It's Official -- David Robinson, Hall of Famer

[FromWayDowntown]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/David_Robinson_headed_to_Basketball_Hall_of_Fame.h tml

David Robinson headed to Basketball Hall of Fame
By Mike Monroe

David Robinson, the great center who helped the Spurs win two of their four championships and won two Olympic gold medals as a member of Team USA, has been informed he has been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who was known as “The Admiral” during his days with the Spurs, Robinson will be introduced as a member of the Hall’s Class of 2009 in ceremonies scheduled for Detroit on Monday.

Robinson’s inclusion in what figures to qualify as one of the greatest Hall of Fame classes ever was confirmed Thursday by sources connected with Monday’s announcement.

Robinson’s basketball accomplishments include 1987 College Player of the Year at Navy, four first-team All-NBA selections, the 1995 NBA MVP Award, two NBA titles, and two Olympic gold medals.

Also expected to be announced Monday as 2009 inductees, but not yet confirmed by the Express-News, are former Bulls star Michael Jordan, widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever, and former Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton, the NBA’s all-time assists leader. Both joined Robinson on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team known as the Dream Team, the first U.S. contingent that included NBA players.

Robinson won his first gold medal with the 1992 team at the Barcelona Olympics and added a second at the Atlanta Olympic games, in 1996. He was a member of the 1988 U.s. Olympic team that finished with the bronze medal in the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

[timvp]

Awesome :tu

[duncan228]

Nice. :toast

[spurschick]

Most excellent. :toast

[FromWayDowntown]

Not at all surprising; very, very well-deserved.

[CubanMustGo]

Nice guys can finish on top. Congrats, Big Dave.

[Gervin44Silas13]

Here's to You Mr. Robinson!!!!!!!!

Fuck you Karl Malone and your illegit kids
Fuck you Barkley and your drunk ass self

Dave rode off in the Sunset with TWO YES TWO RINGS!!!!!

It stings ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Melmart1]

:clap

[baseline bum]

Congrats, Five-Oh!

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/992/2099749.jpg

[ElNono]

http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/si_online/covers/images/1994/0307_large.jpg

[I Love Me Some Me]

One of the first Spurs whose career I was able to follow from start to finish. Very proud to be a fan of his.

[manufor3]

w00t

[CubanMustGo]

Oh, almost forgot this:

Hall of Fame, fucking naysayers who haunted DRob's entire career.

[sprrs]

Could use some good news around here all things considered.

Congrats to Dave, the reason I became a Spurs fan.:king

[Bukefal]

Wonderfull!!!

[calaway]

:toast:toast

[boutons_deux]

Congrats, Big Dave. 1000% deserved.

Amazing player, wonderful guy

Yep, at least something positive about the Spurs this week

[Spursmania]

What a class act Robinson was on and off the court. Here's to you Admiral.:toast

[benefactor]

Congrats Admiral.

[EricB]

Longest acceptence speech ever.

JK


Props to Five Oh.

Most well deserved.

[Rummpd]

David Robinson = his well deserved election to the Basketball Hall of Fame is just scratching the surface of the total value of this humanitarian, genius and all around great human being.

[Melmart1]

LEONARD should be pinked just for posting that shit in here. Have some respect for a better player than anyone that has ever been a Mav.

[xtremesteven33]

Epitome of a Role Model


:toast

[LEONARD]

LEONARD should be pinked just for posting that shit in here. Have some respect for a better player than anyone that has ever been a Mav.

Who cares about the Mavs...

Bird :king

http://www.gemzies.com/upload/page_thumb/gay.jpg

[Budkin]

The Admirial FTW!

http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/si_online/covers/images/2003/0623_large.jpg

[RobSM64]

It's about time...

Congratulations to the Admiral, he's the reason I became a spurs fan in the first place.

:toast

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

:toast

Here's to The Admiral! What an incredible man he is. :D

[tlongII]

Well deserved.

[dogzofwar]

LEONARD should be pinked just for posting that shit in here. Have some respect for a better player and person than anyone that has ever been a Mav.





Fixed

[Spurs Brazil]

Congrats Five-Oh!!!!!

[[email protected]]

Congatulations to the David Robinson who led the spurs to the nba final during his careers.
:flag::flag::danceclub:huddle::cheer:cheer

[Spurminator]

And with that, the legacy is complete. A perfect ending.

[caribbean_spur]

Congrats to Robinson! The reason I am a Spurs fan.

[sonic21]

congrats Drob!!

[silverblackfan]

Congratulations to David Robinson! Definitely one of the reasons I love the Spurs, but now more of a role model of what a man can achieve with his life. This just adds to the legend.

[Brazil]

Congrats to Robinson! The reason I am a Spurs fan.

[Thomas82]

One of the first Spurs whose career I was able to follow from start to finish. Very proud to be a fan of his.

+1

His rookie year was the year I became a Spurs fan (I was in the 4th grade then), and when I was in the 6th grade I had a Chalkline jacket with his picture on it. Those were the days.

[Mark in Austin]

congrats, Five - Oh!

[mogrovejo]

Very well deserved. Great player and a better man.

[lefty]

Wow

Robinson possibly inducted along with MJ and Stock :tu


Take that, Shaq and Kobe :ihit

[longtimelurker]

Congrats to Dave, the reason I became a Spurs fan.:king

+1

:lobt2::lobt2:

I only wish he could have had more than two...but I'm sure those were sweet for him.

[clubalien]

kidd to SA hmmm

[arodz]

Was there ever ANY doubt he'd be first ballad Hall of Famer?? But it sucks that it has to be with Jordan, cause Dave will get NO love during the ceremony. They'll all be slobbering over Jordan and the days leading up to it also.

[ulosturedge]

Mad respect and props for Dave! I salute you Mr.Admiral :toast

[samikeyp]

Was there ever ANY doubt he'd be first ballad Hall of Famer?? But it sucks that it has to be with Jordan, cause Dave will get NO love during the ceremony. They'll all be slobbering over Jordan and the days leading up to it also.

True but in some ways its fitting. Dave never sought the spotlight was was ok with others getting it.

The funny thing will be watching all the dumbasses who dogged him over the years kiss his butt now.

[TampaDude]

Congrats, DRob!!! You deserve it! You're the reason my wife and I are Spurs fans! :toast

[Hemotivo]

Well deserved.

[lefty]

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[whottt]

Was there ever ANY doubt he'd be first ballad Hall of Famer?? But it sucks that it has to be with Jordan, cause Dave will get NO love during the ceremony. They'll all be slobbering over Jordan and the days leading up to it also.

I don't really agree with all of that...yes they'll definitely slobber over Jordan, but the fact is more people will be paying attention to this induction than perhaps any other in history.

And IMHO, Robinson's stock in how he is viewed as a player is higher now than it was at the time of his retirment. The more statheads crunch DRob's numbers(including the impact he had on W-L) the more appreciated he will be.

[Joe Schmoogins]

He is the reason I'm a Spurs fan...

What a great ball player and phenomenal person.

WELL DONE DAVID, AND CONGRATULATIONS!

[sook]

The Admiral was a bit overrated, but proud of him nontheless, he deserves it

[whottt]

Props to the Admiral BTW...it's hard to believe it's been 5 years since he retired and 22 years since he was drafted.

He had a storybook career...very few HOF'ers go out as champions, and even fewer do it for the team that drafted them...David Robinson and Bill Russell are the only two to do so. David won his first game as a Spur and his last in game 6 of the finals(and he had a great game too), dethroning an evil dynasty along the way.

It just doesn't get any better than Drob's career...and no, if he had won more the ending wouldn't have been as sweet.

My favorite all time moment as a Spurfan was that game 6 where Drob walked off the court a champion. It just doesn't get any better than that.

[johnnyblues]

Fuck you Karl Malone and your illegit kids
Fuck you Barkley and your drunk ass self

:lmao

[lefty]

http://www.sicovers.com/data/default/images/catalog/medium/SPR19900129.jpg

http://www.sicovers.com/data/default/images/catalog/medium/SPR19940307.jpg

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http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/si_online/covers/images/1986/1119_large.jpg

[lefty]

It's about time...

Congratulations to the Admiral, he's the reason I became a spurs fan in the first place.

:toast

Me too

I didn't have a favorite team before.................... watching the 1992 Dream team, when I discovered him :wow

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2009/0307/nba_g_dreamteam_400.jpg

[celldweller]

:toast

[urunobili]

To the Admiral the one that made me and many people around the world Spurs fans leading by a class example ALL my respects and love... i will probably cry with the induction video... I feel he is a very important part of what made me who i am today and the role model i look for when i need to look somewhere...

and BTW for Monroe... he also is a FIBA World Champion

http://www.aolcdn.com/aolr/david-robinson-admiral-400-010907.jpg

[SenorSpur]

Big Dave and Sean were responsible for reawakening my Spurs spirit back in '89. After those dismal seasons in the mid 80's. Had it not been for David, the franchise would've likely relocated elsewhere.

Many congratulations to the man, the player, the humanitarian - the Admiral.

:toast :toast

[samikeyp]

Big Dave and Sean were responsible for reawakening my Spurs spirit back in '89. After those dismal seasons in the mid 80's. Had it not been for David, the franchise would've likely relocated elsewhere.

Many congratulations to the man, the player, the humanitarian - the Admiral.

:toast :toast

True. We Spurs fans dodged a bullet.

[SouthTexasRancher]

Congrats Dave, on your Hall of Fame career and all the awards that have come your way. You deserved everyone of them. You are a Class Act...!!!

[Lebowski Brickowski]

Congratulations to the Hall of Fame for having Mr. Robinson

[reddog 99]

"Your simply the best".........:toast

"There goes my hero"........... :toast

Congrats to you and thank you for becoming a SPUR and a true San Antonian!

[lefty]

Only U.S NBA player to be part of 3 Olympic Games

Gold Medal in 1986 FIBA World Championship.[

First player in NBA history to rank among the top five in rebounding, blocks and steals (per game) in a single season

Only player in NBA history to win the Rebounding, Blocked Shots, and Scoring Titles and Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and MVP

First player in NBA history to rank among the top five in rebounding, blocks and steals (per game) in a single season[6]

Fourth player ever to score 70+ in an NBA game

One of only four players to have recorded a quadruple-double

[YODA]

Congrats Dave, The only player ever to not have a single chink in his armor. Played great, was classy off the court and lives they style he portrays. first pro Athlete I ever saw who had no negatives in personality or past.
Can MJ say that? no
Stockton? No?
Anyone ever to play a pro sport? Im sure there has to be a few people, but I cant think of any.

Yoda

[lefty]

http://www.sportsposterwarehouse.com/catImages/dunkmore92nike-1.jpg

[duncan228]

Spurs' Robinson earns Hall entry (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Spurs_Robinson_earns_Hall_entry.html)
Mike Monroe and Tom Orsborn

David Robinson, the great center who helped the Spurs win two of their four championships, will be announced Monday as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The official announcement of the members of the hall's Class of 2009 will be made in Detroit, where Monday's NCAA championship game is to be played. Robinson's selection by the Hall of Fame's Honor Committee, a select panel of 24 voters, was confirmed Thursday by sources connected with the hall.

Others expected to make it are Michael Jordan and John Stockton.

Robinson retired from the Spurs after a 14-year career that didn't begin until age 24 because he served two years in the Navy following his 1987 graduation from the Naval Academy.

He ended his career in a blaze of glory. In his final game in silver and black, Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals, he scored 13 points and grabbed 17 rebounds against the New Jersey Nets as the Spurs secured their second NBA championship before a packed house at their new arena, then known as the SBC Center.

“Can you even dream of walking off the court with streamers flying and knowing this is the last time you're going to be on a court?” Robinson said in February, when he was announced as a hall finalist. “It was the prefect ending.”

Robinson will become just the second Spurs player in the Hall of Fame, preceded by George Gervin. A member of the hall's Class of 1996, Gervin called Robinson the foundation of a Spurs franchise that has been one of the NBA's best since Robinson arrived.

Robinson's basketball accomplishments include 1987 college player of the year at Navy, four first-team All-NBA selections, the 1995 NBA MVP Award, two NBA titles, and two Olympic gold medals.

In his 14 NBA seasons, all with the Spurs, the 7-foot-1 Robinson scored 20,790 points, grabbed 10,497 rebounds and blocked 2,954 shots.

As important as his basketball achievements were to the Spurs, his value to San Antonio is nearly impossible to measure. Without Robinson, former Spurs owner B.J. “Red” McCombs said, the team may not have remained in the Alamo City.

“He should be in our hearts forever,” McCombs said. “When he came here, we were at a crossroads with the Spurs, and he truly made the difference. He allowed us to compete, and we couldn't have (become champions) without him.”

Bob Bass, the Spurs' general manager who made Robinson the No. 1 overall pick in the 1987 draft, never regretted having to wait two years for a player he called “the fastest and best athlete at 7-foot that ever played.”

“He had great speed and quickness,” Bass said, “and he used that so well on the defensive end. I don't know that there has ever been a 7-footer who did the things he did — the way he ran and jumped.”

Injuries that cost Robinson all but six games of the 1996-97 season put the Spurs back in the NBA draft lottery. Good luck brought them the No. 1 overall pick, another big man who had been college player of the year.

Robinson realized early in Tim Duncan's rookie season that he had a championship-caliber teammate. Robinson ceded his role as the focus of the team's offense, accelerating Duncan's development.

“As good as Tim was, it was a no-brainer,” Robinson said. “To me, it wasn't a lessening of importance, and he still looked to me for leadership. But Tim is a phenomenal scorer and just a great presence in the paint.

“I didn't care how many points I scored, and it was obvious that first year that Tim didn't, either. That's when I knew he was going to be a truly great player.”

Duncan called Robinson's sacrifice a perfect example of his team-first approach to the game.

“I appreciate even more now, looking back, being able to walk into a situation where a proven guy like David and an unselfish teammate like him is there,” Duncan said after Robinson was announced as a Hall of Fame finalist. “I don't think there could have been a more perfect situation for me.”

The Admiral

• 7-foot-1 center from Navy was the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Spurs in 1987

• Averaged 21.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.9 blocks in 14 seasons, all with the Spurs (1989-2003)

• Won two NBA championships (1999 and 2003)

• Named the league's MVP in 1995

• Won the league's rebounding title in 1991, the blocked shots title in 1992 and the scoring title in 1994 (Robinson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only two players in NBA history to win each of the three titles)

• Played on three U.S. Olympic teams (1988, 1992 and 1996) and was a member of the 1992 “Dream Team,'' the first U.S. Olympic team to use NBA players

[Slippy]

Thanks for posting the articles, some nice quotes there.. Fantastic news.

Well Done Dave !!!

[Brutalis]

<3 Dave

Can't believe it's been 6 years since you hung it up. You have always been my hero.

What is truly amazing in my following of this team and franchise for my years is Robinson left and Duncan continued the dominance and then some. What better player could compliment another big in that franchise at their positions than Dave to Tim? How could one ever argue different given the facts that lay after his retirement? Now Tim is considered top 10 all time single player, and many lists would say top five and skill and accomplishment alone.

David took the Spurs to the top of the hill every year. He battled and often beat the best, and never had the backup it took to win the big game deep in the shallows. And came along Tim to deliver the knockout blow to claim stake in the league known as the NBA forever.

And I won't even talk about how David made his presence known in a league with Jordan, Bird, Magic, Thomas, Barkley, Ewing, Olajuwon, Stockton, Malone, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. Every freaking year, Robinson did. 71. Quad. Athletic freak plays. Now in the Hall of Fame. The end.

[DDS4]

How's this for the 1st year class....DRob, MJ, and Stockton.

[RashoFan]

Congratulations to David"The Admiral" Robinson! :toast
Hall of Famer to all us Spurs Fans for many a year, the world gets a class act for a Hall of Famer! Well deserved honour!

[dbreiden83080]

http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/si_online/covers/images/1986/1119_large.jpg

Awesome and Congrats to David.... :toast:toast:toast

[onarollbaby]

After reading all of these the more i miss watching the big fella. How i wish he was still playing for the Spurs. I can't help but imagine what IF Big Dave and TD played alongside from the start of their careers, similar to stockton's and malone's career. They could have terrorized the league for more than a decade and MJ would have lesser championships. :toast:toast:toast to David

[dbreiden83080]

Timmy will be joining the Admiral soon, no doubt but the day he retires they need to commission a statue/monument of both David and Timmy outside the Arena ..

[SpuronyourFace]

Sheer Awesomness!

The Admiral FTW!

[Admidave50]

Fantastic, Great news for Mr. Admiral!!

[crc21209]

One of my favorite players of all time. 5-0, Big Dave, well deserved :toast

[Toni61]

:toast to D-Rob congrats from Germany

[whottt]

Bob Bass, the Spurs' general manager who made Robinson the No. 1 overall pick in the 1987 draft, never regretted having to wait two years for a player he called “the fastest and best athlete at 7-foot that ever played.”

“He had great speed and quickness,” Bass said, “and he used that so well on the defensive end. I don't know that there has ever been a 7-footer who did the things he did — the way he ran and jumped.”



Bob Bass = gets it

You never really here anyone inside the NBA outside of Pat Riley acknowledge how phenomenal Robinson's speed and athletecism were.

It's like I've always said...that growth spurt he had where he grew like 7 inches in a year, it's like it happened so fast his body didn't have time to get slower as he got bigger, and he was literally a 7 footer with the speed and coordination of a fantastic athlete that was normal sized.

I mean he was pretty amazing athlete for a man that 6'4...he was gymanst, a naval gymanst and he scored the highest of any cadet in gymnastics...and he was 6'4.

6'4 is phenomenally huge for a gymnast, even a lousy one, but a good one? Those dudes are like 5'3 and stuff and the Admiral could do that stuff at 6'4, and then he grew 7 inches on top of it and retained the speed an athletecism.


You just really can't say it enough about what a freak he was. And I'm truly sorry for the numerous fans that have joined the fanbase since Robinson was in his prime that never actually got to see him in his prime. There was truly no one like him as an athlete.


David didn't spend tons of hours learning how to block shots and grab steals and rebound and pass...he just walked on the court and could do it because he was such an athletic freak. Even when he was old and broken down he still didn't move like a 7 footer. And yeah...a lot of players resented that about him I've always thought. But on a certain level everyone knew this dude was just a flat out freak.



The other great C's of the game? They were fantastic athletes for 7footers...David Robinson was a fantastic athlete for a 6 footer, who just so happened to be 7'1.

We won't see a 7'1 athlete like David Robinson for a long time, if ever again.

[whottt]

This is my favorite one...that's Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, in their primes that the Admiral is making look like a couple of sloths there:

CKVqpXl3M18&feature=related

Look at how fast that 7'1 250lb man is moving with a basketball.

I mean he just blows Scottie Pippen off the freaking court running with the ball and Scottie was a fast mofo.

Hell I'd like to see it side by side against Tony Parker...the Admiral wouldn't be trailing by much.

Look what he does to Scottie, it's like Scottie's not even the same species..and he was freaking fast. Jordan fares better but he's actually way ahead of Drob at the beginning with a fantastic angle of pursuit and he still has to kick it into highest gear, without the ball, to disrupt the Admiral with the ball...and he doesn't really disrupt the Admiral at all.

No one man really could...that's why they just fouled him, a lot, a whole hell of a lot, and still did even in his final year.

I remember a game in Drob's last season where Drob was isoed on Webber and put his move on Webber and it was like Webber was stuck in molasses or something. Drob was 3 steps to the basket before Webber even reacted And Webber was extremely quick and gifted for a bigman, and he was younger too. And Webber just bailed on the entire thing(sucked because I think it screwed up the Admiral's back and caused him to miss some games after that) and fouled him because it was no contest....which is pretty much everything there was to Robinson's offensive game and why he is so under-rated the havoc he wreaked on defenses. Too slow to guard that dude one on one...even the fast guys.

Bigmen didn't like guarding Drob...he made them look like stiffs. For them it was like having to guard a PG that was bigger than they were...


What made it even worse for them was that he was about as far away from the street personalitywise as you could get with this goody two shoes persona, yet if unimpeded and in the mood, he would dunk on them like they didn't belong on the same fucking court with him, like they were fucking punks.

Nasty effortless dunks that a goody two shoes should never ever ever ever be able to do in their eyes. And they resented him for it.


No wonder they used to dis him and refuse to give him credit for the freak talent that he was and the WINNING impact he made for his team just by stepping on the court.

And he wasn't soft either...soft players don't go to the Naval Academy and go through cadet training which is tougher than what enlisted men themselves have to go through, not to mention what those asshats were going to get at a traditional institution...

They also don't have their superstar careers end because of playing through hernias, in the Olympics, for free and gaurd Shaq in his prime with a back condition that leaves them unable to walk at times.

Of course they also don't lead the NBA in multiple times either.

[SpursPreacher]

THis is a long time coming and well deserved for Robinson. Proving all his critics wrong and show you can still win the right way. This could not have happened to a better guy.

[JudynTX]

http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/si_online/covers/images/1994/0307_large.jpg

:worthy::worthy: Congratulations David Robinson! You simply are the best!

[CubanMustGo]

New Spurs fans should never forget that DRob, due to his service commitment after the draft, could have easily told the Spurs to jump in the lake and signed with another team. It's hard to imagine any #1 pick with the option to sign with a big market team not doing exactly that. The Spurs had been struggling for years when Big Dave agreed to come play here. We weren't the Clippers, but it was getting close. In the six years immediately proceeding the appearance of 5-0 on the floor, SA was a .500 team only once (41-41, in 84-85). During Ens. Robinson's two years in the Navy, SA was a pathetic 52-122.

[alamo50]

And with that, the legacy is complete. A perfect ending.

:king

[lefty]

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[ShoogarBear]

He was just making some shots, blocking some blocks, winning some rings.

And the best part was, you never had to pick up the paper worried he was going to embarrass himself or his team.

[sananspursfan21]

the reason i'm a spurs fan today haha, if it weren't for him, i pry woulda picked the rockets or sonics or some stupid team