Is David Robinson underrated?

[apalisoc_9]

Been reading different forums the last few days and it seems consensus he was not a top 5 player in the 90s. Not that he wasnt a top 5 player at some point but just in totality.

Jordan
Hakeem
Malone
Chuck
Shaq

seems to be the consensus.


And Now In the alltime ranking list most fans rank Kawhi, Curry and wade over him too in the greatest players ever list

[lefty]

Massively overrated tbh

[lmbebo]

Been reading different forums the last few days and it seems consensus he was not a top 5 player in the 90s. Not that he wasnt a top 5 player at some point but just in totality.

Jordan
Hakeem
Malone
Chuck
Shaq

seems to be the consensus.


And Now In the alltime ranking list most fans rank Kawhi, Curry and wade over him too in the greatest players ever list

for 90s, I'd personally rank him above Chuck and Malone. Close to Shaq, behind Hakeen and Jordan.

Better than Wade and Kwahi.

[Frenchfred]

If you use the same logic as the Pop haters, Robinson didn’t win anything until he had Duncan so he is overrated.

[Rummpd]

5th all time PER and a great defender - yes he is underrated- has a terribly supporting cast most of career. https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/per_career.html

[tbdog]

DR in this era would probably be better than TD. DR now would be like the Greek Freak, but taller, bigger, and a better mid range, with better interior defense and weakside blocking. My god.

[SpursDynasty85]

DR in this era would probably be better than TD. DR now would be like the Greek Freak, but taller, bigger, and a better mid range, with better interior defense and weakside blocking. My god.

Never in any era would Drob be better than Duncan. Duncan was not only individually way more skilled but also was much better at making his teammates better and I would argue he was slightly better at defense too because of it. DRob might've had better numbers but in the playoffs Duncan would always be the goto.

[Phenomanul]

5th all time PER and a great defender - yes he is underrated- has a terribly supporting cast most of career. https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/per_career.html

And that's only because it averages in the last 4 years of his career in which he was playing with a herniated lumbar disc.

[ducks]

Duncan supporting cast was way better so it was easier to make them better then David Robinson
Duncan did not win without David or manu or Parker or Leonard

[Arcadian]

David Robinson was the 3rd best player of the 90s. Shaq didn't surpass him until 2000, and anyone who thinks Karl Malone or Barkley were better is a dumbass.

[NickiRasgo]

Maybe not underrated but under appreciated?

[spurraider21]

glorified because he was somebody in san antonio that was actually in great shape

[Kevin]

Robinson had a three year stretch were he was prime LeBron/MJ good.

From 1993-96 he averaged 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3 blocks, and 1.6 steals per game. His PER during this stint was 29 with an average BPM of 9.5.

[Phenomanul]

David Robinson was the 3rd best player of the 90s. Shaq didn't surpass him until 2000, and anyone who thinks Karl Malone or Barkley were better is a dumbass.

For those keeping tabs...

Michael Jordan
Hakeem Olajuwon
David Robinson
Shaquille O'Neal
Charles Barkley
Karl Malone
Scottie Pippen
Patrick Ewing
John Stockton
Reggie Miller

Were statistically the best players that played at least 8 seasons during the 90's.

[Phenomanul]

When he played, the Admiral never ranked lower than 6th for an entire NBA season. David Robinson's end of year PER, by year during the 90's:

Season '89-'90 --- NBA Rank (5th) --- PER (26.35) Rookie Season*
Season '90-'91 --- NBA Rank (3rd) --- PER (27.43)
Season '91-'92 --- NBA Rank (2nd) --- PER (27.51)
Season '92-'93 --- NBA Rank (6th) --- PER (24.19) (Red McCombs sells away most of the team's depth)
Season '93-'94 --- NBA Rank (1st) --- PER (30.66)
Season '94-'95 --- NBA Rank (1st) --- PER (29.13)
Season '95-'96 --- NBA Rank (1st) --- PER (29.41)
Season '96-'97 --- Broken foot after 6 games missed most of the season
Season '97-'98 --- NBA Rank (3rd) --- PER (27.85) [for comparison Tim Duncan - 22.63]
Season '98-'99 --- NBA Rank (3rd) --- PER (24.91) [for comparison Tim Duncan - 23.21]
Season '99-'00 --- NBA Rank (5th) --- PER (24.55) [for comparison Tim Duncan - 24.78]

[Bynumite]

He's in that Harden/Westbrook player tier.

Regular season stat-padder who routinely got exposed and choked in the playoffs.

[Prime BEEF]

David Robinson was the 3rd best player of the 90s. Shaq didn't surpass him until 2000, and anyone who thinks Karl Malone or Barkley were better is a dumbass.
Yes definitely agree

[Prime BEEF]

Robinson had a three year stretch were he was prime LeBron/MJ good.

From 1993-96 he averaged 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3 blocks, and 1.6 steals per game. His PER during this stint was 29 with an average BPM of 9.5.

MVP voting:
1989-6th
1990-6th
1991-3rd
1992-3rd
1993-6th
1994-2nd
1995-1st
1996-2nd

During the Jordan era with tons of hall of famers, Robinson was an elite player and no worse than top 6 player in any one season during that 8yr run

[Prime BEEF]

Never in any era would Drob be better than Duncan. Duncan was not only individually way more skilled but also was much better at making his teammates better and I would argue he was slightly better at defense too because of it. DRob might've had better numbers but in the playoffs Duncan would always be the goto.

This is just ridiculous. Why does every conversation about Robinson always end up with comparing him to Duncan?

Proceeds to compare the 2:
duncan was not individually more skilled, they were both elite and did it with very different styles. That’s why they complemented each other well. Robinson was a freak athlete that also possessed tons of skill. Duncan wasn’t an elite athlete but he had size, skill and phenomenal “old man” game. Meaning he knew how to max all of his strengths while expending as little energy as possible. Which is why he played so much longer. It’s like comparing Wilt to Kareem. Wilt be drob (although drob had better individual b-ball skill) and Duncan being Kareem (smooth, smart, longevity)

[spurraider21]

This is just ridiculous. Why does every conversation about Robinson always end up with comparing him to Duncan?
yeah i cant think of any good reasons

[lefty]

glorified because he was somebody in san antonio that was actually in great shape

:lol

[Maddog]

He's in that Harden/Westbrook player tier.

Regular season stat-padder who routinely got exposed and choked in the playoffs.

Exposed in the playoffs?
I think lack of support allowed teams to focus on him.
I admit I'm biased, but definitely underrated.

He was so unique it took two different coaches to figure out how to use him. Way too thin in the lower body to be a traditional post up player Lucas had him face up using his height and athleticism.
Pop with a switching D utilized his strengths better defensively.

[TimmyBuckets]

Been reading different forums the last few days and it seems consensus he was not a top 5 player in the 90s. Not that he wasnt a top 5 player at some point but just in totality.

Jordan
Hakeem
Malone
Chuck
Shaq

seems to be the consensus.


And Now In the alltime ranking list most fans rank Kawhi, Curry and wade over him too in the greatest players ever list

1. Chuck lmao
2 kawhitter lmao

[Admiral]

He was easily a top player in the 90s. People who don't think so must not have been around then.

David was elite at both ends of the court, and he also made his teammates better. The problem is that he didn't have a very good collection of teammates most years. Unlike Jordan, Olajuwon, Malone, etc., he never played with another superstar during his prime. Rodman was a great rebounder, but was a liability on both ends of the floor and is the main reason we lost to Houston in the 1995 WCF. Sean Elliott was a two time All-Star, and had some good seasons, but was not the second superstar needed to complement the primary superstar (like Jordan had with Pippen, Olajuwon had with Drexler, Duncan had with Parker, etc.).

It's really amazing that the Spurs were a contender during the first 8 years of David's career, considering the supporting cast David had. It's a testament to his talent and leadership abilities that we were winning 50-60 games all those years.

[apalisoc_9]

He's in that Harden/Westbrook player tier.

Regular season stat-padder who routinely got exposed and choked in the playoffs.

intresting.

Fans are under the impression that kawhi surpassed him cause of toronto run.

[wildcardX]

Robinson could have been even better than he was had he not spent two years for his Navy commitment. Lost a good amount of developmental time.

[SpursDynasty85]

This is just ridiculous. Why does every conversation about Robinson always end up with comparing him to Duncan?

Proceeds to compare the 2:
duncan was not individually more skilled, they were both elite and did it with very different styles. That’s why they complemented each other well. Robinson was a freak athlete that also possessed tons of skill. Duncan wasn’t an elite athlete but he had size, skill and phenomenal “old man” game. Meaning he knew how to max all of his strengths while expending as little energy as possible. Which is why he played so much longer. It’s like comparing Wilt to Kareem. Wilt be drob (although drob had better individual b-ball skill) and Duncan being Kareem (smooth, smart, longevity)

I grew up nearly worshipping Robinson. He was a great player in the regular season but whose flaws were exposed in the playoffs. Robinson made his living off his running and jumpong like Shawn Marion but 7 feet tall. I'd argue Amare Stoudemire was more skilled than Drob but Drob had much better D than him. TD did not quite run or jump fast but his flexibility and strength was ELITE.. TD wouldve faired much better gaurding Olajuwon. Robinson is underrated many times but I've learned to live with him being an alltime great in the regular season but who probably could never be the alpha to win a championship and was a great complimentary player in the playoffs though.

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

David is super underrated. It’s great to see so many on here defending The Admiral and putting up the facts to show folks. He carried San Antonio for many years until he got that big injury

[Ice009]

He was easily a top player in the 90s. People who don't think so must not have been around then.

David was elite at both ends of the court, and he also made his teammates better. The problem is that he didn't have a very good collection of teammates most years. Unlike Jordan, Olajuwon, Malone, etc., he never played with another superstar during his prime. Rodman was a great rebounder, but was a liability on both ends of the floor and is the main reason we lost to Houston in the 1995 WCF. Sean Elliott was a two time All-Star, and had some good seasons, but was not the second superstar needed to complement the primary superstar (like Jordan had with Pippen, Olajuwon had with Drexler, Duncan had with Parker, etc.).

It's really amazing that the Spurs were a contender during the first 8 years of David's career, considering the supporting cast David had. It's a testament to his talent and leadership abilities that we were winning 50-60 games all those years.

David was amazing during that stretch of 8 years. Sure, he may have had some bad games in the playoffs, but the other team's whole defense could focus in on him pretty much every playoffs. It's amazing what he did with the teammates he had. If he had just a couple of All-Star level teammates, I think he could have won some rings during that stretch. He was that good. Definitely underrated.

[Phenomanul]

intresting.

Fans are under the impression that kawhi surpassed him cause of toronto run.

Your smug sophistry is disingenuous.

"Fans"... what fans? Millennial fans who live on reddit, or other blogs weren't around to appreciate Robinson's game - so their takes are incomplete and often lack the context to carry any relevant weight.

I didn't realize that Kawhi's injury had anything to do with you, but now it's clear to me that his injury might stem from you having your head lodged too far up his rear. Seriously, why does every topic here have to come back to Kawhi? Get off his sac.

[Chomag]

Drob carried scrubs to the playoffs in a very tough league for years before he got injured. So yes he is very underrated and it was almost criminal how badly the FO was building a roster around him. However it did eventually get us Tim in the later years so it's hard to get to mad.

[Roscoe P. Coltrane]

David Robinson was the 3rd best player of the 90s. Shaq didn't surpass him until 2000, and anyone who thinks Karl Malone or Barkley were better is a dumbass.

[Pavlov]

Your smug sophistry is disingenuous.

"Fans"... what fans? Millennial fans who live on reddit, or other blogs weren't around to appreciate Robinson's game - so their takes are incomplete and often lack the context to carry any relevant weight.

I didn't realize that Kawhi's injury had anything to do with you, but now it's clear to me that his injury might stem from you having your head lodged too far up his rear. Seriously, why does every topic here have to come back to Kawhi? Get off his sac.:lol Like 5 of his last 6 threads are stealth Kawhi threads.

[apalisoc_9]

the 90s were filled with plumbers 6'5 wings and 6'1 Guards.

to suggest Drob over Dwade is complete delusion.

:lol

[Joseph Kony]

I think he is fairly rated as a top 30-40 player of all-time, which is where most probably have him. obviously injuries later on and the navy thing early shortened what could have been a better career, but he routinely had pretty shit supporting casts. lol at your best teammate for the entire first part of your career being sean elliott. even the 2000s Cavs surrounded LeBron with better players :lol

Robinson would be tailor made to play C in this era though tbh. he would be an absolutely nightmare on the court on both ends with his size/speed/strength/athletic ability. his defensive skills would be magnified playing in a heavy PnR league. it's really too bad he played in an era of bruising, lumbering post players.

[lefty]

the 90s were filled with plumbers 6'5 wings and 6'1 Guards.

to suggest Drob over Dwade is complete delusion.

:lol

[Pavlov]

:lmao Dwade?

[baseline bum]

Drob carried scrubs to the playoffs in a very tough league for years before he got injured. So yes he is very underrated and it was almost criminal how badly the FO was building a roster around him. However it did eventually get us Tim in the later years so it's hard to get to mad.

Don't blame the front office. They got him Cummings, they got him Elliott, they got him Strickland, they got him Brickowski, I mean David had a monster core built around him initially. Blame Red McCombs for being a cheap piece of shit and letting that core get broken up. If the Spurs had Holt instead of McCombs owning the team they would have also traded for Barkley in 92. Hell McCombs' cheap ass almost had David traded for Ewing (and obviously Ewing would have walked at the end of the contract).

[apalisoc_9]

:lmao Dwade?

perenial top 6 MVP Candidate, FMVP, 3 rings in played in the same era as Bron, Kobe, Durant, Kawhi.

Dwade is rated like 15 places above Robinson in most list

[Capt Bringdown]

The Robinson era certainly had its tragic elements - yes, TRAGIC is not an overstatement when you consider who he had to play with.
Not only that, but the coaches, wow:
Larry Brown - I think Larry was on coke or booze during this part of his career. Paul fucking Pressey. 'nuff said.
Bob Bass - good lord
The Tark - yougottabefuckinkidding
John Lucas - speaking of coke and booze
Bob Hill - this guy actually brought in Tony Robbins to speak to the team

All those wasted years...

[Ninja Roach]

The Robinson era certainly had its tragic elements - yes, TRAGIC is not an overstatement when you consider who he had to play with.
Not only that, but the coaches, wow:
Larry Brown - I think Larry was on coke or booze during this part of his career. Paul fucking Pressey. 'nuff said.
Bob Bass - good lord
The Tark - yougottabefuckinkidding
John Lucas - speaking of coke and booze
Bob Hill - this guy actually brought in Tony Robbins to speak to the team

All those wasted years...

Negele Knight - :rollin
Vinny Del Negro - :lol
Lloyd Daniels - :rollin
Sleepy Floyd -:lol
Chris Whitney -:rollin

Spurs fans being excited at getting the remnants of Dale Ellis and Chuck Person to finally give Robinson some room to breathe.

Charles Smith - :shootme

Apathetic above ya and "fans", are stating Wade was better because Robinson should have been able to overcome these things.

He's probably the dumbest troll I haven't yet blocked though. Probably should rectify that.

[daslicer]

Negele Knight - :rollin
Vinny Del Negro - :lol
Lloyd Daniels - :rollin
Sleepy Floyd -:lol
Chris Whitney -:rollin

Spurs fans being excited at getting the remnants of Dale Ellis and Chuck Person to finally give Robinson some room to breathe.

Charles Smith - :shootme

Apathetic above ya and "fans", are stating Wade was better because Robinson should have been able to overcome these things.

He's probably the dumbest troll I haven't yet blocked though. Probably should rectify that.

They are not fans especially the guy you are responding to. He's just a super troll and nothing else.

[Slippy]

I grew up nearly worshipping Robinson. He was a great player in the regular season but whose flaws were exposed in the playoffs. Robinson made his living off his running and jumpong like Shawn Marion but 7 feet tall. I'd argue Amare Stoudemire was more skilled than Drob but Drob had much better D than him. TD did not quite run or jump fast but his flexibility and strength was ELITE.. TD wouldve faired much better gaurding Olajuwon. Robinson is underrated many times but I've learned to live with him being an alltime great in the regular season but who probably could never be the alpha to win a championship and was a great complimentary player in the playoffs though.

Wow. The most probable reason you consider Drob simply a great complimentary player and not as skilled as Amari - lol because at that stage of your life you were still growing up. Would also explain why you remember him living of jumping and running which simply isn't true. He lived off the post not in the traditional way but through facing up and used his athletic ability to his advantage. AMARI needed a star PG to look guard. DROB didn't.

Weird part, others who have pointed out the valid lack of supporting cast for Drob argument but that has you glossing over it like it wasn't an issue. Again I would question how much do you remember?



Btw DRob is the best big man defender the spurs have ever had. Td complimented him when they were known as twin towers on defense.

[Pavlov]

perenial top 6 MVP Candidate, FMVP, 3 rings in played in the same era as Bron, Kobe, Durant, Kawhi.

Dwade is rated like 15 places above Robinson in most list
:lol most lists I will conveniently never post

[SpursDynasty85]

Wow. The most probable reason you consider Drob simply a great complimentary player and not as skilled as Amari - lol because at that stage of your life you were still growing up. Would also explain why you remember him living of jumping and running which simply isn't true. He lived off the post not in the traditional way but through facing up and used his athletic ability to his advantage. AMARI needed a star PG to look guard. DROB didn't.

Weird part, others who have pointed out the valid lack of supporting cast for Drob argument but that has you glossing over it like it wasn't an issue. Again I would question how much do you remember?



Btw DRob is the best big man defender the spurs have ever had. Td complimented him when they were known as twin towers on defense.

Some good points and bad points. Robinson made a lot of plays off of transition, that should not be argued but yes he did have good success in the post by facing the player but in tight games, he was not nearly as effective as he was in the regular season. His best skills were his decent mid-range and his ability to drive to his right. Robinson's biggest flaw was he had such skinny legs. He wasn't quite the inside presence still mainly relied on his quickness (which was elite) but skills were not nearly as good as a Duncan/Ewing/Olajuwon inside. Amare did not need Nash. He would've been great either way but as far as finishing and attacking the basket, yes, I think he was slightly better than Robinson looking at the highlights. Robinson still had about 2 inches on him in height and length so maybe some of that gets washed.

I think overall Duncan was still the better defender. Robinson was more athletic and slightly longer making him a menace at protecting the rim but Duncan was more versatile. He covered more ground because of his footwork and was able to bruise the post players because of his great lower body strength and flexibility and talent.

I'm not trying to bash Robinson by saying he was a great complimentary player. He played a support player very well by making good passes, hustling, defending. It's a compliment. As a go-to scorer in the playoffs, there are just a lot of players you could rank above Robinson. His military commitment, injuries, and "nice" personality all play a part. I might be wrong but those are just my observations and I credit Robinson so much for taking a back seat the way he did to Duncan. 99 ship would've never happened if he did not.

[UZER]

Yes.

Unfortunately, fair or not, he will never escape the shadow of the ‘95 Hakeem series, ever.

It doesn’t help that Kenny Smith has been on a weekly major NBA broadcast for 20 years using those exact series highlights to prop up his former teammate Hakeem, while at the same time doing a HUGE disservice to David.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I think most top 50 lists have Robinson anywhere from 20-30 all-time.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Yes.

Unfortunately, fair or not, he will never escape the shadow of the ‘95 Hakeem series, ever.

It doesn’t help that Kenny Smith has been on a weekly major NBA broadcast for 20 years using those exact series highlights to prop up his former teammate Hakeem, while at the same time doing a HUGE disservice to David.

This is true.

[Maddog]

Yes.

Unfortunately, fair or not, he will never escape the shadow of the ‘95 Hakeem series, ever.

It doesn’t help that Kenny Smith has been on a weekly major NBA broadcast for 20 years using those exact series highlights to prop up his former teammate Hakeem, while at the same time doing a HUGE disservice to David.

A series in which he averaged 24 pts and 11 boards
The 3rd leading scorer was AJ. This wasn't the 98 or 99 AJ who developed a decent mid range shot either
Sure Hakeem was awesome. But Dave was routinely doubled, but the Spurs couldn't ( Rodman too interested in rebounds) and wouldn't ( beginning of the end for Hill, Pop lost confidence in him, although he lasted another year)

[Chomag]

Don't blame the front office. They got him Cummings, they got him Elliott, they got him Strickland, they got him Brickowski, I mean David had a monster core built around him initially. Blame Red McCombs for being a cheap piece of shit and letting that core get broken up. If the Spurs had Holt instead of McCombs owning the team they would have also traded for Barkley in 92. Hell McCombs' cheap ass almost had David traded for Ewing (and obviously Ewing would have walked at the end of the contract).

Completely agree with you there about that 89-90 season was a legit power house, it was sad that they couldn't keep that together for long

[weeks]

didn't D-Rob play back when they allowed defense?

[ambchang]

the 90s were filled with plumbers 6'5 wings and 6'1 Guards.

to suggest Drob over Dwade is complete delusion.

:lol

So why did you ask the OP?

[BSfromTX]

Robinson WAY underrated.

[Thomas82]

Underrated and underappreciated!!

[Kobe'sAchilles]

perenial top 6 MVP Candidate, FMVP, 3 rings in played in the same era as Bron, Kobe, Durant, Kawhi.

Dwade is rated like 15 places above Robinson in most list
That might be the dumbest post yet from you and you make a lot of them. Top 6 MVP candidate? Is that even a thing? :lol at even listing that. hey guys he never won the award that David won, but he was consistently 6th place in getting it.

Also the whole winning rings in Lebron's era doesn't really hold water when he was his fucking teammate for two of them. And he also never beat Kobe or Lebron in a playoff series so that's a moot point.

You can have Wade but the truth is without a Top 10 player all time on his team, Wade was missing the playoffs in his prime or being bounced out of the first round in the garbage East.

And fuck I know you're trolling but man that's just mean trolling. Blasphemous for any real Spurs fan