Oscar Robertson Net Worth

What Is Oscar Robertson's Net Worth?

Oscar Robertson is an American retired professional basketball player who has a net worth of $300 thousand. Also known as "The Big O," Oscar Robertson was a standout player in high school and helped lead his school, Crispus Attucks, to a state championship in 1955. It was the first state championship won by an all-black school in the United States. He went on to be named Mr. Basketball in Indiana in 1956.

Robertson played college basketball for the University of Cincinnati, where he set multiple records but also had to deal with intense racism while on the road with the team. After graduating, Oscar played for the Cincinnati Royals from 1960 to 1970 and for the Milwaukee Bucks from 1970 to 1974. The point guard won every major basketball award possible during his fourteen-year career, including Rookie of the Year, NBA Most Valuable Player, and a 1971 NBA Championship.

Robertson was part of the teams that won gold medals at the 1959 Pan American Games and 1960 Olympic Games. He won the first two NCAA Division I Player of the Year Awards ever handed out, and in 1998, the honor was renamed the Oscar Robertson Trophy. He is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, FIBA Hall of Fame, and Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Off the court, Robertson made history by leading a legal fight that transformed professional basketball, paving the way for modern free agency. In recognition of his decades-long impact, he received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 2025 ESPYS for his role in advancing player rights and challenging the NBA's restrictive labor system.

Financial Problems

In 1981, Robertson founded a chemical distribution company called Orchem, which aimed to diversify his post-basketball business ventures. Though initially successful, the company struggled in later years and reportedly filed for bankruptcy around 2012.

By mid-2018, Robertson was facing serious financial difficulties. He owed approximately $200,000 in back property taxes and was saddled with $2.4 million in bank loans, much of it tied to a commercial property in Fairfield, Ohio, that had entered foreclosure proceedings. The financial strain prompted him to make the difficult decision to sell off some of his most prized basketball memorabilia.

In 2018, Robertson announced an auction that included his 1971 NBA Championship ring, his Basketball Hall of Fame ring and induction trophy, and all 12 of his NBA All-Star rings. The auction was intended to help pay down his debts and preserve some financial stability. It also served as a stark example of how even one of basketball's most accomplished players—whose career predated the massive salaries of the modern NBA—could face serious financial hardship in retirement.

These struggles stood in contrast to the wealth and security afforded to many of today's players, whose rights to free agency and higher salaries were made possible in large part due to Robertson's own labor activism decades earlier.

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Early Life

Oscar Robertson was born Oscar Palmer Robertson on November 24, 1938, in Charlotte, Tennessee. He grew up in poverty with his parents, Mazell and Bailey, and his brothers, Henry and Bailey Jr. When Oscar was around 18 months old, the family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where they lived in the Lockefield Gardens segregated housing project. His family was unable to afford a basketball, so Robertson practiced using tennis balls, rags bound with rubber bands, and a peach basket. He attended the all-black school Crispus Attucks High School, where he played for coach Ray Crowe and helped lead the team to a state championship win in 1955, making them the first all-black school in the U.S. to win a state championship. The team ended 1956 with a 31–0 record and won its second consecutive IHSAA Men's Basketball Championship, becoming the first Indiana team to have a perfect season. As a senior, Oscar averaged 24 points per game and was named Indiana Mr. Basketball. He chose to attend college at the University of Cincinnati.

College Career

While playing for the Cincinnati Bearcats, Robertson averaged 33.8 points per game and was named College Player of the Year and an All-American all three years. He was also the national scoring leader every year during college, and his 33.8 points per game average was the third-highest in college history. Oscar set more than a dozen NCAA records as well as 19 University of Cincinnati records. During his three seasons with the Bearcats, the team had a 79–9 overall record and played in the Final Four twice. Robertson dealt with racism during his college career, and he sometimes had to sleep in college dorms instead of hotels when the team traveled to segregated cities.

Professional Career

Oscar was selected by the Cincinnati Royals during the 1960 NBA draft as a territorial pick, and the team gave him a $33,000 signing bonus. He scored 21 points in his first NBA game, and in a November game against the Philadelphia Warriors, he scored 44 points, a then-career-high. Robertson averaged 30.5 points during his rookie season, and he was named NBA Rookie of the Year and was chosen for the All-NBA First Team and the All-Star Game. He would make the All-NBA First Team nine consecutive seasons and play in the All-Star Game 12 consecutive times. Robertson played for the Royals until 1970 and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 1964. He was the first NBA player to average a triple-double for a whole season, and he set a record for the highest amount of triple-doubles during the regular season (41). The Royals traded Oscar to the Milwaukee Bucks for the 1970–71 season, and the Bucks had a 66–16 record that season, a league best, and won the 1971 NBA Finals. He spent four seasons with the Bucks, and during the season after he retired, the team fell to last place in the Central Division. Robertson was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. ESPN ranked him #36 on its list of the best North American athletes of the 20th century. When Oscar was president of the NBA Players' Association, an antitrust suit, Robertson v. National Basketball Ass'n, was filed, and it led to reform of the NBA's draft and free agency rules as well as higher player salaries.

NBA Labor Legacy

In addition to his basketball accomplishments, Oscar Robertson played a pivotal role in transforming the NBA's labor landscape. As president of the NBA Players Association from 1965 to 1974, he spearheaded a landmark antitrust lawsuit—Robertson v. National Basketball Association—filed in 1970 to block a proposed NBA-ABA merger and challenge restrictive player contract practices. At the time, NBA teams held near-total control over players, even after their contracts expired.

Robertson faced backlash from team owners and even some fellow players, but he persisted. The case delayed the merger until 1976, when the league agreed to a settlement known as the Oscar Robertson Rule, which eliminated the reserve clause and introduced restricted free agency. This ruling laid the foundation for modern player mobility, salary growth, and collective bargaining rights—not just in the NBA, but in other leagues like the NFL and MLB.

In recognition of this groundbreaking contribution, Robertson received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 2025 ESPYS.

Career Highlights and Awards

• NBA Champion (1971)
• NBA Most Valuable Player (1964)
• 12× NBA All-Star (1961–1972)
• 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1961, 1964, 1969)
• NBA Rookie of the Year (1961)
• 9× All-NBA First Team (1961–1969)
• 2× All-NBA Second Team (1970, 1971)
• 6× NBA assists leader (1961, 1962, 1964–1966, 1969)
• First player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a full season
• Member of the NBA 35th, 50th, and 75th Anniversary Teams
• Mr. Basketball USA (1956)
• 2× Olympic gold medalist (1959 Pan American Games, 1960 Olympics)
• NCAA scoring champion (1958–1960)
• USBWA College Player of the Year (1959, 1960)
• Helms College Player of the Year (1959, 1960)
• Namesake of the "Oscar Robertson Trophy," awarded annually to the top NCAA men's player
• Inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, FIBA Hall of Fame, and College Basketball Hall of Fame
• Recipient of the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage (2025)

Personal Life

Oscar married Yvonne Crittenden on June 25, 1960, and they have welcomed three children together. In 1997, he donated a kidney to his daughter Tia, who suffered kidney failure as a result of lupus. Robertson subsequently became an honorary spokesman for the nonprofit health organization National Kidney Foundation. In 2007, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati, for his entrepreneurial and philanthropic efforts. Oscar is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity's Beta Eta chapter.

Real Estate

In 2003, Oscar and Yvonne paid $440,000 for a home in Cincinnati, Ohio. They sold this home in July 2019 for $995,000. Around the same time, a home in Orlando, Florida, was purchased for $650,000. Technically speaking, their daughter Mari is the only person listed on the deed, but this property has been Oscar and Yvonne's primary residence.

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