Oscar Robertson is a basketball icon for what he achieved on and off the court in the 1960s and ’70s. The 1971 NBA Champion is often considered one of the best point guards in NBA history, reaching his status by excelling on the court despite people trying to stop him from succeeding. Robertson shared an incredible story on the ‘All the Smoke’ podcast about the time the KKK threatened to shoot and kill him.
“We were playing the Dixie Classics, I get a telegram, says, ‘If you go out and play we’re going to shoot you.’ So I gave it to the coach. Later on that day, I get a knock on the door. Here’s a white kid from Alabama, some Alabama Fraternity, who had to come and get an autograph from me… I autographed it for him.”
“I was born in Tennessee, I never thought that much about the Klan to begin with. Where I lived, we had a lot of relatives. Although the whites and blacks were separate, there was no going out and hanging somebody… I never thought too much about the guys who’d threaten me. It wasn’t the only time I was threatened, by the way. It didn’t bother me. I just didn’t think anything about being shot, I just didn’t think they were gonna do it.”
Robertson entered the NBA in 1960 when the league was still in its infancy. The incident Oscar is describing likely took place in the 1950s when he was still playing for Cincinnati in the NCAA, as he got this threat before a Dixie Classics tournament, something that hasn’t been contested since 1961.
Robertson faced such threats to his life at a time before there was a nationwide awakening to grant civil rights to non-White American citizens as well. Though modern NBA players are still battling racism from fans and others, the only reason they can play fearless basketball is because players like Oscar and Bill Russell put their lives at risk by not being intimidated by characters like the KKK in the early days of the NBA.
Thankfully, Robertson never had to come face-to-face with the KKK. He always believed that the racist organization couldn’t hurt him, which is why he fearlessly kept on playing. As a result, Oscar’s 14-year NBA career helped him establish his name amongst the greatest guards to have ever stepped onto the court.
The NBA’s first triple-double machine, Robertson averaged 25.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists over his career. He spent a decade of his career with the Cincinnati Royals, who are now known as the Sacramento Kings. His biggest moment of success came after he was shockingly traded by GM Bob Cousy to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1970, teaming up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Robertson and Kareem would win their first NBA Championship in 1971, bringing a title to the city of Milwaukee for the first time in NBA history. He’s one of the most influential guards in NBA history, establishing records that modern-day guards are still trying to break.
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