The NBA was once sued by Oscar Robertson for player contracts. He made it possible for LeBron James to sign a $64 million deal.
In the early years of the NBA, learning what worked and what didn’t was the main goal. Along with Jerry West and Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson was one of the numerous pioneers in the league at the time. The league’s top players make their voices heard on issues like getting players’ pension plans or uniting against pervasive discrimination.
A walk to the past.
Looking back at that time reveals a very clear difference between the league then and now in that particular area. Empowerment of the player was practically nonexistent. In the NBA at the time, there were two options for a player: either stay with a franchise for the whole of your career because they mandate it, or have no control over where you get traded.
One of the best basketball players of all time, Wilt Chamberlain, was traded twice during his playing career. Before winning his title in 1971, Oscar Robertson sued the NBA in the now-famous case known as “Robertson v. National Basketball Association” to change this.
Oscar Robertson accuses the NBA in a lawsuit.
Although Oscar Robertson gained headlines for a season in which he averaged a triple-double, his greatest contribution to basketball was made off the court. He sued the league in 1970 while serving as the president of the NBPA to increase player compensation, give players greater say over their future in the league, and other goals.
Ironically, he brought this antitrust case the same year he was dealt to the Bucks in a deal that also included Flynn Robinson. He refused to have players tied to teams indefinitely, even after their contracts expired, in his lawsuit, which paved the path for free agency in the NBA to be officially adopted in 1988.
The lawsuit was settled six years after the merger finally happened, in 1976, proving that The Big O’s plan to delay the NBA and ABA merger was successful.
As a result, Oscar Robertson is the one to thank for the careers of modern-day superstars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard.