David Robinson turned 44 today. My how the time has flown by. It seems like only yesterday that he was hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy in his chiseled arms to close out his career as a San Antonio Spur. Robinson is my favorite basketball player ever; the reason that I even like the Spurs to begin with. My first vivid memories of watching NBA players were in the summer of 1992 at the Olympics in Barcelona. I was amazed by David's size, agility, and skill. How could a man so large move so gracefully and shoot so well? Even at a young age, I knew he was far from normal. (It also didn't hurt that he wore #5 on the Dream Team, which was also my baseball number at the time, and my current number of choice for that reason.)
Despite being one of the best players in the history of the NBA, The Admiral's name doesn't come up much when people are discussing the best big men of all time. I could give you a laundry list of reasons why his name should come up, but I'll save you the time. Ok, I'll give you a few: he finished in the Top 10 in scoring 8 times, he led the league in total rebounds twice, he was in the Top 10 in blocks per game 11 times, his career Player Efficiency Rating is 4th all-time, he finished in the Top 10 in steals twice (as a big man!), he's the only American to win three medals in Olympic competition, and he's won two NBA titles. You know what, just look at his numbers here and pick out your favorite amazing stat.
To show you how dominant Mr. Robinson could be in any given game, I will give you my five favorite performances of #50's basketball life (in chronological order):
January 25, 1987 - Despite leading Navy, of all people, to the Elite 8 in 1986, Robinson was still looked at with skepticism by NBA scouts who were unsure of how he would perform against elite competition. Then he proceeded to waltz into Rupp Arena against mighty Kentucky and do the unbelievable. Yes, that's right; 45 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks. Amazing. Simply amazing.
February 17, 1994 - David Robinson didn't win the MVP in 1994 (he lost to Hakeem Olajuwon, but won the award in 1995), but possbily the best performance of his career took place that year against the Pistons. 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 blocks. Yep, you read that right, a quadruple-double. The most recent one the league has seen. Incredible.
April 24, 1994 - Needing a boat load of points to pass Shaquille O'Neal for the scoring title, Robinson was up to the task, scoring 71 points against the Clippers. Hitting 63% of his shots, David also found time to rebound 14 shots and dish out 5 assists. What a beast.
April 29, 2000 - With new stud Tim Duncan out for the series with a knee injury, San Antonio became more reliant on Robinson for offense than they'd been since Duncan was drafted. The Admiral responded admirably, scoring 23.5 ppg in the series loss against the Phoenix Suns. His 37 points and 13 rebounds in Game 3 showed everyone that Robinson was still capable of a great performance despite a bad back and 34 years of age.
June 15, 2003 - Even today, I get chills just thinking about this game. David Robinson's last game, appropriately finishing his career in San Antonio with his second championship. Yes, Tim Duncan's performance in that game (a near quadruple-double in the deciding game of the NBA Finals) was one for the ages, but Robinson scored 13 points and collected 17 rebounds, proving that even in his last hurrah, #50 was still better than most players will ever be.
I love you, David. Thanks for the memories; thanks for the class with which you handled yourself on and off the court; thanks for showing how a true sportsman should behave; and thanks for being my favorite basketball player ever.
~~ Lank
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