Oscar Benjamin "Ossie" Schectman was an American professional basketball player. He is credited with having scored the first basket in the Basketball Association of America, which would later become the National Basketball Association. '
He was made a member of theNational Jewish Sports Hall of Famein 1998and the Long Island University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. He was also inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.Schectman appeared in the 2008 documentary filmThe First Basket.
On April 27, 2013, Schectman gave his very last autograph to young NBA fans who came to visit him in his home for the elderly in New City, New York. At the time of the visit Schechtman was watching the triple-overtime Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff series between the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets.
