NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of The 1990s
By Phil Watson
50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s — 2. David Robinson
David Robinson entered the NBA in 1989-90, just as the new decade began and two years after the San Antonio Spurs made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft out of Navy.
The Spurs then waited for Robinson to complete his active-duty obligation in the U.S. Navy and, wow, was he worth the wait.
Robinson was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1989-90, Defensive Player of the Year in 1991-92 and MVP in 1994-95, earning eight All-Star appearances, eight All-NBA nods and seven All-Defensive selections.
He was the scoring champion (29.8 points per game) in 1993-94, led the NBA in rebounds in 1990-91 (1,063) and 1995-96 (1,000), in rebounds per game (13.0) in 1990-91, in blocked shots in 1990-91 (320) and 1991-92 (305) and in blocks per game in 1991-92 (4.5).
Robinson helped San Antonio to its first NBA Finals and championship in 1999 when they beat the New York Knicks in five games. In the Finals, he averaged 16.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, three blocks, 2.4 assists and a steal in 37 minutes per game, shooting .424/—/.688.
In the decade, Robinson averaged 24.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, three assists and 1.6 steals in 37 minutes per game, shooting .523/.258/.740.
He remained with the Spurs through the 2002-03 season, retiring after winning a second championship that season.
For the decade of the 1990s, Robinson was fourth with 16,715 points, 7,881 rebounds and an average of 24.4 points per game; 16th with 1,073 steals; second with 2,323 blocked shots and sixth with an average of 11.5 rebounds per game.
Robinson is 29th all-time with 10,497 rebounds, fifth with 2,954 blocked shots, 26th with 20,790 points, 33rd with an average of 21.1 points per game, 30th with an average of 10.6 rebounds per game, 47th with an average of 1.4 steals per game and fourth with an average of three blocks per game.
Besides being named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1997, Robinson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.