
Who is Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson? The professional basketball world knows hims as , he is an
American professional
basketball player who currently plays for the
Denver Nuggets of the
National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in
Seattle, Robinson played
college basketball at the
University of Washington in Seattle and was the 21st pick in the
2005 NBA Draft. Before signing with the Nuggets, Robinson was a point guard for the
New York Knicks,
Boston Celtics,
Oklahoma City Thunder,
Golden State Warriors, and the
Chicago Bulls.
[1][2] Robinson is the NBA's first three-time
slam dunk champion.
[3]
Nate Robinson
High school
Robinson was born May 31, 1984, he spent his first two years of high school at
Rainier Beach High School in Seattle. He moved to
Union City, California, where he played for
James Logan High School
for one year, and then returned to Rainier Beach. At Beach, he excelled
in basketball, football and track. He led his basketball team to a 28–1
record and won the AAA state championship as a senior with
University of Louisville star
Terrence Williams,
USC alumnus
Lodrick Stewart, and former
University of Kansas
player Rodrick Stewart. He averaged 17.9 points, seven rebounds, seven
assists and three steals per game as a senior in 2002, and was named the
AAA State player of the year in Washington. He led his team to a no. 7
national ranking in
USA Today.
[citation needed] Rainier Beach retired Robinson's No. 2 jersey on September 10, 2010.
[4]
College
Robinson led the
Washington Huskies to two straight
NCAA basketball tournament appearances, including a
Sweet Sixteen appearance during his junior year
[citation needed]. At the end of that season he was named a third-team
Associated Press and
National Association of Basketball Coaches All-American[citation needed].
Robinson also played
football at the University of Washington. Robinson's college football career is most remembered for his
interception in the final minutes of regulation of the 2002
Apple Cup against the
Washington State Cougars, who were at the time ranked #3 in the
AP poll. With minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Cougars leading by three points, Robinson intercepted a pass thrown by
Matt Kegel intended for 6'6"
Mike Bush. The Huskies scored a field goal on the ensuing possession and won the game in triple overtime.
[5]
NBA career
New York Knicks
2005–06

Robinson was the 21st selection of the
2005 NBA Draft, chosen by the
Phoenix Suns before being traded to the
New York Knicks with
Quentin Richardson for
Kurt Thomas and the draft rights to second-round pick (54th overall)
Dijon Thompson[citation needed].
Robinson played in 72 games his rookie year, starting 26 of them,
while averaging 9.3 points and 2.0 assists per game. He had a major
breakout performance against the
Philadelphia 76ers at
Madison Square Garden
where he scored 17 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Of his 17 points,
three came on a game-winning three-pointer at the overtime buzzer over
his boyhood idol,
Allen Iverson. During the
All-Star weekend, Robinson won the 2006 Sprite Rising Stars
Slam Dunk Contest, edging
Andre Iguodala
141–140 in an unprecedented overtime, although he took 14 attempts to
make his final dunk. In his most memorable dunk of the night, he jumped
over 1986 champion
Spud Webb, and received a perfect 50-point score for the dunk.
[6] During the 2005–06 season, Robinson was reportedly involved in physical altercations between teammates
Jerome James and
Malik Rose in separate incidents. He was at one point considered by Knicks' coach
Larry Brown to be demoted to the
NBA Development League. He was instead placed on the Inactive List for 10 games between February 24 and March 11.
[7]
2006–07
On December 16, 2006, Robinson was one of the primary participants in the
brawl between the
Denver Nuggets and the Knicks. His fight with Nuggets guard
J. R. Smith landed in the seats, and he was suspended for 10 games as a result.
[8]
Robinson competed in the 2007 Slam Dunk Contest to defend his 2006 title, and came in second place after
Gerald Green. In the second round, Green's
Boston Celtics teammate
Paul Pierce
brought out a cardboard cut-out of Robinson to dunk over, but Robinson
came out and stood in its place instead, and Green jumped over him to
complete the dunk.
[9]
2008–09

On February 14, 2009, Robinson won the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk
Competition. During the first round he completed two dunks, the second
of which included jumping off Knicks teammate
Wilson Chandler,
who was on the floor. He finished second in the first round with a
score of 87. After the first round, he went into the locker room and
changed into a green Knicks jersey with green shorts and green shoes
representing
Kryptonite (which he called "KryptoNATE"), countering competitor
Dwight Howard's
Superman theme. In the final round, Robinson, who is only 5 feet 9,
jumped over Dwight Howard (6 feet 11 inches) for the slam. Robinson went
on to win his second Slam Dunk title with 52% of the fan vote.
[10]
Robinson enjoyed his best season in 2008–2009, averaging 17.2 points
per game, 4.1 assists per game, and almost 30 minutes per game. On
February 23, 2009, Robinson scored 41 points and also had 8 rebounds.
On August 12, 2009, Robinson reported on his
Twitter
page that he would change his number from number 4 to number 2 for the
2009–10 season. On September 25, 2009, Robinson re-signed with the New
York Knicks to a one-year deal.
2009–10
After a series of disagreements,
Mike D'Antoni removed Robinson from the Knicks' rotation for 14 games beginning on December 1, 2009. Robinson's agent,
Aaron Goodwin,
urged the Knicks to deal his client, or perhaps work out a buy-out with
the team. After remaining on the bench for nearly a month, Robinson
made his return on January 1, 2010, against the
Atlanta Hawks and scored 41 points, off the bench, in the Knicks' victory.
On February 13, 2010, Robinson won the 2010 Sprite
Slam Dunk Contest, becoming the first three-time Slam Dunk champion.
[11]
Boston Celtics
2010
On February 18, 2010, Robinson was traded to the Boston Celtics along with
Marcus Landry in exchange for
Eddie House,
Bill Walker, and
J. R. Giddens.
[12] Robinson played in 26 games with the Celtics averaging 6.5 points per game in 14.7 minutes per game.
Despite his limited playing time during the playoffs with the Boston
Celtics, Robinson made key contributions in the series clinching Game 6
of the
Eastern Conference Finals where he scored all of his 13 points in the second quarter.
Oklahoma City Thunder
2011
On February 24, 2011, Robinson was traded, along with
Kendrick Perkins, to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for
Jeff Green and
Nenad Krstić.
[13]
On December 24, 2011, the Thunder waived Robinson.
[14]
Golden State Warriors
2012
On January 4, 2012, Robinson signed with the
Golden State Warriors.
[15] On January 10, 2012, with the absence of
Stephen Curry, Robinson led the Warriors with 24 points in a 111–106 overtime victory over the
Miami Heat.
[16] In the 2011–2012 season he averaged 11.2 points, 4.5 assists and 2 rebounds in 51 games played.
Chicago Bulls
2012–2013
On July 31, 2012, Robinson signed a contract with the Chicago Bulls.
[17]
On February 4, 2013, Robinson was announced as the Eastern Conference
Player of the Week, after averaging 17.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 2.5
steals in a 4 game span.
[18] Robinson averaged 13.1 points per game with the Bulls during the regular
season. Due to injuries to Bulls point guards
Derrick Rose and
Kirk Hinrich,
Robinson had 23 starts for the Bulls. On April 27, 2013, Robinson
scored 34 points in Game 4 of a first round series against the Brooklyn
Nets, including a personal 12-0 run over a period of 1:42 late in
regulation, nearly erasing a 14-point deficit. The Bulls eventually won
the game in triple overtime.
Denver Nuggets
On July 26, 2013, Robinson signed a multiyear deal with the
Denver Nuggets.
[19] He announced that he would wear number 10 to honor soccer player
Lionel Messi; his preferred number 2 was already retired for
Alex English.
[20]
NBA career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
2010 |
Boston |
17 |
0 |
7.5 |
.375 |
.333 |
.800 |
.8 |
1.1 |
.4 |
.1 |
4.2 |
2011 |
Oklahoma City |
3 |
0 |
4.0 |
.286 |
.333 |
1.000 |
.0 |
.3 |
.0 |
.0 |
2.7 |
2013 |
Chicago |
12 |
8 |
33.7 |
.436 |
.338 |
.756 |
2.7 |
4.4 |
1.0 |
.2 |
16.3 |
Career |
|
32 |
8 |
17.0 |
.415 |
.337 |
.776 |
1.4 |
2.3 |
.6 |
.1 |
8.6 |
Career highs
Stat |
High |
Opponent |
Date |
Points |
45 |
vs. Portland |
March 8, 2008 |
Offensive Rebounds |
5 |
3 times |
– |
Defensive Rebounds |
8 |
vs. Milwaukee |
November 21, 2008 |
Total Rebounds |
10 |
3 times |
– |
Assists |
15 |
vs. LA Clippers |
February 11, 2009 |
3-pointers made |
8 |
vs. Portland |
March 22, 2007 |
3-pointers attempted |
13 |
vs. Milwaukee |
April 7, 2007 |
Free throws made |
15 |
vs. Indiana |
February 23, 2009 |
Free throws attempted |
19 |
vs. Indiana |
February 23, 2009 |
Blocks |
3 |
vs. Charlotte |
January 28, 2013 |
Personal
Robinson's father,
Jacque Robinson, played American football for the Huskies and earned MVP honors in both the
1982 Rose Bowl and
1985 Orange Bowl. His mother, Renee Busch, operates a beauty salon in Seattle.
[21] He is also the cousin of
Philadelphia 76ers point guard Tony Wroten.
[22] Robinson's great-great-grandfather on his maternal side was
Filipino.
[23][24]