Farewell to Oscar Schmidt: Basketball's "Holy Hand" has passed away at 68.

Sao Paulo – The basketball world has lost one of its greatest and most beloved sons. Oscar Schmidt, an absolute legend of world basketball and an undisputed idol in Italy, has died at the age of 68.

For fifteen years, he had been fighting a brain tumor with extraordinary courage. In the last few hours, he had been rushed to the Santa Ana Municipal Hospital in Santana de Parnaíba (in the state of São Paulo) following a fatal illness.

The last battle and the memory of the son

The news, reported by local media, immediately spread worldwide. The funeral will be held strictly privately, reserved for the family. Just a few weeks ago, in early April, his condition prevented him from personally accepting a tribute from the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC), which was received in his stead by his son Felipe.

And it was Felipe himself, via social media, who dedicated the most touching tribute to his father: "As a son, I just have to say: Dad, I will miss you. I will honor everything you taught me about being a man and I will try to be at least 10% of the human being you were. You were an example to me in life, and I will never, ever forget you."

The “Holy Hand” and the Olympic myth

Standing 2,05 m tall and weighing 110 kg, Oscar was known globally as the Mão Santa ("Holy Hand") due to his almost supernatural shooting accuracy. His achievements in the green and gold jersey are unmatched: he won three South American championships, a gold medal at the Pan American Games, and a bronze medal at the 1978 World Championships.

However, it was at the Olympics that he made history. Holding the Brazilian record for participation (five consecutive editions), he remains the only athlete in the history of the Games to have surpassed the 1.000-point mark. The magnitude of his global impact is evidenced by an extraordinary record: in addition to being inducted into the FIBA ​​Hall of Fame, he is the only Brazilian—and one of the very few in the world—to be inducted into the prestigious NBA Hall of Fame, despite never having played in the North American league.

The eternal bond with Italy and "his" Caserta

For Italy, Oscar Schmidt has never been just a foreign player. An absolute star and undisputed symbol of Juvecaserta, the Brazilian has left an indelible mark on our league. With 13.957 points scored, he is currently the top-scoring foreign player in Italy, averaging an unreal 34,6 points per game, with peaks exceeding 60 in a single game.

The statistics confirm his uniqueness: among basketball players with at least 100 appearances in the Italian league, Oscar is the player who has surpassed 50 points in a single game the most. He has achieved this 28 times in 403 games played (about 7%), surpassing other legends like Dražen Dalipagić and Joe Bryant.

His love for Caserta went far beyond the playing field. The Campania club had long since retired his iconic number 18 jersey, and in 2016, the entire city embraced him, granting him honorary citizenship. Today, it's not just Brazil that mourns him, but also the Italian basketball community that he himself, with his Mão Santa, had made fall in love with.