SAO PAULO — Oscar Schmidt, the Basketball Hall of Famer whom his Brazil compatriots know as the “Holy Hand,” died Friday. He was 68.

Schmidt’s family said in a statement that he fought a brain tumor for 15 years “with courage, dignity and resilience … while remaining a role model of determination, generosity and love of life.”

“Oscar leaves a legacy that transcends sport and inspires generations of athletes and admirers in Brazil and worldwide.”

Earlier, Hospital e Maternidade Municipal Santa Ana in the city of Santana de Parnaiba, outside metropolis Sao Paulo, said Schmidt’s family requested privacy without elaborating.

Schmidt never played in the NBA, but he’s beloved in Brazil for committing to the national team for 19 years and becoming one of the most prolific scorers in basketball history. He also starred in a historic win against the United States in the final of the 1987 Pan American Games.

“The biggest player of Brazilian basketball history bids farewell as an absolute symbol of sport, the holder of a trajectory that redefined the boundaries of what was possible in a court,” the Brazil Basketball Confederation said in a statement. “His death closes an era. But his greatness remains.”

Schmidt began his professional career in 1974 and most of it was at home and in Italy, where he became a childhood idol of future great Kobe Bryant.

In 1984, the NBA’s New Jersey Nets drafted Schmidt in the sixth round and he trained with them but declined a contract. At the time, NBA players were not allowed to play for national teams. Schmidt said he had no regrets at a hall of fame induction.

“I was the choice [No.] 144,” he said. His idol Larry Bird laughed next to him. “They came to offer me a no-cut contract to play for the New Jersey Nets. I said thank you very much but if I play one game here I will never again play for my national team.

“Three years later we beat the Americans here in the U.S. Sorry, that was the greatest thing I did in basketball.”

Bird released a statement Friday, saying: “I always admired Oscar and considered him a friend. He was, without a doubt, one of the greatest players to ever play the game. It was an honor of a lifetime when Oscar asked me to present him at his well deserved induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. My sincere condolences to Oscar’s family.”

Portland Trail Blazers coach Tiago Splitter and NBA champion Anderson Varejao, two Brazilians in the league, mourned Schmidt on their social media channels.

Standing 6-foot-8, Schmidt was a keen 3-point shooter in the 1980s when many coaches advised against it. That earned him the nickname “Mão Santa” (Holy Hand). Schmidt didn’t believe he was worthy of the tag.

“I don’t have a holy hand. I have a trained hand,” he used to say in interviews.

Schmidt debuted for Brazil at age 19 in 1977 and made 326 appearances, averaging 23.6 points per game.

He played in a record-tying five Olympics and four World Cups. He’s the all-time leading scorer in both tournaments. He still has seven of the 10 highest-scoring games in Olympic history and he holds the single-game records for points scored in the Olympics (55 vs. Spain in 1988) and World Cup (52 vs. Australia in 1990).

“More than results and medals, Oscar represented values that define the Olympic spirit; dedication, resilience and respect to the opponents,” Brazil’s Olympic committee said in a statement.

The 1987 Pan Am Games victory in Indianapolis marked the first time a U.S. team lost a major international tournament on home soil. Brazil won 120-115 and Schmidt led with 46 points.

Schmidt retired in 2003 at 45. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be the unofficial all-time highest scorer and his known tally of 49,737 points for club and country was eclipsed by LeBron James in 2024.

“For decades, he united the country around the courts with unforgettable shots and indisputable leadership,” Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on social media. “His dedication elevated the name of the country and made him an inspiration for generations of athletes and sports lovers.”

Schmidt was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2010, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.

After retirement, Schmidt became one of his country’s most popular motivational speakers. He often talked about his battle with the brain tumor diagnosed in 2011, his love for Brazil and basketball.

Schmidt is survived by his wife, Maria Cristina Victorino, whom he married in 1981, and two children. One of them, Filipe, spoke about his father’s death on social media.

“Now you rest in peace, dad. You are in the hall of fame of life,” he said.

WNBA star Angel Reese spoke out about her recent departure from the Chicago Sky during her first news conference with the Atlanta Dream on Friday after she was traded from Chicago to Atlanta earlier this month.

“I’m always gonna be grateful for that because I did experience a lot of great things,” Reese said Friday of her time in Chicago. “I enjoyed being able to grow within my first two years, but I wanted more. I love to win, I love to compete and I wanted to be surrounded by people that can make me better.

“And I am not satisfied with what I am as a player, and I felt like being around these kinds of players would help me be better. I can help them in different ways to help them win, and that’s all I ever wanted. 

“I don’t care about anything else that comes with it. I want to win and being able to come to an organization that really cared about their players.”

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The Dream acquired Reese from the Sky April 6 in exhange for first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028. Atlanta also received the right to swap second-round picks with Chicago in 2028.

One of the WNBA’s most recognizable stars, Reese led the league in rebounds in each of her two seasons with the Sky.

Reese is known in mainstream pop culture as one of the WNBA’s most polarizing players due to her ongoing rivalry with women’s basketball phenom Caitlin Clark.

There has been suspected tension between Clark and Reese dating back to their meeting in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball championship game.

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Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese gestures toward the crowd after scoring during the second half against the Los Angeles Sparks June 29, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Jessie Alcheh/AP)

Reese taunted Clark by pointing to her ring finger during the game, prompting outrage and sparking an ongoing feud between fans. 

Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes got revenge on Reese’s LSU Tigers a year later in the Elite Eight, but the tension hit a whole new level when the players reached the pros for their rookie WNBA seasons.

In their first WNBA season in 2024, Clark took a series of questionable fouls from Reese’s Sky throughout the 2024 season, including one from Reese June 16. 

In 2025, the two had a heated exchange after Reese pushed Fever forward Natasha Howard in the back as she grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by teammate Rebecca Allen. Reese brought the ball low, and Clark fouled her before she went up for a shot. Reese fell to the ground.

Reese got up from the floor and got into the face of Clark.

Referees reviewed the play and determined Clark used her left hand to shove Reese to the floor. They upgraded the personal foul on Clark to a flagrant foul. And Reese and Aliyah Boston of the Fever were issued technical fouls.

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Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) reacts to a flagrant foul from Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) May 17, 2025, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (IMAGN Syndication/The Indianapolis Star)

When the two played as teammates at the FIBA World Cup qualifiers qualifiers in March, Clark ignored Reese’s gesture for a high-five during a game.

Now with Clark’s Indiana Fever contending for a championship in 2026, Reese’s Dream could prove to be a legitimate challenger.

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