Very good recent, in depth analysis video of David Robinson’s game

[lefty]

Long time and knowledgeable Spurs fans, what do you think?

https://youtu.be/G_5ZhbbDvQg

[KobesAchilles]

Robinson is hard to judge from most media people bc of 3 major negatives factoring against him. They all kinda tie in together tho.

1. Dave was relatively new to basketball. He was a late bloomer and didn’t reach his full height until like 19? He played for Navy so he never really learned the game like he should have had he played for like Dean Smith or Bobby Knight. Robinson is all reactive and just so happened to be the quickest center in NBA history as well as probably the most athletic center of all time. They kinda just told David to be tall and try and block everything, which to Dave’s credit he was great at, but Navy never really taught him fundamentals. This is why he was primarily a face up guy. Nobody really taught him proper footwork and post moves.

In fact, bad coaching pretty much followed Dave’s career. He had 5 coaches in 6 years. And it can certainly be argued that David Robinson became an all time great player (top 20-25) without truly learning the game of basketball. And that’s an amazing achievement bc other than maybe Shaq, I can’t think of another player who can say that. Like there was so much for Dave to learn both offensively and defensively that he never did learn yet he was at the top of the league at both. It’s insane. Jordan, Magic, Larry, Kobe, Duncan, etc etc they were all students of the game and mastered their craft but Robinson never really did bc nobody taught him how to. Like imagine if Duncan didn’t have his arsenal of post moves and just had to rely on his athleticism, how good would he have been? Not very. Which is why I always say I would draft D-Rob over Tim, but hire a coach who can actually you know coach and teach him how to play the game.

2: He took two full years off from basketball (a sport he was a novice at) and that really hurt his career. Dave came in NBA ready and won rookie of the year despite not playing compe ive basketball for 2 years. That shows how ridiculously talented he is but it also lowers his stats greatly. Robinson should have another 2 all star nods. He should have 2 more all nba nods. He should have like 4,000 more points and 1800 more rebounds. As well as like 350 more blocks. These 2 missed years are very important when talking about Dave bc he came into the league rusty, but also much older at 23. This in itself cuts short his prime and his accolades he would achieve.

3: injuries. Guy was very durable to start off his career but had several unfortunate bad breaks in the very prime of his career. He had back problems. He broke his foot. He missed another season which cut probably another 2,000 points, 1000 rebounds, and 240 blocks. Robinson also hurt his knee when Malone knocked him out and he admitted he was never the same athletically again.

Factoring all this in, Robinson should’ve finished his career with 27,000 points. 15,000 rebounds. 3,500 blocks and 13 all nba. 13 all star. 11 all nba defense. To go along with his DPOY, MVP, and 2 rings. He would never be out a persons top 20 and idiots in the media wouldn’t say someone like John Stockton or Kevin Garnett was better

[Ice009]

Thanks for the writeup. I love reading anything D-Rob related. He's the reason I started following the NBA when I was a very young kid. The '93 season (I think it was), I watched a game between the Spurs and Magic, and Shaq and David both had over 40 points each and I was in awe of both of them. Spurs won the game, and since then I've been a Spurs fan. I don't know what is was, I just liked David better. I could just tell he was a good guy, so I gravitated towards him rather than being a Magic/Shaq fan.

KobesAchilles, do you think Anthony Davis is better than David? I was talking about this with someone a few weeks ago where it was mentioned that Davis is better than TD (I don't think that is even up for discussion, so I turned to conversation to - Is Anthony Davis even as good as D-rob was?). I'm going to say no, I don't think Davis is even as good as Robinson. D-Rob carried some ty teams. I wonder if Davis could even get the team into the playoffs that lost to the Rockets in the WCF.

Some very interesting points you made about D-Rob being better if he got better coaching. You are right, he never was taught post moves or anything like that (he never had them), and also the 2 years he missed (I knew about them), but I also didn't think about the impact those two years had to his stats and also the injuries cost him more stats and all-star appearances, all-nba, all-defense. He really was great, and if I could do it all over again, and go back and watch him from the start, I would. Amazing player and person.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

I also became a Spurs fan in the 90s because of DRob ( player fan boo! ) as I have zero ties to the city of San Antonio or the US as a whole.

Basketball was never really the top priority in his life. As KobesAchilles correctly explained he never got proper training or even played organized basketball enough in order to prepare for his career. He played basketball because he found out he was good at it, as opposed to working hard to become the best player he could be like Duncan. Not sure he ever really enjoyed the NBA, especially after his injuries started piling up. Also, he was just born at the wrong time. Had he been born 25-30 years later and was just entering the NBA right now he'd be unstoppable. The slow grind of the 90s and early 2000s basketball didn't suit his game.

One thing is certain though - as good as he was at basketball, he's always been an even better person and that's the most important thing.

[Dirks_Finale]

Good piece on Drob. That 99 Spur's team is highly underrated thanks to Phil's non sensical talk. One of the best defensive teams ever, IMO and Drob was a big reason why.

[XDT76]

Yeah DRob was also the reason I supported the Spurs. DRob was very professional but not passionate enough to put him in the GOAT discussion. Given his "shortcomings" he did great and battle a host of big man in his era people like Shaq, Ewing, Kareem, Mourning, Mutombo and then the big man combos of Eaton and Malone and Divac and Webber. Because of him the Spurs did not become the Kings of today. The only season that the Spurs miss the playoff during his playing day is the season he was shutdown the whole season. It is also that season that leads us to draft no. 21.

[XDT76]

I meant to say Hakeem and not Kareem

[Thomas82]

Thanks for this!! The Admiral is the reason I became a Spurs fan in 1988 (yes, I know it was the year before he joined the team). I never get tired of reading or watching clips of him.

[Ice009]

I also became a Spurs fan in the 90s because of DRob ( player fan boo! ) as I have zero ties to the city of San Antonio or the US as a whole.

Basketball was never really the top priority in his life. As KobesAchilles correctly explained he never got proper training or even played organized basketball enough in order to prepare for his career. He played basketball because he found out he was good at it, as opposed to working hard to become the best player he could be like Duncan. Not sure he ever really enjoyed the NBA, especially after his injuries started piling up. Also, he was just born at the wrong time. Had he been born 25-30 years later and was just entering the NBA right now he'd be unstoppable. The slow grind of the 90s and early 2000s basketball didn't suit his game.

One thing is certain though - as good as he was at basketball, he's always been an even better person and that's the most important thing.

That's what I used to think too about his love for the game. Like XDT76 said, he wasn't the most passionate towards basketball early in his career. He had other talents and interests, he just didn't live and breathe basketball all the time. He really did have more passion IMO towards the end of his career, though. Maybe TD inspired him (possibly Manu and TP too), but I loved his passion for game towards the end of it all.

[Thomas82]

Good piece on Drob. That 99 Spur's team is highly underrated thanks to Phil's non sensical talk. One of the best defensive teams ever, IMO and Drob was a big reason why.

To this day, that 1999 team still has the NBA record for opponent field goal percentage (.4016).

[Dirks_Finale]

To this day, that 1999 team still has the NBA record for opponent field goal percentage (.4016).

And considering the direction the NBA has gone in with rule changes and overall softness, it will be an immortal record.

[CGD]

Good piece on Drob. That 99 Spur's team is highly underrated thanks to Phil's non sensical talk. One of the best defensive teams ever, IMO and Drob was a big reason why.

If Phil Jackson’s reasoning was right, then two of LeBron’s chips should have asterisks next to them too.

[Thomas82]

And considering the direction the NBA has gone in with rule changes and overall softness, it will be an immortal record.

Yeah, I don't think anybody is touching that record.

[lefty]

I also became a Spurs fan in the 90s because of DRob ( player fan boo! ) as I have zero ties to the city of San Antonio or the US as a whole.

Same here, watched some NBA highlights here and there (Magic, Isiah, Dumars, Jordan) before the Dream Team as I was living overseas and I wasn't that much in the NBA at the time although those guys were spectacular , then I watched the Tournament of Americas that was held in Portland before the Olympics and became a fan of Robinson because I'm left handed too

Didn't have a favorite team (and everybody was on the Bulls bandwagon) so I naturally became a Spurs fan

Btw, great write up @KobesAchilles

(So I can confiirm the Dream Team is what made the NBA really global, not Jordan, don't believe that narrative)

[adonis827]

I guess a lot of us were the same age! I am a Spurs fan as well because of Robinson. While everyone is on the Bulls, Magic or Rockets, there were few spurs fans like me back then who chose and liked a team freely and not because everyone else is in the bandwagon. I am not from the US as well.

[adonis827]

^ I have to disagree above. Jordan already has a chip in 1991 and everyone was watching the NBA primarily because of the Bulls before the 1992 dream team. Jordan unmistakably the most popular baller during that time (even among the dream teamers) has a big hand in making the nba more global. I might even say that Jordan contributed big to the dream team's popularity and I doubt any US basketball team came close to their popularity.

[adonis827]

Even though, I still choose Robinson and the Spurs even if they are not as popular as Jordan and the Bulls

[DRob_50]

Long time and knowledgeable Spurs fans, what do you think?

https://youtu.be/G_5ZhbbDvQg

Thanks very much for posting this. It’s probably the most thorough analysis of his game I’ve seen.
He’s still my all time favorite player and was the reason I became a Spurs fan, despite having no direct ties to San Antonio.

He and later Tim Duncan were the embodiment of the organization’s character and substance over style culture I prefer rooting for.

[John B]

I also became a Spurs fan because of DRob. Coming from the Philippines in the Summer of 1988, I never heard of the Spurs. They rarely televised the small market teams in the Philippines, only the Bulls, Lakers, Celtics, Sixers, etc. And the 21-61 record didn't help much to make me a fan. But there was the anticipation for a 7'1 Navy guy, who was the #1 draft pick, still finishing his tour. And finally he came. He was more than I expected. Never have I seen a big moved like a guard, who could rebound, dribble the length of the court, and finished with a dunk. Spurs made the biggest turnaround that year, and I became a fan. Yes, David could had more basketball accolades. But I don't think he wanted them that badly. Because basketball was NOT the only thing for David Robinson. As I remember, he likes to play sax, piano, etc. And as gifted as he was, I always thought he never had that ump to win in the next level. With Kobe, Jordan, Timmy, you can see it in their eyes. But David was TOO NICE. He never would step on a guy's throat to finish him. Not David. But I'm still a big fan. And while Timmy is the Spurs GOAT, Iceman was yesteryears' icon, Manu my all time favorite, and Tony was pretty bad ass too, it was David Robinson who put San Antonio in the map.

[daslicer]

David's body wasn't built to being a post up player like some are saying that he could have learned to post up if he had better coaching earlier on like Tim did. Tim had a few things physically that David didn't have which was that he had wider shoulders and great upper body strength. Look at some of the videos of Tim physically boxing out Shaq or Shaq trying to post up Tim. Shaq had to make more of an effort to bulldoze Tim than he did against other guys which shows you how deceptively strong Tim was. Tim was also had big ass hands. I remember Sean Elliot once saying in an interview that Duncan's hands were as big as Jordan and Shaq's which allowed him to do a lot when it came to posting up.

[DRob_50]

David's body wasn't built to being a post up player like some are saying that he could have learned to post up if he had better coaching earlier on like Tim did. Tim had a few things physically that David didn't have which was that he had wider shoulders and great upper body strength. Look at some of the videos of Tim physically boxing out Shaq or Shaq trying to post up Tim. Shaq had to make more of an effort to bulldoze Tim than he did against other guys which shows you how deceptively strong Tim was. Tim was also had big ass hands. I remember Sean Elliot once saying in an interview that Duncan's hands were as big as Jordan and Shaq's which allowed him to do a lot when it came to posting up.

I agree that the boxing out was a weaker aspect of David’s game, though I feel it had more to do with inadequate lower body strength which would have helped him maintain position.
If anything he looked a little like one of those athletes who placed a little too much emphasis on the upper body and “skipped leg day”, at least relative to the other great centers of his time.

[daslicer]

I agree that the boxing out was a weaker aspect of David’s game, though I feel it had more to do with inadequate lower body strength which would have helped him maintain position.
If anything he looked a little like one of those athletes who placed a little too much emphasis on the upper body and “skipped leg day”, at least relative to the other great centers of his time.

Dave was the reason I became a Spurs fan way back in '94 but I could always tell from watching Tim post up guys and the way he boxed out that Tim just had greater strength. Recently I watched game 2 of '01 WCF where Tim lit up the Lakers for 40 points but ended up losing to the Lakers. Tim guarded Shaq from the start of the game. One of the commentators mentions that Tim insisted that he wanted to guard Shaq and that to have Dave guard Grant/Horry. I found it interesting that Tim had more confidence in himself guarding Shaq then Dave but I think that had to do with Tim knowing he had greater strength to push Shaq out of his post up spots.

[MoSpur02]

Great video. Thanks for sharing. He is my all time favorite Spur. My older brother took me to games in the old Hemisfair Arena when the Spurs has Cadillac Anderson, Alvin Robertson, and Johnny Moore, but I didn’t really like the Spurs. Then I remember the Spurs drafting David Robinson and remembered the local news media going nuts over him and thought, “okay...let’s see what the big deal is.” I fell in love with the Spurs once I saw him play. I was a huge Magic Johnson fan and huge Michael Jordan fan, but Robinson took their place as my favorite quickly.

[DRob_50]

I wasn’t surprised when Jackson’s nonsense on the ‘99 championship was quickly picked up by the media and often repeated. I couldn’t help laughing when DRob spurned Phil’s handshake at the all star-game the following year.
That ‘99 team was definitely one of my favorites.

[SpursDynasty85]

Great video. Shows his faults and strengths very well. Thanks for posting. DRob was a force but could’ve been even better with a Rod Strickland instead of Avery. :P