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

[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]

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

[lefty]

[lefty]

It's about time...

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

Me too

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

[celldweller]

[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

[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.

[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.

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".........

"There goes my hero"...........

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 les 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 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]

[duncan228]

Spurs' Robinson earns Hall entry
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 les, 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 le in 1991, the blocked shots le in 1992 and the scoring le in 1994 (Robinson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only two players in NBA history to win each of the three les)

• 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!
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]

Awesome and Congrats to David....

[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. 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!!