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RIO DE JANEIRO – The high-fives came from the man known as The Holy Hand – “Mão Santa” in Portuguese – of Brazil. Oscar Schmidt, the greatest basketball player this nation has ever produced and arguably the greatest from anywhere to never suit up in the NBA, is a 58-year-old fan of his national team these days. And after Brazil won its first game in these Olympics – on a miracle tip-in against Spain – Schmidt waited to greet every member of the team. A few were smothered in bear hugs, all came in contact with the right hand that produced the most points ever scored in the Olympic games.

“Of course they remember me,” Schmidt shouted, incredulously, when someone wondered if the players were aware of the high-scoring, straight-chucking game that sent him into the Hall of Fame three years ago.

During the Opening Ceremony of these games, Schmidt was introduced to fans at Maracanã and received a loud ovation that rivaled in length to that catwalk by supermodel Gisele Bundchen. Schmidt’s love for his country and the national team – which he led to five Olympic games from 1980 to 1996 – was so strong that he shunned overtures from the NBA because of a now-obsolete rule that prohibited its players from participating in international competitions.

View photos Brazilian basketball legend Oscar Schmidt is introduced prior to the 2013 Global Games. (Getty) More

At age 26, Schmidt declined playing for the New Jersey Nets after going in the sixth round of the 1984 draft. Instead, Schmidt elected to continue racking up his more than 49,000 points, across four countries, until he was 45. Had he decided to come to the NBA and tested his talents against the likes of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird, Schmidt is fairly confident in what he would have done.

“I would be top 10. Ever,” Schmidt said, waving his hand near his chest for inflection. “For sure. One guy can’t defend me. You need two. At least.”

Schmidt will forever be revered in this futebol-crazed but basketball-hugging country, but he is somewhat envious of this current Brazilian national team, which has a chance to play Olympic games on their home soil. “That was my dream to play a competition like that,” Schmidt said.

The thirst to wear a Brazil jersey over one with the NBA logo has at times put Schmidt at odds with current players with different dreams and opportunities who delicately tried to balance both responsibilities. When Schmidt was coming up, the riches that came from being in the league weren’t nearly as lucrative, nor were the risks that come from participating with the national team in the offseason. Even if the pride and love for country were always there, to Schmidt, bypassing a summer spent playing for Brazil was reason to question someone’s patriotism.

Fewer than three years ago, Nene and Leandro Barbosa were lustily booed in their homeland. The NBA brought the Global Games to South America for the first time in October 2013, as the Washington Wizards played the Chicago Bulls, but the love was nowhere to be found at HSBC Arena for two of the country’s best. It didn’t matter that Nene was the first player from Brazil to reach the NBA, or that Barbosa was second.

On that night, Schmidt made a late entrance and was given a standing ovation from the time he walked through the tunnel until he found his seat. He then stood to raise his hand as highlights on his career played on the jumbo screen and the crowd chanted, “Ole, ole, ole Oscar. Os-car! Os-car!”

For failing to play for the Brazilian national team earlier that summer, Nene, then a member of the Wizards, was jeered every time he touched the ball, and Barbosa, then a spectator in attendance in support of his friend, got panned when his image was shown in the arena. That Barbosa was recovering from a torn ACL and Nene was resting nagging foot and knee problems got them no sympathy. Schmidt’s harsh criticism of any player who didn’t share his no-excuse passion for the national team certainly fueled the emotions of the fans. “If you don’t want to play for national team, don’t talk about your country,” Schmidt said at the time.

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