Broadband News Net

Born into a Navy family in South Florida, David Robinson was never particularly interested in playing basketball in junior high or high school. When the coach of his high school team insisted that the 6′ 7″ Senior try out, it began a journey that would eventually lead to the Basketball Hall of Fame.After a dominant career at The Naval Academy where Robinson grew from 6′ 7″ to 7′ 0″, he was drafted with the first overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1989 NBA Draft. There was speculation that Robinson might not sign with the team but rather wait to become a free agent once his Navy commitment had ended, but he soon decided that getting himself on an NBA court as soon as possible was the right move. In his rookie year, Robinson led San Antonio to what was the greatest single season turnaround in NBA history at the time, as the team rebounded from a dismal 21-61 in the 1988-89 season to 56-26 in 1989-90. The newly recharged franchise went deep into the playoffs before being eliminated by the Portland Trailblazers in a fierce seven-game series.Robinson was unanimously voted NBA Rookie of the Year at the completion of the 1989-1990 season, marking the first of many major achievements in his basketball career. A smiling, gregarious man with a physique from a comic book, the basketball world hadn’t seen anything quite like David Robinson before his arrival to the league.Robinson’s gaudy career statistics include a game against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1991 where he snagged 14 offensive rebounds, an amazing 12 block performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1990, and an outrageous 71 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on the last day of the 1994 season. Only a few years into his career, Robinson was already chalking up major accomplishments.