Olympics Basketball Legend Dead at 68 Was Kobe Bryant's Hero

The longtime professional men's basketball standout who died this week was Kobe Bryant's hero.

Oscar Schmidt, one of the top men's basketball international players of all-time, passed away this week. He was 68 years old. Schmidt was the greatest scorer in Brazil men's basketball history and a Summer Olympics star.

Schmidt is considered one of the top scorers in the game's history.

"He represented Brazil in five consecutive Olympic Games from 1980 to 1996, tying the record for most appearances. Along the way, Schmidt became the all-time leading scorer in Olympic history, surpassing 1,000 total points," BasketNews.com reported.

"His scoring dominance was unmatched on the biggest stage. Schmidt led the Olympics in scoring in 1988 with an incredible 42.3 points per game and finished as the top scorer again in 1992 and 1996. To this day, he still holds seven of the top 10 highest-scoring games in Olympic history."

The longtime men's basketball star was Kobe Bryant's hero.

Bryant, whose dad played overseas, grew up around the international game. He was a long admirer of the Brazilian basketball star.

The late Kobe Bryant was a huge fan

Bryant grew up "idolizing" the Brazilian basketball star.

"Kobe Bryant grew up in Italy idolizing the great Oscar Schmidt. I still remember watching the two interact after a USA practice during the 2012 London Olympics. Two bonafide scorers sharing a laugh. If you get the chance listen to Oscar's Hall of Fame speech. It's excellent. RIP," Frank Isola shared.

May he rest in peace.

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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 6:02 AM.