[No intro needed for the great David Robinson, except to remind everyone that his pro career got off to a delayed start in San Antonio. Whether you remember the delay or not, John Lopez of the San Antonio Light refreshes our memories in this December 1989 article from Basketball Digest. It’s a quick read about the Spurs, under Larry Brown, and the giant expectations that greeted the 7-1 Robinson once he finally hit town.]
****
He takes a single stride and seems to cover more ground than the San Antonio Spurs did all last season. He walks and talks. He runs and jumps. He lives and breathes. He’s bigger than Dallas. Or, for that matter, bigger than Houston or Denver or Utah or the entire division—or at least the Spurs are hoping he is.
Really, he is real.
He no longer is merely a famous name out there somewhere stuck in a submarine base in God knows where, while the Spurs played godforsaken basketball. He waited. Spurs fans waited.
Where have you been, Mr. Robinson? This team, and this league, have thought of you often the past two years. The city has not awaited so anxiously the arrival of a military figure since Santa Anna.
But finally, the wait is over. Finally, the NBA will see just how good 7-1 center David Robinson looks in basic black and silver instead of Navy dress whites. For two long, practically unbearable years, Robinson seemed to live only in the dreams of Spurs fans. He was the Navy man, but the Spurs were lost in a sea of ineptitude.
During two years of watching Robinson serve his naval commitment, watching Robinson in the 1988 Olympics, watching Robinson do color commentary for the networks, watching Robinson play service ball, the Spurs could only wait and dream. And lose.
Prior to last season, Robinson asked for a shortened naval hitch, but the Pentagon essentially responded, “In your dreams.”
Yes, that’s all it was. Dreams. So the weight continued, and there were more Spurs losses, then more, then even more. Ultimately, there was the worst record in franchise history for the Spurs, who finished 21-61 last season.
But always, there was the waiting dream.
“When I took this job, I was convinced that we would have David last season,” says Spurs coach Larry Brown. “And then, as soon as there was some question about him being released, I didn’t even think about him coming anymore.
“I knew I would be really disappointed if I got my hopes up. I ended up being disappointed anyway, but the thing now is that he’s here. I know it’s going to take time. But I also know that he’s here, and he’s going to be great.”
That much has become clear. In the brief time Robinson has been in a Spurs uniform, he has been nothing short of spectacular. “He’s going to be everything we hoped for,” says Brown. “I have no doubt he’s going to be terrific.”
Yes, Robinson is real. And so talented.
The natural questions and doubts arose about Robinson while his game was in dry dock for two years with the Navy. Some wondered how much Robinson’s game would suffer upon his return. Some wondered if Robinson really was so good in the first place.
On the first day of the Spurs’ Rookie Revue camp and the first day Robinson ever officially wore an NBA uniform, nearly 4,000 fans crammed the Spurs’ workout facility to see what exactly the wait was worth. Robinson, in return, seemed to cram two years of waiting into one remarkable performance.
His flying, dunking exhibition only seemed to show why Robinson was everybody’s All-American and the NCAA Player of the Year in 1987, when he average 28.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 4.5 blocked shots for the Naval Academy. He showed why and how he became the first NCAA player in history to total more than 2,500 points, 1,300 rebounds, and shoot more than 60 percent from the field.
“He was unbelievable,” said second-year Spurs guard Vernon Maxwell. “Just unbelievable.”
Robinson lived the dream. He beat guards up the court and back. He ran and shot. He jumped and defended. He had the crowd on its feet and his teammates in awe. “He can fulfill every expectation,” said second-year Spurs forward Willie Anderson, who attended the camp to get in work alongside Robinson.
“He’s already better than any center in the league, except for two of them—Hakeem [Olajuwon] and Patrick [Ewing]. And that’s only because they have more experience right now. But in time, David can be as good as he wants to be. He has more skills than any center in the league.”
More than Ewing? More than Hakeem? It seems incomprehensible but, of course, time will tell. After all, this is only the Spurs’ summer camp, where some men are men and others are CBA lifers. The real NBA and the wrath of Olajuwon awaits Robinson in the distance. But at least, for now, time seems to stand still for Robinson.
His moment of NBA emergence is at hand. And with every passing second, Robinson seems to show why the Spurs believe they got a bargain for the $26 million spent on Robinson’s 10-year contract.
“You can throw the ball anywhere up by the goal, and he’ll get it,” says Anderson. “That’s what I like about playing with David. He makes the game easier. He’s a great athlete, and he moves so well he makes everybody around him so much better.”
He makes the wait almost seem worth it. Almost.
“Just to be out there, finally, is incredible,” says Robinson. “There were plenty of times I wondered if I would ever get to play. It was tough. Really tough. Two years is a long time to wait.”
But now, suddenly, the wait is over, and the Spurs can hardly believe it is all real. “I look at David, and I’m thrilled for this whole community, not just the team,” says Brown. “I mean, you just think about how people have waited and supported us and been very understanding in difficult circumstances. But now I know he is going to be great, and I think anyone who sees him will now have absolutely no doubts about him.”
If there ever were any doubts, Robinson did his part to lay them to rest during the summer camp.
The summer tests were just the beginning for Robinson, only tiny challenges compared to what lies ahead. And he relished every one. “I know I have to come out here and still be one of the best players around. Obviously, I haven’t gotten to that point yet, but I’ll meet the challenge.”
And perhaps the most comforting thing of all for Robinson is that he will not have to meet it alone. “The one thing I didn’t want was for us to have to throw the ball up on the first day and have everybody say, ‘Well, if David doesn’t play, then this team is going to be terrible,’” says Brown. “He hasn’t played in two years and so much is expected of him, more so than ever before because of the time people have anticipated this moment.”
So Brown made several offseason moves, all with Robinson in mind. First, all-star guard Alvin Robertson and for [University of] Houston Cougars forward Greg (Cadillac) Anderson were shipped to Milwaukee for high-scoring forward Terry Cummings. Then came the luck of the lottery and draft, and the Spurs wound up with fleet Arizona forward Sean Elliott, who was the NCAA Player of the Year in 1988-89.
Brown then signed 16-year veteran free-agent Caldwell Jones, a shot-blocking specialist like Robinson, to tutor the young star. Finally, Maurice Cheeks, David Wingate, and Christian Welp came over from the 76ers for Johnny Dawkins and Jay Vincent. Cheeks was the key to the trade for the Spurs, who felt the veteran would solidify the backcourt.
“Before, we would have had to say at the end of a close game, ‘Well, we’ve got to go to David,’” says Brown. “But now we’ve got Terry, and Willie’s played a year, and Sean Elliott is coming in.”
“I just want to make sure [Robinson] understands what’s expected of him, and [that] he feels comfortable with us and his team. Last year, every day we were making a change or an adjustment. Now, I think we’re going to be set.”
Says Robinson: “I look at this team now, and I feel that I’ve got the help. I can focus on my basic things. Playing defense, blocking shots, going to the boards—I can focus myself a lot more on just those things.”
And the Spurs can focus on the future. The wait is over;
“For me, this is a great time,” says Robinson. “I have a drive to be the very best. I want to go out and do it as well as anybody. It’s been an incredible challenge for me to stay in shape the past two years. It’s been incredible to keep mentally psyched up and come to this day.”
But finally, the day, so many people have anxiously awaited for so long has arrived. Really.
From Way Downtown 