Basketball never seemed like it was going to amount to much for David Robinson early in his life, as he didn’t even play organized basketball until his senior year of high school.  Robinson, like his father, joined the Navy and attended the U.S. Naval Academy right after high school and he is nicknamed “The Admiral” because of this.  Robinson was always extremely reliable and a great leader for the Spurs, as he helped mentor and guide the young and talented Tim Duncan when he first arrived in the league.  Most superstar NBA players would not react well to a young rookie taking away shots and sometimes minutes from them, but Robinson knew that Duncan was key to them winning a championship.  Robinson put his ego aside and they went on to win two NBA Championships (1999, 2003).

During his career, “The Admiral” was always filling up the stat sheet with averages of 21.1 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 3.0 bpg and 2.5 apg.  Three blocks a game over a career is an absurd stat, as most centers rarely average even 2 blocks a game in a season, let alone 3 in a career.  He was the Rookie of the Year in 1990, Defensive Player of the Year in 1992, and the MVP in 1995.  He also had a 71 point game against the Los Angeles Clippers during the 1994 season.

The best part about Robinson wasn’t his accomplishments on the court, but it was his generosity off it.  Robinson has donated millions of dollars over the years to many different charities and has paid for many students’ college tuitions.  The NBA was very aware of Robinson’s philanthropy and honored him by giving the monthly NBA Community Assist Award winners the “David Robinson Plaque” for outstanding charitable and community efforts.

The Hall of Fame ceremonies are from September 10-12 in Springfield, Massachusetts and the other members of the Class of 2009 inductees includes the legendary Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan, Utah Jazz point guard and NBA all-time assist and steals leader John Stockton, Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, and Rutgers University women’s head coach Vivian Stringer.

Brent Barry has been shooting outstanding so far this season as he has been a huge asset off the bench for the Spurs.  Barry is shooting 50% from the floor, 45.3% from three point range and 93.8% from the free throw line.  Barry has now played in 24 games this season for the Spurs and he is averaging 19.2 minutes, 7.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.  Look for Barry to continue to play well as Coach Popovich has been using him right.

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The Spurs have released rookie point guard Darius Washington and they have signed veteran DerMarr Johnson. Washington played in 18 games this season for the Spurs and he averaged 8.1 minutes, 2.9 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. He has shot 43.8% from the floor, 33.3% from the three point line and 53.8% from the free throw line. Johnson has played in 1 game for the Spurs and he played 4 minutes and scored 2 points.

The Spurs don’t have much playing time available for rookies due to the veteran make up of the team. Point guard Darius Washington has played in 18 games so far this season and he is averaging 8.1 minutes, 2.9 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Power forward Ian Mahinmi has played in 6 games this season and he is averaging 3.8 minutes, 3.5 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Don’t look for either of these guys to get extended minutes any time soon.