Early life

David Robinson was born in Key West, Florida, the second child of Ambrose and Freda Robinson. Since Robinson's father was in the Navy, the family moved many times. After his father retired from the Navy, the family settled in Woodbridge, Virginia, where Robinson excelled in school and in most sports, except basketball. He was 5 feet, 9 inches tall in junior high school; he tried his hand at basketball, but soon quit. Robinson attended Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., where Robinson's father was working as an engineer.

By his senior year in high school he was 6 feet, 6 inches tall, weighed 175 pounds, and had not played organized basketball or attended any basketball camps. When the coach added the tall senior to the basketball team, Robinson earned all-area and all-district honors but generated little interest among college basketball coaches. Robinson scored 1320 on the SAT, and chose to go to the United States Naval Academy, where he majored in mathematics.

College basketball career and military service

David Robinson is widely considered to be the best basketball player in Naval Academy history. He chose the jersey number 50 after his idol Ralph Sampson. By the time he took the court in his first basketball game for the Navy Midshipmen men's basketball team, he had grown to 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and over the course of his college basketball career he grew to 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m). He began college with no expectations of playing in the NBA, but in Robinson's final two years he was a consensus All-American and won college basketball's two most prestigious player awards, the Naismith and Wooden Awards, as a Naval Academy first classman (senior). In 1986, Robinson led Navy, a number seven seed, within a game of the Final Four before falling to Duke in the East Regional Final. Robinson played his first three years for the Midshipmen under Paul Evans (who left Navy to coach at Pitt) and his senior season under former University of Georgia interim Head Coach Pete Herrmann. Upon graduation, he became eligible for the 1987 NBA Draft and was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the first overall pick; however, the Spurs had to wait two years because he had to fulfill his active-duty obligation with the Navy.

Robinson was 6 ft. 8 in. when he was admitted to the Naval Academy, two inches above the height limit, but received a waiver from the Superintendent of the Academy. Robinson considered leaving the academy after his second year, before incurring an obligation to serve in active duty. He decided to stay after discussing with the Superintendent the likelihood that his height would prevent serving at sea as an unrestricted line officer, hurting his naval career, and might make it impossible for him to be commissioned at all. As a compromise, Secretary of the Navy John Lehman allowed Robinson to train for and receive his commission as a staff officer in the Civil Engineer Corps community. As a result, Robinson was commissioned in the Naval Reserves and had to serve only an initial active-duty obligation for two years. After graduating from the Naval Academy, Robinson became a civil engineering officer at the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia. He was regularly featured in recruiting materials for the service. Despite the nickname "Admiral," Robinson's actual rank upon fulfilling his service commitment was Lieutenant, Junior Grade.

NBA career

Since he had not signed a contract, NBA regulations stated that Robinson could have reentered the draft after his naval service. Although there was speculation that he might choose not to sign with the Spurs, Robinson agreed to move to San Antonio for the 1989-90 season, but the Spurs agreed to pay him as much as the average of the salaries of the two highest-paid players in the league each year, or release him to free agency.

The Spurs had spent the second half of the 1980s as an also-ran, bottoming out in 1988-89 with a 21-61 record, the worst in franchise history at the time. While it was widely thought that the Spurs would become respectable again once Robinson arrived, no one expected what happened in his rookie season. Robinson led the Spurs to the greatest single season turnaround in NBA history at the time (a record the Spurs themselves broke in 1997-98, after drafting Tim Duncan, which was then broken by the Boston Celtics in the 2007-08 NBA season). The Spurs leaped to a record of 56-26 for a remarkable 35 game improvement. They advanced to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs where they lost in seven games to the eventual conference champion Portland Trail Blazers. Following the 1989-90 season, he was unanimously named the NBA rookie of the year, and subsequently Sega produced a game featuring him entitled David Robinson's Supreme Court. The Spurs made the playoffs seven more seasons in a row. Robinson also made the 1992 US Olympic Dream Team that won the gold medal in Barcelona. During the 1993-94 season, he became locked in a duel for the NBA scoring title with Shaquille O'Neal, scoring 71 points (breaking George Gervin's single-game franchise record of 63) against the Los Angeles Clippers to win it.

Robinson went on to win the MVP trophy in 1995, and in 1996 he was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Still, from 1991 to 1996, Robinson was thwarted in his quest to claim the one prize that had eluded him: an NBA title. During that span the Spurs were eliminated from the playoffs by the Warriors, Suns (twice), Jazz (twice), and Rockets. The loss against the Rockets was particularly painful for Robinson because it occurred in the Western Conference Finals with Robinson playing head-to-head against his chief rival, Hakeem Olajuwon. By his own admission, Robinson was outplayed by Olajuwon in the series, their only meetings in post-season play.

Early in the 1997 season, Robinson's dreams of becoming a champion seemed to vanish when he hurt his back in the preseason. He finally returned in December, but six games later broke his foot in a home game against the Miami Heat, and ended up missing the rest of the regular season. As a result of the injury to Robinson and other key players (most notably Sean Elliott, who missed more than half the season), the Spurs finished the season with a dismal 20-62 record. However, his injury proved to be a blessing in disguise. Despite having only the third-worst record in the league, the Spurs won the NBA Draft Lottery—and with it, the first pick in the next year's NBA draft. They used that pick to select Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest University, who was, after a few years, the final key to Robinson's quest for an NBA title.

Champion

Before the start of the 1998-99 season, the NBA owners and NBA commissioner David Stern locked out the NBA Players' Association to force negotiations on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. This lockout lasted for 202 days, well into the regular NBA season, before an agreement was finally reached. After playing a truncated 50-game season, the Spurs finished with an NBA-best record of 37-13, giving them the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Spurs blitzed through the first three rounds of the NBA playoffs, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, and Portland Trail Blazers by a combined record of 11-1 to reach the NBA Finals for the first time ever. In the Finals, the combination of Robinson in the post and second-year, 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) Tim Duncan proved overpowering, the Spurs beat the New York Knicks in five games to become the first former American Basketball Association team to win an NBA title. Duncan was named Finals MVP.

Robinson and teammate power forward Tim Duncan were nicknamed "The Twin Towers".

Champion again

Robinson announced he would retire from basketball after the 2002-03 season.

On June 15, 2003, in the finale to Robinson's career, the Spurs won another NBA title with an 88-77 victory over the New Jersey Nets in Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals. Turning back the clock, Robinson scored 13 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in his final game for the Spurs. He and the year's regular season and NBA Finals MVP Tim Duncan shared Sports Illustrated magazine's 2003 Sportsmen of the Year award.

Robinson averaged 21.1 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game, 3 blocks per game, and 2.5 assists per game over 987 games in his NBA career. Also, he is one of only a very small group of players to have scored over 20,000 career points in the NBA, as well as being one of only four players to have recorded a quadruple-double (with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks against the Detroit Pistons on February 17, 1994).

He is also one of the only five players to record more than 70 points in a single game with 71 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 24, 1994. Only Elgin Baylor (71 points), Wilt Chamberlain (70, 72, 73 twice, 78, 100 points), David Thompson (73 points), and Kobe Bryant (81 points) have scored more than 70 points in a single game.

Robinson is also noteworthy for his harmonious relationship with Tim Duncan. Sportswriter Chris Sheridan noted that it was rare for someone like Robinson to have welcomed and mentored Duncan as willingly as he did.

National team career

David Robinson was a member of the United States national team at the 1986 FIBA World Championship, the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1992 Summer Olympics, and the 1996 Summer Olympics. He won the gold medal at all games except the 1988 Summer Olympics, where he won a bronze medal.

Personal life and education

Robinson married his wife Valerie (Hoggatt) in 1991. They have three sons, David Jr., Corey and Justin. He readily identifies his religious affiliation as Christian. Corey attends Notre Dame and is a member of the football team, playing wide receiver. Justin, a 6'8" (2.03 m) forward in basketball and a two-time all-state selection in Texas, attends Duke as of August 2015. He was initially recruited to the Duke team as a "preferred walk-on" with the opportunity to eventually earn a scholarship, but was placed on scholarship before his arrival at Duke.

In 2001, Robinson founded and funded the $9 million Carver Academy in San Antonio, a non-profit private school named for George Washington Carver to provide more opportunities for inner-city children. In 2012, the school became a public charter school and its name changed to IDEA Carver. Robinson continues to be a very active participant in the school's day-to-day activities.

In 2011, Robinson earned a Master of Arts in Administration (with concentration in organizational development) from the University of the Incarnate Word to better "understand how businesses work and how to build them.".

Beyond his founding of Carver Academy, Robinson is well known as a philanthropist. Robinson and business partner Daniel Bassichis donate 10 percent of their profits to charitable causes. The winner of the NBA Community Assist Award is presented with the David Robinson Plaque.

Other ventures

In 2008 Robinson partnered with Daniel Bassichis, formerly of Goldman Sachs and a board member of The Carver Academy, to form Admiral Capital Group. Admiral Capital Group is a private equity firm whose mission is to invest in opportunities that can provide both financial and social returns. Robinson's primary motivation in starting Admiral Capital was to create a source of additional financial support for The Carver Academy. Its portfolio is worth more than $100 million and includes nine upscale hotels and office buildings across the U.S. as well as Centerplate, one of the largest hospitality companies in the world, and Academy Sports + Outdoors, a sports, outdoors and lifestyle retailer with over 160 stores. Admiral Capital Group also partnered with Living Cities to form the Admiral Center, a non-profit created to support other athletes and entertainers with their philanthropic initiatives. Robinson is also co-owner of a Jaguar Land Rover Dealership in San Juan, Texas.

Awards and honors

• Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
  • class of 2009 - individual
  • class of 2010 - as a member of the "Dream Team"
• U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
  • class of 2008 - individual
  • class of 2009 - as a member of the "Dream Team"
• FIBA Hall of Fame - class of 2013
• Two-time NBA Champion
• 1995 NBA MVP
• 1992 NBA Defensive Player of the Year
• 1990 NBA Rookie of the Year
• 1990 NBA All-Rookie First Team
• Four-time All-NBA First Team
• Four-time All-Defensive First Team
• 10-time NBA All-Star
• 2001 NBA Sportsmanship Award
• Two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner
• Olympic Bronze Medal winner
• One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History
• 1994 NBA Scoring Champion
• Five-time IBM Award winner
• Gold Medal in 1986 FIBA World Championship.
• 2003 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year
• 2012 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award
• Number 50 retired by the San Antonio Spurs

NBA records and career highs

Career highs

40 point games

Robinson scored 40 or more points 22 times in the regular season and once in the playoffs.

	Occurred during rookie season
	Occurred in playoff competition

Points	Opponent	Home/Away	Date	Minutes played	FGM	FGA	3PM	3PA	FTM	FTA	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
71	Los Angeles Clippers	Away	000000001994-04-24-0000April 24, 1994	44	26	41	1	2	18	25	14	5	0	2
52	Charlotte Hornets	Home	000000001993-01-16-0000January 16, 1993	40	20	28	1	2	11	15	14	3	0	7
50	Minnesota Timberwolves	Away	000000001994-02-21-0000February 21, 1994	38	18	32	1	4	13	15	9	2	2	6
48	Sacramento Kings	Home	000000001994-03-19-0000March 19, 1994	45	17	31	0	0	14	16	16	6	4	3
46	Boston Celtics	Home	000000001993-12-26-0000December 26, 1993	45	16	26	0	0	14	23	9	3	1	5
45	New York Knicks	Away	000000001995-12-10-0000December 10, 1995	52	15	26	0	0	15	19	16	2	1	3
44	New Jersey Nets	Home	000000001996-03-08-0000March 8, 1996	43	18	24	0	0	8	9	9	4	4	5
43	Denver Nuggets	Home	000000001990-11-07-0000November 7, 1990	34	16	21	0	0	11	12	9	4	1	5
43	Orlando Magic	Home	000000001991-01-10-0000January 10, 1991	41	14	21	0	0	15	15	12	3	4	10
43	Minnesota Timberwolves	Home	000000001993-11-09-0000November 9, 1993	41	14	22	0	0	15	19	11	1	3	10
43	Dallas Mavericks	Home	000000001995-01-15-0000January 15, 1995	42	18	32	0	1	7	10	17	1	3	3
42	Seattle SuperSonics	Home	000000001992-11-28-0000November 28, 1992	39	13	21	0	0	16	17	10	3	2	3
42	Seattle SuperSonics	Away	000000001994-11-30-0000November 30, 1994	47	15	20	0	2	12	14	9	2	0	2
42	Dallas Mavericks	Home	000000001994-12-06-0000December 6, 1994	45	17	26	0	0	8	10	8	5	4	1
42	Charlotte Hornets	Away	000000001995-01-18-0000January 18, 1995	42	16	26	0	0	10	10	9	4	0	0
42	Denver Nuggets	Away	000000001995-04-16-0000April 16, 1995	52	15	25	0	0	12	17	14	5	1	5
41	Golden State Warriors	Home	000000001990-03-02-0000March 2, 1990	41	12	21	0	0	17	22	17	2	3	5
41	Los Angeles Clippers	Home	000000001994-03-04-0000March 4, 1994	45	14	21	0	0	13	14	16	8	3	3
40	Phoenix Suns	Home	000000001990-11-17-0000November 17, 1990	34	16	25	0	0	8	10	14	1	2	5
40	Houston Rockets	Away	000000001994-03-12-0000March 12, 1994	48	15	26	0	0	10	14	16	7	2	4
40	Detroit Pistons	Away	000000001995-03-27-0000March 27, 1995	40	12	22	0	0	16	17	12	2	1	5
40	Los Angeles Lakers	Away	000000001996-04-07-0000April 7, 1996	44	15	26	0	0	10	13	11	5	1	5
40	Phoenix Suns	Home	000000001996-04-28-0000April 28, 1996	42	14	25	0	0	12	16	21	1	2	3

Top shot-blocking efforts

	Occurred during rookie season
	Quadruple-double (fourth in NBA history)

Blocks	Opponent	Home/Away	Date	Minutes played	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals
12	Minnesota Timberwolves	Home	000000001990-02-23-0000February 23, 1990	36	24	12	2	3
11	Charlotte Hornets	Away	000000001990-02-02-0000February 2, 1990	35	27	15	3	2
11	Sacramento Kings	Home	000000001990-12-28-0000December 28, 1990	35	27	13	2	0
11	Utah Jazz	Home	000000001991-01-12-0000January 12, 1991	39	22	18	5	0
11	Portland Trail Blazers	Home	000000001992-02-04-0000February 4, 1992	45	23	14	3	1
10	Los Angeles Lakers	Home	000000001990-02-20-0000February 20, 1990	41	23	16	2	1
10	Orlando Magic	Home	000000001991-01-10-0000January 10, 1991	41	43	12	3	4
10	Milwaukee Bucks	Home	000000001992-11-10-0000November 10, 1992	43	29	9	5	5
10	Minnesota Timberwolves	Home	000000001993-11-09-0000November 9, 1993	41	43	11	1	3
10	Detroit Pistons	Home	000000001994-02-17-0000February 17, 1994	43	34	10	10	2

Regular season

Stat	High	Opponent	Date
Points	71	at Los Angeles Clippers	000000001994-04-24-0000April 24, 1994
Points, half	47	at Los Angeles Clippers	000000001994-04-24-0000April 24, 1994
Points, quarter	28	at Los Angeles Clippers	000000001994-04-24-0000April 24, 1994
Field goal percentage	10-11 (.909)	vs. Minnesota Timberwolves	000000001991-11-20-0000November 20, 1991
Field goals made	26	at Los Angeles Clippers	000000001994-04-24-0000April 24, 1994
Field goal attempts	41	at Los Angeles Clippers	000000001994-04-24-0000April 24, 1994
Free throws made, no misses	15-15	vs. Orlando Magic	000000001991-01-10-0000January 10, 1991
Free throws made	18	at Los Angeles Clippers	000000001994-04-24-0000April 24, 1994
Free throws made	18	vs. Portland Trail Blazers	000000001994-11-23-0000November 23, 1994
Free throws made	18	at Golden State Warriors	000000001996-03-12-0000March 12, 1996
Free throws made	18	vs. Los Angeles Clippers	000000001997-12-10-0000December 10, 1997
Free throw attempts	25	at Los Angeles Clippers	000000001994-04-24-0000April 24, 1994
Rebounds	24	at Sacramento Kings	000000001991-12-03-0000December 3, 1991
Rebounds	24	vs. Golden State Warriors	000000001992-02-27-0000February 27, 1992
Offensive rebounds	14	vs. Los Angeles Lakers	000000001991-04-02-0000April 2, 1991
Defensive rebounds	19	vs. New Jersey Nets	000000001994-11-07-0000November 7, 1994
Assists	11	vs. Utah Jazz	000000001992-03-14-0000March 14, 1992
Steals	7	vs. Houston Rockets	000000002000-02-18-0000February 18, 2000
Turnovers	9	at Golden State Warriors	000000001991-03-14-0000March 14, 1991
Turnovers	9	at Houston Rockets	000000001995-02-21-0000February 21, 1995
Minutes played	53	at Chicago Bulls	000000001993-03-05-0000March 5, 1993

Playoffs

Stat	High	Opponent	Date
Points	40	vs. Phoenix Suns	000000001996-04-28-0000April 28, 1996
Field goal percentage	100% (8-8)	vs. Phoenix Suns	000000002003-04-19-0000April 19, 2003
Field goals made	14	vs. Los Angeles Lakers	000000001995-05-06-0000May 6, 1995
Field goals made	14	at Los Angeles Lakers	000000001995-05-12-0000May 12, 1995
Field goals made	14	vs. Phoenix Suns	000000001996-04-28-0000April 28, 1996
Field goal attempts	27	at Los Angeles Lakers	000000001995-05-12-0000May 12, 1995
Field goal attempts	27	at Phoenix Suns	000000002000-04-29-0000April 29, 2000
Free throws made, no misses	10-10	vs. Golden State Warriors	000000001991-04-27-0000April 27, 1991
Free throws made, no misses	10-10	vs. Los Angeles Lakers	000000001995-05-08-0000May 8, 1995
Free throws made	18	vs. Phoenix Suns	000000001993-05-16-0000May 16, 1993
Free throw attempts	23	vs. Phoenix Suns	000000001993-05-16-0000May 16, 1993
Rebounds	22	at Los Angeles Lakers	000000001995-05-14-0000May 14, 1995
Offensive rebounds	10	at Los Angeles Lakers	000000001995-05-14-0000May 14, 1995
Defensive rebounds	17	vs. Phoenix Suns	000000001996-04-28-0000April 28, 1996
Assists	11	vs. Portland Trail Blazers	000000001993-05-07-0000May 7, 1993
Steals	4	at Golden State Warriors	000000001991-05-01-0000May 1, 1991
Steals	4	at Houston Rockets	000000001995-05-26-0000May 26, 1995
Steals	4	at Houston Rockets	000000001995-06-01-0000June 1, 1995
Blocked shots	8	vs. Portland Trail Blazers	000000001990-05-10-0000May 10, 1990
Blocked shots	8	vs. Golden State Warriors	000000001991-04-25-0000April 25, 1991
Turnovers	7	thrice	thrice
Minutes played	52	vs. Los Angeles Lakers	000000001995-05-16-0000May 16, 1995

NBA records

Regular season

Fourth (and most recent) player in NBA history to record a quadruple-double in a game: San Antonio Spurs (115) vs. Detroit Pistons (96), 000000001994-02-17-0000February 17, 1994

• 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 blocked shots (and 2 steals) in 43 minutes
• Nate Thurmond, Alvin Robertson and Hakeem Olajuwon are the only other players to achieve this.

Fourth player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a game: 71, at Los Angeles Clippers, 000000001994-04-24-0000April 24, 1994

• Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson also achieved this. Kobe Bryant has achieved this since then.

One of two players in NBA history to lead the league in scoring (1993-94), rebounding (1990-91) and blocked shots (1991-92) during his career

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the first player to achieve this.
• Hakeem Olajuwon led the league in blocks thrice, and in rebounding twice, but the closest he came to a scoring title was second place, both in 1994-95 (Shaquille O'Neal) and 1995-96 (Michael Jordan).

Second player in NBA history to win Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player during his career

• Michael Jordan was the first player to achieve this.
• Hakeem Olajuwon won Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player during his career, but finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Jordan in 1984-85.

Only player in NBA history to lead the league in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots and win awards for Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player during his career

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar achieved all of these except for Defensive Player of the Year, an award which did not exist for most of his career.

Only player in NBA history to rank among top five players in the league in rebounding, blocks and steals in the same season: 1991-92

• Ranked first in blocks (4.49 bpg), fourth in rebounding (12.2 rpg) and fifth in steals (2.32 spg).
• Hakeem Olajuwon ranked first in rebounding, fourth in blocks and sixth in steals in 1988-89.

Only player in NBA history to rank among the top seven players in the league in five statistics in the same season: 1991-92

• Ranked seventh in scoring (23.2 ppg), fourth in rebounding (12.2 rpg), first in blocks (4.49 bpg), fifth in steals (2.32 spg) and seventh in field-goal percentage (.551)

Playoffs

Highest field goal percentage in a game (minimum 8 made): 1.000 (8—8), vs. Phoenix Suns, 000000002003-04-19-0000April 19, 2003 (OT)

• Tied with many other players

Part of second trio of players in NBA history to score 30 or more points in the same game: San Antonio Spurs (130) vs. Golden State Warriors (121), 000000001991-04-25-0000April 25, 1991

• Willie Anderson: 38 points
• Rod Strickland: 30 points
• Robinson: 30 points

All-Star

Personal fouls, quarter: 4 (1991)

Charitable efforts

In addition to his lengthy NBA career, Robinson is also noted for his charitable work.

In 1991, Robinson visited with fifth graders at Gates Elementary School in San Antonio and challenged them to finish school and go to college. He offered a $2,000 scholarship to everyone who did. In 1998, proving even better than his word, Robinson awarded $8,000 to each of those students who had completed his challenge. In perhaps his greatest civic and charitable achievement, David and his wife, Valerie, founded the Carver Academy in San Antonio, which opened its doors in September 2001. To date, the Robinsons have donated more than $11 million to the school.

In March 2003, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to charity, the NBA renamed its award for outstanding charitable efforts in honor of Robinson. Winners of the NBA's Community Assist Award receive the David Robinson Plaque, with the inscription "Following the standard set by NBA Legend David Robinson who improved the community piece by piece." The award is given out monthly by the league to recognize players for their charitable efforts. Robinson is also the recipient of the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership.

In 2011, in recognition of his philanthropic efforts with the Carver Academy, Robinson received the Children's Champion Award from the charitable organization Children's Hunger Fund.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]