When you look in the rafters at Arco, you see 8 jerseys, retired there to honor the players who wore them. (And one to honor us - the fans.) In all fairness there is one number, however, that should stand out above all the others just as the man who wore it stood out from among his peers. That man is Oscar Robertson and he wore #14.
Robertson was born on Nov. 24, 1938, in a segregated housing project in Indianapolis. He learned to play basketball in the projects and, too poor to buy a basketball, practiced with tennis balls and makeshift balls made from rags wrapped with twine he tossed into a peach basket.
Robertson attended an all-black high school, Crispus Attucks. His skills in basketball were honed by Coach Ray Crowe, a man who made sure his players understood the basics of the game. Crowe managed to instill honor and respect for the game despite not even having a school gym for his team to compete in. And until Robertson was named Mr. Basketball for Indiana his senior year, no white schools would even play Crispus Attucks.
Crispus Attucks went 31-1 in 1955 and 31-0 in 1956 and won the state title both years. It was the first-ever state championship for an Indianapolis school but officials were so worried about how the all-black school might celebrate their victory they made them hold their victory part out of town.
After graduation, Oscar Robertson headed to the University of Cincinnati as the first black player on the the UC team. He set 14 NCAA records during his time there, even while dealing with off-court racism that meant he could not even stay in the same hotel as his white teammates until his junior year. He won the national scoring title three times, was an All-American and was named College Player of the Year. In his three varsity seasons at Cincinnati the Bearcats amassed a record of 79-9. He averaged 33.8 points per game during his collegiate career.
Robertson and Jerry West led the 1960 U.S. team to Olympic gold and headed to the NBA in the 1960 NBA draft. Robertson was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals as a territiorial pick. (At that time, teams could claim a local college player in exchange for giving up their first-round pick). West went to the Lakers as the first overall selection of the regular draft. Robertson signed a contract with the Royals for $33,000/year. Robertson, by now a 6'5" 210 guard, was on his way to setting records at a pace no one could have foreseen.
During his first year in the league, Robertson earned rookie of the year honors, and finished third in the league in scoring with 30.5 ppg. He went to the All-Star game (the first of 12 consecutive selections to the annual best of the best showing) and won the MVP award by scoring 23 points and setting a record with 14 assists, beating Bob Cousy's record by one assist. He also took the regular season assist record from Cousy by averaging 9.7 per game.
In 1961-62, Robertson averaged a triple-double (30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists) and led the Royals to the playoffs. Once again he led the league in assists and took another of Cousy's records with a total of 899 assists, while finishing fourth in FG% with 47.8%. The Royals failed to do much in the playoffs, however, losing in the first round to the Pistons 3-1.
In 1962-63, Robertson continued to show his skills. He nearly duplicated his triple-double average with 28.3 ppg, 10.4 rpg and 9.5 apg. The Royals headed to the playoffs again (they would end up going six consecutive seasons with Robertson). This time they got past the Syracuse Nationals in the first round only to lose in game 7 to the eventual title winners, the Boston Celtics.
In the mid-1960s, the great Celtics and 76ers teams were virtually unbeatable in the playoffs, which left the Royals perennial also-rans but the rivalries between Robertson, Cousy and Hal Greer of the Sixers are still talked about today by long-time basketball afficianados. It was the Robertson-Cousy rivalry, some say, that would lead to a shocking twist to Robertson's career within a few years.
In 63-64, Robertson truly became one of the league's most dominant players. He was named both the All-Star and regular season MVP and the Royals ended the year with a record of 55-25. Robertson was first in the league in assists (11.0) and free throw percentage (85.3%) and was second in the league in scoring with 31.4 ppg. His teammates were now Jack Twyman, Jerry Lucas, Wayne Embry and Adrian Smith and they had a new head coach, Jack McMahon. The Royals managed to get past the Sixers in the playoffs but lost to the Celtics in the division finals.
During his peak, Robertson played against some of the best to ever don sneakers, including Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Willis Reed and John Havlicek. From 1960 to 1968 Robertson was the ONLY player not named Chamberlain or Russell to win the MVP award. And only Chamberlain beat him out for the scoring title. Throughout the 60s, Robertson averaged at least 25 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. He was praised by coaches and players alike, many of whom referred to him as the best all-around player to ever play the game, an accolade that still stands today in the minds of many.
In 1969, the Royals had failed to make the playoffs two years in a row and attendance had slipped. Cincinnati signed Bob Cousy as their head coach and in an attempt to create excitement and lure fans back, the 41-year-old Cousy even put on a uniform and played in the backcourt with Robertson for seven games.
Just before the 70-71 seasons, the Royals shocked the NBA by trading Robertson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulk. If the Internet had existed then, there would have been no end to the shock and disbelief exhibited by the Royals fans. Rumors still managed to circle the basketball world at a lightning pace as fans tried to find a reason - any reason - to explain the action. It was widely held by many sports writers and fans that the trade was done by Cousy to get rid of Robertson because the town simply wasn't big enough for both of them and Cousy was already bitter about Robertson breaking so many of his (Cousy's) records. Royals fans were nearly inconsolable.
In Milwaukee, the 31-year-old Robertson joined Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) in the back court. Robertson put up very respectable averages of 19.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 81 games. Meanwhile, his teammate Alcindor captured the scoring title and MVP awards, leading the Bucks to a league-best record of 66-16.
The Bucks had it a lot easier in the playoffs than Robertson had experienced with the Royals. They beat the Warriors and the Lakers and headed to the NBA finals against the Baltimore Bullets. The Bucks swept the finals and Oscar Robertson finally had his title ring.
Robertson considered retirement but ended up playing three more years with the Bucks, helping them to achieve three more division titles. They failed to reach the finals in 1972 and 1973.
In 1974, the Bucks once again headed to the NBA Finals, facing Robertson's old nemesis, the Boston Celtics. Although the Celtics managed to eke out a 7-game win, the series was a classic with Alcindor winning game 6 in double-overtime with one of his miraculous sky-hook shots.
Robertson finished his NBA career in 1974, having redefined the position of guard and setting the stage for guards in the future such as Magic Johnson. The "Big O" set a standard that remains today as the yardstick by which all "all-around" players are measured, and justly so.
After his retirement, Robertson helped to build affordable housing in Indianapolis and devoted much of his life to speaking out against social injustice against minorities. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979 and is also a member of the Top 50 Greatest Players of All Time List.
Robertson's career statistics are:
...G ..... FG% ..... FT% .....Rebs .....RPG .....Asts .....APG .....Stls .....Blks .....Pts .....PPG
1040 ... .485 ..... .838 ......7804 .....7.5 ......9887 ......9.5 ......77....... 4 ....26,710 ..25.7
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