NBA, Pacers to honor basketball legend Oscar Robertson
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced on Thursday night that the league, in partnership with Pacers Sports & Entertainment, has commissioned a statue to honor basketball legend Oscar Robertson.
Robertson, who is a Naismith Hall of Famer and Crispus Attucks High School graduate, joined Silver on stage at NBA All-Star weekend’s “The Tip-Off” at Bicentennial Unity Plaza, which is where the announcement was made.
“Oscar Robertson’s legendary basketball journey began in Indianapolis where he led Crispus Attucks High School to the first state championship in the country won by an all-Black team,” Silver said in a news release. “We are thrilled to join the Pacers in commissioning a statue in recognition of Oscar’s extraordinary impact on the game and his hometown.”
That statue will be placed at Crispus Attucks and will be unveiled during a ceremony in 2025.
“It is important to immortalize the impacts Oscar has had on the court and well beyond the game of basketball, and this wonderful tribute will ensure generations to come can celebrate his remarkable legacy,” Rick Fuson, PS&E’s Chief Executive Officer, said in a news release.
Here is a look at some of the renderings of the statue:
Indianapolis artist Ryan Feeney has been commissioned to create the statue.
“It is an honor to have been chosen to sculpt a lasting tribute of the greatest basketball player ever to come from Indianapolis, Oscar Robertson,” Feeney said in a news release. “My hope is to make Mr. Robertson and the city of Indianapolis proud.”
Robertson was the first Indiana high school basketball player to ultimately be named an NBA All-Star. In fact, he was an NBA All-Star 12 times during his 14-year professional career.
Robertson won an NBA championship in 1971.
The Indiana native has an impressive list of career accomplishments, which includes what he did in high school. In 1955, he helped lead the Crispus Attucks Tigers to a state title. With the championship, the Tigers became the first all-Black team in the country to win a state championship. The Tigers would win the championship the following year as well.