Oscar Schmidt: 'I would be one of the best 10 ever'
Hall of Fame inductee Oscar Schmidt thinks he would've been one of the best 10 NBA players ever if he had played in the league.
That's right. Not just top 10 at the time but top 10 ever.
"Yes," Schmidt said ahead of his induction over the weekend. "Anytime. It was easier, because in the NBA at that time it was one-on-one, always. One-on-one, I'm free. If it comes to two players guarding me, maybe. I would be one of the best 10 ever.
Schmidt played in five Olympics for Brazil, led the shocking upset of the United States in the championship of the 1987 Pan-American Games in Indianapolis, and also played in Italy.
However, after being drafted by the Nets in 1984, he chose not to play in the NBA as signing with a team at that time meant being ineligible for Brazil's national team. It was a trade-off he wasn't ready to make. When those rules were changed to allow the Dream Team to participate in the 1992 Olympics, Schmidt was already 34.
And if his statement about the top 10 wasn't staggering enough, Schmidt also believes he would have put up record-breaking numbers.
"One point a minute. Twenty minutes, 20 points. Forty minutes, maybe 60. Did you see me play?"