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Another great read
I'm loving all those articles about David
Despite image, Robinson was as tough as they come
By Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com
David Robinson was chased by charges he was soft, dogged by the image of being in Hakeem Olajuwon's Dream Shake blender, shadowed by the suggestion he couldn't win on his own and reached the pinnacle only because of Tim Duncan rather than with Tim Duncan.
He is the misunderstood member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2009 and arguably the misunderstood superstar of his generation. Startling for a first-ballot inductee, but true. Robinson is a two-time NBA champion, a college Player of the Year, a seven-time All-Star, a three-time Olympic medalist, the epitome of dignity, the ideal representative for any organization... and yet he is maligned.
David Robinson is soft.
Those were the claims during a 14-year career as a center for the Spurs and an ambassador for the NBA. He knew it. Those around him knew it.
This just in:
Not true.
Robinson averaged 10.6 rebounds in his career even with five consecutive seasons of decline before retiring in the glow of the 2003 le. Discounting his 1996-97 that lasted just six games because of back and foot injuries -- the history-changing season that led to Gregg Popovich naming himself coach and the Spurs getting the No. 1 pick and Duncan -- Robinson posted double-digit boards nine years in a row. He had one run of 11.7 or better in five of seven seasons. He knew how to push back in the mosh pit.
Robinson graduated from the Naval Academy. Way to hit the chicken switch. He could have taken that 1,320 SAT and polished halo most anywhere and rarely been challenged physically, emotionally or academically. But instead he chose a military school and showed a special level of toughness that's required to attend such an ins ution.
Robinson, the 1992 Defensive Player of the Year, was named first-team All-Defense four times and second-team four other times. Those teams are voted on by coaches, not the media. Soft players don't become defensive stars and soft players especially don't become defensive stars when they're stationed inside.
The image problem is Robinson's fault, of course. He was far from a power player on offense, and the rep carried. More than that, he played the piano, would talk math and the Bible as easily as recite strategy from whatever game just finished, and was polite in a way few peers could come close to matching.
We had a long talk about it once. It was late at night, after a game in San Antonio, and became so late that Robinson was the last Spur to leave the locker room as he considered the disconnect between perception and reality at the end of his career. A staffer, an equipment guy or deputy assistant trainer or something, eventually came by with a throat-cutting motion to end the questioning, as if a 7-foot-1, 250-pound finely-tuned professional athlete couldn't decide on his own with a foot stomp when the interview was over. Robinson just kept talking.
I asked about the national anthem. Robinson was Hall of Fame with the anthem too -- head up, chin out, eyes locked on laser mode, back straight, arms snapped straight down, shoes nearly together at the heels and pointing out at an angle, his entire body still. Nobody did "The Star Spangled Banner" like the Spurs, with Robinson and coach Gregg Popovich, an Air Force Academy grad, ready for inspection.
The question: What do you think about during the anthem? What is going through your mind in that stretch of teammates and coaches near the free throw line before every game?
The answer: Dead people. Robinson got himself ready to play by thinking about those who gave their life in war so his family could prosper in a free America. He thought about blood in the battlefields.
Wuss.
"I think the biggest misconception about David Robinson is that he's not a compe or, because he has other interests and he has other things that are important to him," Alvin Gentry, a former Spurs assistant coach, has said a couple weeks earlier. If he's not totally married to basketball, people take that as not having a love for the game. And I disagree with that. I think he's had Hall of Fame stats. If you take a book out and look at his stats and then throw in the fact that his team has done well every year that he's had these stats, then I don't know what more a guy can do. He can't win championships by himself. Michael Jordan couldn't win championships by himself. Shaq couldn't do it by himself."
Robinson admitted he was bothered "at times" by the image issue, especially early in his career, before the les provided a vindication -- "You feel like they're saying you're not tough enough to win the championship. To me, that was always garbage."
Fast forward to September 2009, after the career and after the reflections from an analytical man who doesn't do quick-draw reactions. David Robinson is about to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. No misunderstanding there.
*********************
Hit the link for pics and videos.
• Photo Timeline: David Robinson through the years
• Photos: David Robinson's career
DAVID ROBINSON VIDEOS:
1987 Draft Lottery: Spurs strike it rich
Dazzling debut: Robinson has double-double
'90 Rookie of Year: Leads Spurs to 56-26 mark
Game to remember: Robinson scores 71
The best around: Admiral named MVP in '95
Twin towers: Robinson teams with Duncan
Sir Thief: Admiral becomes Spurs' steals leader
King of the hill: Robinson surpasses Gervin
Exclusive club: Robinson scores 20,000th point
Beat L.A.: Admiral helps Spurs oust Lakers
To the rafters: Spurs retire Robinson's No. 50
Highlight reel: Robinson's finest plays
Spurs' 1999 Championship | 1995 MVP
Looking back: Robinson reflects on career
NBA TV GameTime: Paying tribute to Admiral
HOF Enshrinement Announcement
http://www.nba.com/2009/news/feature...avid.robinson/
Another great read
I'm loving all those articles about David
To me, the soft tag was always preposterous and overplayed by those who wanted David Robinson to be something other than the polished, eloquent, considerate, Christian, statistical freak of nature that he was. Nice guys don't put up superstar numbers and superstars are too self-oriented to be great people. The easiest explanation, it seemed, was to find some fault and use it to define a man whose teams came up short, in spite of his often Herculean efforts. Soft became the cannard and it gained currency (despite it's falsity) through frequent recitation.
It was never true, but I've always thought that it was conclusively disproven (after being shown to be silly on many other occasions) in the spring of 2002, when an ailing David Robinson fought through a painful back injury to suit up and play against Shaq for a Spurs team that stood very little chance of beating that Lakers team. Soft people don't work that hard for the burden of fighting great ones in largely unwinnable battles. In fact, any number of supposed NBA tough guys or hard asses would have seen an ailing back as a perfect excuse to dodge Shaq. But not Mr. Robinson. To consider him soft is like calling Charles Barkley skinny.
He was so soft that even kids dunked on him
Oh I remember that game, one of Tyronn Lue's greatest memories I'm sure.
He was so soft that even kids dunked on him
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