Benjamin “Ossie” Schectman, credited with scoring the first bucket in NBA history as a member of the original Knicks in 1946, died Tuesday at age 94, the team announced.
Schectman played in the first game of the Basketball Association of America, between the New York Knicks and Toronto Huskies. The league would later become the NBA. The game, which was played on Nov. 1, 1946, had 7,090 fans in attendance.
Schectman's first bucket came on a Knicks fastbreak. Played like a drill found in basketball practices today, three players crossed halfcourt and lined up alongside each other, with Schectman in the middle, and passed back and forth until they reached the rim. Schectman made the final catch and scooped a bucket in off the backboard.
Schectman played 54 games with the Knicks and averaged 8.1 points and 2.0 assists, third in the league that year. Before joining the Knicks, Schectman was an All-American at Long Island University and led them to NIT championships in 1939 and 1941. Schectman also played for the Philadelphia Sphas in the American Basketball League.
His career ended long ago but that moment with the Knicks has lived on. Schectman has been honored over the years and named a member of the National Jewish Sports, Long Island University Athletic and New York City Basketball hall of fames.