented him from playing for the national team. At the 1987 Pan American Games final, he single-handedly scored 46 points to beat the United States 120-115.
Schmidt continued as an active player until 2003, scoring a career total of 49,737 points. He was also inducted into the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
