Biography

Overview

Regarded as one of the top centers of his era, if not of all time, David "the Admiral" Robinson is a marvel of a basketball player and a respected figure off the court.

Robinson has spent his entire career with the Spurs.

Along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal, Robinson has staked his claim as one of the best centers in NBA history.

He's the only male basketball player to represent the United States in three Olympics, having done so in 1988, 1992 and 1996, and was chosen as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.

Robinson is one of two players – along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – to win a scoring title (1994), a rebounding title (1991) and a blocked shots title (1992).

In 1998-99 Robinson adjusted his game and focused more on setting up his teammates, rebounding and playing team defense. The result was the most effective Twin Towers (Robinson&Duncan) in NBA history and the NBA Title, he won another title in 2003.

Background

David Robinson was born in Key West, Florida on August 6, 1965.

You can tell a lot about what a professional athlete brings to his game by looking at his nickname, especially in basketball. Wilt Chamberlain was "The Stilt," Earvin Johnson "Magic," and Michael Jordan is "Air." - David Robinson is "The Admiral."

David's nickname comes from his days at the U.S. Naval Academy because of his ability to take charge on the court and lead his teammates to victory.

David is 7 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 250 pounds.  He wears a size 17 shoe. He scored a 1320 on the SAT College Board Exam and holds a B.A. in mathematics from the Naval Academy.

David only played one year of basketball in high school at Osbourn Park in Manassas, Virginia, before attending the Naval Academy. While at the Academy, he was an All-American in both his junior and senior seasons and was everyone's choice for College Player of the Year in 1987.

David is the first player in NCAA Division I history to finish with over 2,500 points and 1,300 rebounds while shooting over .600 percent from the field. He holds NCAA records for the most blocks in a single game, with 14 vs. UNC-Wilmington on 1/4/86, the most blocks in a single season, with 207, and the highest career blocks average, with 5.9.

David was selected as the number one NBA Draft pick in 1987 by the San Antonio Spurs, but  he was forced to sit out two seasons after graduation as he served in the Navy from June 1987 to May 1989 at Kings Bay, Georgia. Robinson signed a 10-year rookie deal, which is the longest in franchise history, that contract was later torn up in 1995 (George Gervin had an eight-year deal).

Some wondered how long it would take the 7 ft. 1 in. center to get his "sea legs" among a fleet of NBA heavyweights. But after he scored 26 points in a 109-92 victory over the New Jersey Nets his rookie year, one of the opposing guards remarked, "If he's still learning the game, I'd hate to see him when he knows it cold."

After playing with the Spurs for the 1989-90 season, David was voted Rookie of the Month for the entire 89-90 season which lead to his unanimous selection as Rookie of the Year, averaging 24.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 3.89 blocks and shooting .531 from the field. San Antonio had posted a 21-61 record in 1988-89, but in Robinson's rookie year the Spurs went 56-26 and captured the Midwest Division title. The 35-game improvement marked the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history.

In April 1994 Robinson scored 71 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on the last day of the season to win the NBA scoring title at 29.8 points per game. (Shaquille O'Neal, Orlando Magic, finished second at 29.3). 

The next year, 1994-95, Robinson averaged 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 3.23 blocks; paced the Spurs to the NBA's best record at 62-20; and won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. The Spurs advanced to the conference finals before losing to Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston Rockets, who went on to dispatch O'Neal and the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals.

In 1995 he signed a six year 66 million dollar contract.

In his fourteen NBA seasons he won a Rookie of the Year Award, a rebounding title, a scoring crown, a Most Valuable Player Award, a Defensive Player of the Year Award, ten All-Star selections, four selections to the All-NBA First Team and four selections to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.

Although back and foot injuries limited him to just six games in 1996-97, he bounced back to All-Star status in 1997-98, averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds a game and shooting better than 50 percent from the field -- something he has done in each of his healthy seasons. 

In 1998-99, he modified his game so that Tim Duncan could fully blossom, and the result was the most effective Twin Towers in NBA history and the Spurs' first NBA title.

David won the 2001 NBA Sportsmanship Award. On July 21, 2001 San Antonio re-signed David Robinson to a 2 year, $20 million contract.

After defeating Phoenix, the Lakers, Dallas and finally the New Jersey Nets in the Finals, San Antonio and David Robinson won their second NBA Title in 2003.

“David Robinson always has been and always will be synonymous with what is best about the Spurs and San Antonio,” said Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich. “His accomplishments and magnanimity through the years are much heralded but his qualities as a human being surpass even those. David finished his career with class, just as he began, and he’ll always be a member of the Spurs family.”

Robinson also has had a great impact in the community. He and wife Valerie committed $9 million to create The Carver Academy on San Antonio’s culturally diverse East Side. Designed to serve primarily low-income African-American and Hispanic families, the challenging academic program features small classes, leadership opportunities and a nurturing family-like atmosphere. The independent school officially opened on September 17, 2001, and when fully operational, will accommodate up to 290 students pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

Although Spurs fans will no longer be able to see Robinson on the basketball court, his legacy will live on throughout San Antonio. He has touched numerous lives during his tenure with the Spurs through such efforts as the David Robinson Foundation, Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood of Achievers, and now The Carver Academy.