David Robinson

“The Admiral” David Robinson was one of the greatest NBA centers of all time. His effort on the court could only exceeded by his hard work off the court in what he gave to charities in the San Antonio, Texas area. 

David Robinson was drafted with the first overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft, but his career didn’t start until 1989 because he was enlisted in the Navy (hence the nickname, “The Admiral”). David Robinson played his entire 15 year career with one team: the San Antonio Spurs.  

Of his many accomplishments, David Robinson was a two-time NBA Champion with the Spurs (1999, 2003) and won league MVP honors in 1995. He was also a 10-time NBA All-Star and won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1992. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1990 and was All-NBA First Team for the years 1991, ’92, ’95 and ’96. 

For his career, David Robinson scored 20,790 points, nabbed 10,497 rebounds and had 2,954 blocked shots. David Robinson’s career mark for rebounds and blocked shots are the most by any player in San Antonio Spurs history, and his career points number is second most behind only George Gervin’s 23,602.  

David Robinson also led the NBA in scoring with a 29.8 mark in the 1993-94 season and led the league in rebounding in the 1990-91 season with 13.0 rebounds per game. In the 1991-92 season, David Robinson led the league in blocked shots with 4.49 blocks per game. 

As previously noted, David Robinson’s charitable efforts also contribute to him being such a well-liked player. In 1991, he visited with fifth graders at Gates Elementary School in San Antonio and offered a $2,000 scholarship to every student that finished school and went to college. In 1998, he upped the award to $8,000 and to date, David Robinson’s family has donated more than $11 million to the school, which is believed to be the largest contribution ever made by a professional athlete. 

Some of the criticisms of David Robinson’s style of play was that he was “too soft” for the center position. Considering his accomplishments, that claim is laughable. While he might not have been as aggressive as other NBA centers, David Robinson was one of the best to play the game of basketball and one of the greatest San Antonio Spurs players of all time.