Early life
David Robinson was born August 6, 1965 in Key West, Florida; the second child of Ambrose and Freda Robinson. Since Robinson's father was in the Navy, the family moved many times. After his father retired from the Navy, the family settled in Woodbridge, Virginia, where Robinson excelled in school and in most sports except basketball. He was 5 feet, 9 inches tall in junior high school so he tried his hand at basketball, but soon quit. Robinson attended Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C., where Robinson's father was working as an engineer after retiring from the Navy. By his senior year in high school he was 6 feet, 7 inches tall, but he had not played organized basketball. When the coach added the tall senior to the basketball team, Robinson earned all-area and all-district honors but generated little interest among college basketball coaches. Robinson scored a 1320 on the SAT, and he chose to go to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he majored in mathematics.
[edit] College basketball career and military service
Robinson is widely considered to be the best basketball player in U.S. Naval Academy history.[2] He chose the jersey number 50 after his idol Ralph Sampson. By the time he took the court in his first basketball game for the Navy Midshipmen men's basketball team, he had grown to 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and over the course of his college basketball career he grew to 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m).[3] In Robinson's final two years, he was a consensus All-American and won college basketball's two most prestigious player awards, the Naismith and Wooden Awards as a Naval Academy first classman (senior). Robinson played his first three years for the Midshipmen under Paul Evans (who left Navy to coach at Pitt) and under former University of Georgia interim Head Coach Pete Herrmann during his senior season. Upon graduation, he became eligible for the 1987 NBA Draft and was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the first overall pick; however, the Spurs had to wait two years before he could join them because he had to fulfill two years of duty with the Navy.At the Naval Academy, Robinson was an outstanding all-around athlete and chess player; during the physical tests that the Academy gives all incoming plebes he scored higher in gymnastics than anyone in his class. This was even more impressive due to his height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) at the time. To put this in perspective, virtually all male gymnasts are well under 6 ft (1.83 m) tall, and the service academies prohibit enrollment to anyone taller than 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m). However, the academies do not drop students who grow past this height limit after enrolling, which later benefited Robinson. During his college basketball career, several teammates and peers gave him the little-used nickname of "The Howler", due to Robinson's shouting at opposing players during critical shots.[4]
After graduating from the Naval Academy, Robinson became a civil engineering officer at the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia. The Navy excused him from three years of the normal five years of his military commitment following graduation from the Naval Academy. Nonetheless, Robinson continued to serve in a reserve role with the Navy and was regularly featured in recruiting materials for the service. Despite the nickname "Admiral", Robinson's actual rank upon fulfilling his service commitment was Lieutenant, Junior Grade.[5]
[edit] NBA career
Although there was speculation that Robinson might choose not to sign with the Spurs and to become a free agent once his Navy commitment ended,[6][7] Robinson decided in the end to come to San Antonio. Robinson joined the Spurs for the 1989–90 season, and led the Spurs to the greatest single season turnaround in NBA history at the time[8] (a record the Spurs themselves broke in 1997-98, after drafting Tim Duncan, which was then broken by the Boston Celtics in the 2007–08 NBA season). The Spurs went from 21–61[9] in the 1988–89 season to 56–26 in 1989–90, for a remarkable 35 game improvement. They advanced to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs where they lost in seven games to the eventual conference champion Portland Trail Blazers. Following the 1989–90 season, he was unanimously named the NBA rookie of the year, and subsequently Sega produced a game featuring him entitled David Robinson's Supreme Court.The Spurs made the playoffs seven more seasons in a row, but never advanced further than the Western Conference finals. Robinson also made the 1992 US Olympic Dream Team that won the gold medal in Barcelona. During the 1993–94 season, he became locked in a duel for the NBA scoring title with Shaquille O'Neal, scoring 71 points (breaking George Gervin's single-game franchise record of 63 on the final day of the 1977-78 NBA season) against the Los Angeles Clippers to win it.[10]
Robinson went on to win the MVP trophy in 1995, and in 1996 he was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.[11] Still, from 1991 to 1996, Robinson was thwarted in his quest to claim the one prize that had eluded him: an NBA title. During that span the Spurs were eliminated from the playoffs by the Warriors, Suns (twice), Jazz (twice), and Rockets. The loss against the Rockets was particularly painful for Robinson because it occurred in the Western Conference Finals with Robinson playing head-to-head against his chief rival, Hakeem Olajuwon. By his own admission, Robinson was outplayed by Olajuwon in the series, their only meetings in post-season play.
Early in the 1997 season, Robinson's dreams of becoming a champion seemed to vanish when he was seriously injured. Robinson hurt his back in the preseason. He did return to play, but six games later, suffered a broken foot in a home game against the Miami Heat, and ended up missing the rest of the regular season. As a result of the injury to Robinson and other key players, the Spurs finished the season with a dismal 20–62 record. However, his injury proved to be a blessing in disguise: due to their dismal record in 1997, the Spurs enjoyed the first pick in the next year's NBA draft, and with it they selected Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest University, who was, after a few years, the final key to Robinson's quest for an NBA title.
[edit] Champion
Before the start of the 1998–99 season, the NBA owners and the NBA commissioner David Stern locked out the NBA Players' Association to force negotiations on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. This lockout lasted for 202 days, well into the regular NBA season, before an agreement was finally reached. Thus, the NBA season began late on February 5, 1999, making it literally the 1999 NBA season. After playing a truncated 50-game season, the Spurs finished with an NBA-best record of 37–13, giving them the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.The Spurs blitzed through the first three rounds of the NBA playoffs, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, and Portland Trail Blazers by a combined record of 11–1. In the NBA finals, the combination of Robinson in the post and second-year, 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) Tim Duncan proved overpowering, the Spurs beat the underdog New York Knicks in five games to become the NBA champions for the first time. Duncan was named Finals MVP.[12]
[edit] Champion again
Robinson announced he would retire from basketball after the 2002–03 campaign.On June 15, 2003, in the finale to Robinson's career, the Spurs sealed another NBA title with an 88–77 victory over the New Jersey Nets in game six of the 2003 NBA Finals. Turning back the clock, Robinson scored 13 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in his final game for the Spurs. He and the year's regular season and NBA Finals MVP Tim Duncan shared Sports Illustrated magazine's 2003 Sportsmen of the Year award.
Robinson averaged 21.1 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game, 3.0 blocks per game, and 2.5 assists per game over 987 games in his NBA career. Also, he is one of only a very small group of players to have scored over 20,000 career points in the NBA, as well as being one of only four players to have recorded a quadruple-double[8] (with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks against the Detroit Pistons on February 17, 1994), and one of the only five players to record more than 70 points in a single game (with 71 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 24, 1994), only Elgin Baylor (71 points), Wilt Chamberlain (70, 72, 73×2, 78, 100 points), David Thompson (73 points), and Kobe Bryant (81 points) have scored more than 70 points.[13] Robinson is also noteworthy for his harmonious relationship with Tim Duncan. Sportswriter Chris Sheridan noted that it was rare for someone like Robinson to have welcomed and mentored Duncan as willingly as he did.[14]
[edit] USA career
David Robinson was a member of the United States men's national basketball team at the 1986 FIBA World Championship, the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1992 Summer Olympics, and the 1996 Summer Olympics. He won the gold medal at all games except the 1988 Summer Olympics, where he won a bronze medal.[edit] Career awards/accomplishments
His list of awards and accomplishments is long and include a number of records as well as sharing a number of distinctions with very few other luminaries of the game; for his on the court play, he was named among the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.- Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2009
- NBA Champion (1999, 2003)
- NBA MVP (1995)
- NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1992)
- NBA Rookie of the Year (1990)
- All-NBA First Team (1991, '92, '95, '96)
- All-NBA Second Team (1994, '98)
- All-NBA Third Team (1990, '93, 2000, '01)
- All-Defensive First Team (1991, '92, '95, '96)
- All-Defensive Second Team (1990, '93, '94, '98)
- 10-time NBA All-Star
- NBA Sportsmanship Award (2001)
- Fourth player ever to score 70+ in an NBA game
- 3-time Olympian (1988, '92, '96)
- One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996)
- Led NBA in Scoring (1993–94 season) - 29.8 ppg
- Led NBA in Rebounding (1990–91 season) - 13.0 rpg
- Led NBA in Blocked Shots (1991–92 season) - 4.49 bpg
- Holds record for most IBM Awards (1990, '91, '94, '95, '96)
- His 10,497 rebounds and 2,954 blocked shots are the most by any player wearing a San Antonio Spurs jersey, and his 20,790 points are second most only to George Gervin's 23,602. (Had only Gervin's NBA numbers been taken into account, Robinson would be #2 in this category (Tim Duncan currently the Spurs' NBA all-time leading scorer); Gervin scored 4,219 of his points while the franchise was in the American Basketball Association.)
- Gold Medal in 1986 FIBA World Championship.[15]
- Member of Dream Team #1 during Olympic Games at Barcelona.
- Elected to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 2008
- Ranked #25 in SLAM Magazine's 2009 revision of the top 50 greatest players of all time (published in the August 2009 issue)[16]
[edit] NBA career statistics
[edit] Career highs
[edit] 40 point games
Robinson scored 40 or more points 22 times in the regular season and once in the playoffs.Points | Opponent | Home/Away | Date | Minutes played | FGM | FGA | 3PM | 3PA | FTM | FTA | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | Los Angeles Clippers | Away | April 24, 1994 | 44 | 26 | 41 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 25 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 52 | Charlotte Hornets | Home | January 16, 1993 | 40 | 20 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 50 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Away | February 21, 1994 | 38 | 18 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 48 | Sacramento Kings | Home | March 19, 1994 | 45 | 17 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| 46 | Boston Celtics | Home | December 26, 1993 | 45 | 16 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 23 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 45 (2 OT) | New York Knicks | Away | December 10, 1995 | 52 | 15 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 19 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 44 | New Jersey Nets | Home | March 8, 1996 | 43 | 18 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 43 | Denver Nuggets | Home | November 7, 1990 | 34 | 16 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 43 | Orlando Magic | Home | January 10, 1991 | 41 | 14 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 43 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Home | November 9, 1993 | 41 | 14 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 19 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 43 | Dallas Mavericks | Home | January 15, 1995 | 42 | 18 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
[edit] Top shot-blocking efforts
| Occurred during rookie season | |
| Quadruple-double (fourth in NBA history) |
| Blocks | Opponent | Home/Away | Date | Minutes played | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Home | February 23, 1990 | 36 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
| 11 | Charlotte Hornets | Away | February 2, 1990 | 35 | 27 | 15 | 3 | 2 |
| 11 | Sacramento Kings | Home | December 28, 1990 | 35 | 27 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | Utah Jazz | Home | January 12, 1991 | 39 | 22 | 18 | 5 | 0 |
| 11 | Portland Trail Blazers | Home | February 4, 1992 | 45 | 23 | 14 | 3 | 1 |
| 10 (OT) | Los Angeles Lakers | Home | February 20, 1990 | 41 | 23 | 16 | 2 | 1 |
| 10 | Orlando Magic | Home | January 10, 1991 | 41 | 43 | 12 | 3 | 4 |
| 10 | Milwaukee Bucks | Home | November 10, 1992 | 43 | 29 | 9 | 5 | 5 |
| 10 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Home | November 9, 1993 | 41 | 43 | 11 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Detroit Pistons | Home | February 17, 1994 | 43 | 34 | 10 | 10 | 2 |
[edit] Regular season
| Stat | High | Opponent | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 71 | at Los Angeles Clippers | April 24, 1994 |
| Points, half (2nd) | 47 | at Los Angeles Clippers | April 24, 1994 |
| Points, quarter (4th) | 28 | at Los Angeles Clippers | April 24, 1994 |
| Field goal percentage | 10—11 (.909) | vs. Minnesota Timberwolves | November 20, 1991 |
| Field goal percentage | 18—21 (.857) | at Golden State Warriors | April 8, 1995 |
| Field goals made | 26 | at Los Angeles Clippers | April 24, 1994 |
| Field goal attempts | 41 | at Los Angeles Clippers | April 24, 1994 |
| Free throws made, none missed | 15—15 | vs. Orlando Magic | January 10, 1991 |
| Free throws made | 18 | at Los Angeles Clippers | April 24, 1994 |
| Free throws made | 18 | vs. Portland Trail Blazers | November 23, 1994 |
| Free throws made | 18 | at Golden State Warriors | March 12, 1996 |
| Free throws made | 18 | vs. Los Angeles Clippers | December 10, 1997 |
| Free throw attempts | 25 | at Los Angeles Clippers | April 24, 1994 |
| Rebounds | 24 | at Sacramento Kings | December 3, 1991 |
| Rebounds | 24 | vs. Golden State Warriors | February 27, 1992 |
| Offensive rebounds | 14 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | April 2, 1991 |
| Defensive rebounds | 19 | vs. New Jersey Nets | November 7, 1994 |
| Assists | 11 | vs. Utah Jazz | March 14, 1992 |
| Steals | 7 | vs. Houston Rockets | February 18, 2000 |
| Turnovers | 9 | at Golden State Warriors | March 14, 1991 |
| Turnovers | 9 | at Houston Rockets | February 21, 1995 |
| Minutes played | 53 (OT) | at Chicago Bulls | March 5, 1993 |
[edit] Playoffs
| Stat | High | Opponent | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 40 | vs. Phoenix Suns | April 28, 1996 |
| Field goal percentage | 8—8 (OT) | vs. Phoenix Suns | April 19, 2003 |
| Field goals made | 14 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | May 6, 1995 |
| Field goals made | 14 | at Los Angeles Lakers | May 12, 1995 |
| Field goals made | 14 | vs. Phoenix Suns | April 28, 1996 |
| Field goal attempts | 27 | at Los Angeles Lakers | May 12, 1995 |
| Field goal attempts | 27 | at Phoenix Suns | April 29, 2000 |
| Free throws made, none missed | 10—10 | vs. Golden State Warriors | April 27, 1991 |
| Free throws made, none missed | 10—10 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | May 8, 1995 |
| Free throws made | 18 | vs. Phoenix Suns | May 16, 1993 |
| Free throw attempts | 23 | vs. Phoenix Suns | May 16, 1993 |
| Rebounds | 22 | at Los Angeles Lakers | May 14, 1995 |
| Offensive rebounds | 10 | at Los Angeles Lakers | May 14, 1995 |
| Defensive rebounds | 17 | vs. Phoenix Suns | April 28, 1996 |
| Assists | 11 (OT) | vs. Portland Trail Blazers | May 7, 1993 |
| Steals | 4 | at Golden State Warriors | May 1, 1991 |
| Steals | 4 | at Houston Rockets | May 26, 1995 |
| Steals | 4 | at Houston Rockets | June 1, 1995 |
| Blocked shots | 8 | vs. Portland Trail Blazers | May 10, 1990 |
| Blocked shots | 8 | vs. Golden State Warriors | April 25, 1991 |
| Turnovers | 7 | thrice | thrice |
| Minutes played | 52 (OT) | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | May 16, 1995 |
[edit] NBA records
[edit] Regular season
Fourth (and most recent) player in NBA history to record a quadruple-double in a game: San Antonio Spurs (115) vs. Detroit Pistons (96), February 17, 1994- 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 blocked shots (and 2 steals) in 43 minutes
- Nate Thurmond, Alvin Robertson and Hakeem Olajuwon are the only other players to achieve this.
- Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson also achieved this. Kobe Bryant has achieved this since then.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the first player to achieve this.
- Hakeem Olajuwon led the league in blocks thrice, and in rebounding twice, but the closest he came to a scoring title was second place, both in 1994–95 (Shaquille O'Neal) and 1995–96 (Michael Jordan).
- Michael Jordan was the first player to achieve this.
- Hakeem Olajuwon won Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player during his career, but finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Jordan in 1984–85.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar achieved all of these except for Defensive Player of the Year, an award which did not exist for most of his career.
- Ranked first in blocks (4.49 bpg), fourth in rebounding (12.2 rpg) and fifth in steals (2.32 spg).
- Hakeem Olajuwon ranked first in rebounding, fourth in blocks and sixth in steals in 1988–89.
- Ranked seventh in scoring (23.2 ppg), fourth in rebounding (12.2 rpg), first in blocks (4.49 bpg), fifth in steals (2.32 spg) and seventh in field-goal percentage (.551)
- Cliff Hagan ranked fifth in field goal percentage, ninth in free throw percentage, fifth in scoring, tenth in rebounding and tenth in assists in 1959–60.
- Larry Bird ranked first in free throw percentage, fourth in three-point field goal percentage, fourth in scoring, seventh in rebounding and ninth in steals in 1985–86.
[edit] Playoffs
Highest field goal percentage, game (minimum 8 made): 1.000 (8—8), vs. Phoenix Suns, April 19, 2003 (OT)- Tied with many other players
- Broken by Dwight Howard on April 18, 2010
- Willie Anderson: 38 points
- Rod Strickland: 30 points
- Robinson: 30 points
[edit] All-Star
Personal fouls, quarter: 4 (1991)[edit] Ranks 2nd in NBA history
[edit] Regular season
Consecutive seasons leading the league in free throws made: 3 (1993–94—1995–96)- Trailing Karl Malone
Blocked shots by a rookie, season: 319 (1989–90)
- Trailing Manute Bol
- Trailing Manute Bol
- Trailing Hakeem Olajuwon
- Trailing Hakeem Olajuwon
- Only twelve players in NBA history have achieved this feat in the same season.
[edit] Playoffs
Blocked shots, half: 7, second half, vs. Golden State Warriors, April 25, 1991[edit] Ranks 3rd in NBA history
[edit] Regular season
Blocked shots by a rookie, game: 12, vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, February 23, 1990[edit] Playoffs
Blocked shots, game: 8, twice8, vs. Portland Trail Blazers, May 10, 1990
8, vs. Golden State Warriors, April 25, 1991
[edit] Ranks 4th in NBA history
[edit] Regular season
Points, half: 47, second half, at Los Angeles Clippers, April 24, 1994Highest average, blocked shots per game, career: 3.0 (2,954/987)
- Trailing Mark Eaton, Manute Bol and Hakeem Olajuwon
[edit] Playoffs
Blocked shots, game: 7, four times[edit] Ranks 5th in NBA history
[edit] Regular season
Blocked shots, career: 2,954Blocked shots, game: 12, vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, February 23, 1990
[edit] Playoffs
Blocked shots, career: 312[edit] Charitable efforts
In addition to his lengthy NBA career, Robinson is also remembered for his charitable work.In 1991, Robinson visited with fifth graders at Gates Elementary School in San Antonio and challenged them to finish school and go to college. He offered a $2,000 scholarship to everyone who did. In 1998, proving even better than his word, Robinson awarded $8,000 to each of those students who had completed his challenge. In perhaps his greatest civic and charitable achievement, David and his wife, Valerie, founded the Carver Academy in San Antonio, which opened its doors in September 2001. To date, the Robinsons have donated more than $11 million to the school.[17] In recognition of his philathropic efforts with the Carver Academy, Robinson received the Children's Champion Award from the charitable organization Children's Hunger Fund in 2010.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to charity, in March 2003, the NBA renamed its award for outstanding charitable efforts in honor of Robinson. Winners of the NBA's Community Assist Award receive the David Robinson Plaque, with the inscription "Following the standard set by NBA Legend David Robinson who improved the community piece by piece." The award is given out monthly by the league to recognize players for their charitable efforts.
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