David Robinson

David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and is now a minority owner of the team. Nicknamed "the Admiral" for his time spent in the U.S. Navy, Robinson was a 10-time NBA All-Star, the 1995 NBA MVP, a two-time NBA champion (1999 and 2003), a two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner (1992, 1996), a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (2009 for his individual career; 2010 as a member of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball "Dream Team" ).

Robinson is also a two-time U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame inductee (2008 individually, 2009 as a member of the 1992 Olympic team). He was honored as one of the league's all-time players by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary (1996) and 75th Anniversary Teams (2021). He is widely considered one of the greatest centers in both college basketball and NBA history.

Robinson was born in Key West, Florida, the second child of Ambrose and Freda Robinson. Since Robinson's father was in the U.S. Navy, the family moved frequently. After his father retired from the Navy, the family settled in Woodbridge, Virginia, where Robinson excelled in school and in most sports, except basketball. Robinson attended Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., where Robinson's father was working as an engineer.

Robinson was of average height for most of his childhood and teenage years, standing 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) tall in his junior year of high school (age 16–17). However, during his senior year (age 17–18) in high school, he experienced a large growth spurt and grew to 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m). He had not played organized basketball or attended any basketball camps, but the school's basketball coach added him to the team. Robinson earned all-area and all-district honors but generated little interest among college basketball coaches.

Robinson graduated from Osbourn Park in 1983. He achieved a score of 1320 on the SAT and subsequently attended the United States Naval Academy, where he would major in mathematics and play on the basketball team. At the time the Naval Academy had a height restriction of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) for all midshipmen, but in the autumn when the new academic year began, Robinson had grown to 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m). Assuming that he was unlikely to grow much more, the academy's superintendent granted him a waiver, but Robinson continued growing, and by the start of his second year at the academy he had nearly reached his adult height of 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m), which later prevented him from serving on any U.S. Navy ships.

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."

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. 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 considered leaving the academy after his second year, before incurring an obligation to serve on active duty. He decided to stay after discussing with the superintendent the likelihood that his height would prevent him from serving at sea as an unrestricted line officer, which would be detrimental to his naval career and might make it impossible for him to receive a commission at all. As a compromise, Secretary of the Navy John Lehman allowed Robinson to train for and receive a commission as a staff officer in the Civil Engineer Corps. As a result, Robinson was commissioned in the Naval Reserve and was required to serve only an initial active-duty obligation of 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", the highest rank Robinson earned during his military service was lieutenant (junior grade).