Lost in the hype surrounding Russell Westbrook’s record breaking season is how great of a player Oscar Robertson truly was. Westbrook will finish this season with 42 triple doubles on the year, breaking the Big O’s record by 1 triple double. That is an incredible feat. I didn’t think that record could ever be broken. But it was and will most likely be the reason that Westbrook will win the MVP trophy for this season.
But please, don’t sleep on the Big “O”, Oscar Robertson and his amazing impact on the game of basketball. Keep in mind that he averaged 25.7 pts/7.5 rebounds/9.5 assists for his career!!! This is incredible especially considering that there was no 3 point line then, the game was more physical, and he endured a lot of vitriol because of racism. He led his high school to win back to back state championships, the first all Black high school to win the state championship in the United States! He won National Player of the Year Awards 3 times in college at Cincinnati.
His NBA career was phenomenal, as you can look at his stats and tell. I won’t bore you with listing all of his NBA accolades, but I do implore you to watch this video to educate yourself about how great of a player and a man Robertson truly was.
Perhaps his most important and longest lasting legacy points was the lawsuit that was filed against the NBA with him listed as the main plaintiff since he was president of their players association.
Click here to learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertson_v._National_Basketball_Ass%27n
We should celebrate Westbrook’s amazing season and enjoy his young career, but for the true fan, young and old, take a moment to either learn or remember how great Oscar Robertson truly was!