Being Gifted A ‘Priceless’ Piaget By Tim Duncan Upon Retirement, David Robinson Revealed How He Spent 1000s On His Teammates In 1994

Spurs legend David Robinson is to be a huge watch enthusiast, in addition to his talents on the court. In a 2018 interview with YouTube channel ‘Hodinkee,’ The Admiral talked about his love for watches. The 2-time NBA champion and 1995 MVP can be seen talking about two incidents in which he either received a watch or gifted them to his teammates.

The first story came after the conclusion of his MVP season, as Robinson revealed that he had given each member of his Spurs roster a steel watch as a gift. 

“ It was a Bertolucci at the time. I thought that they were a lot of fun, stainless steel, Bertolucci, beautiful watches. Just to get them tuned in to, hey, what this world of watches was about at the time,” he said, claiming that his intention was to ensure his teammates understood what watches were ‘all about’ during that time. These watches would have set The Admiral back by 1000s of dollars, but surely his teammates would’ve appreciated the gesture.

The second incident was related to Tim Duncan. Robinson revealed that he got a rather unusual watch as a gift from his legendary teammate upon his retirement. 

“Tim Duncan gave me this watch, and it’s a very unusual watch with kind of a different type of a deployant clasp that comes around the face of the watch, which is fantastic,” he said, before revealing why the watch was special to him.

Robinson revealed that it came with a personal message engraved behind it. The message ensured that the watch would never leave his collection. “And on the back, you know he engraved it to me, it says to 50, my teammate, mentor and friend,” he said.

Robinson went on to talk about how his big hands and wrists meant that he did not usually like watches with small faces. However, the heartfelt message from Tim Duncan on the back of the Piaget Upstream Chronograph meant that it had a special significance.

David Robinson has a range of expensive watches in his possession

Robinson was a 10-time All-Star and part of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team as well. The 2-time Champion was regarded as one of the best players of his generation and has a passion for watches off the court.

According to Hodinkee, Robinson owns several expensive watches in addition to the Piaget watch he received from Duncan. For example, Robinson revealed that he owns a Hublot Big Bang, a Rolex Yacht-Master, and even a Panerai Luminor 1950 GMT Ceramica, which was a gift from his wife.

Other notable watches that he owns include the F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Quantième Perpétuel, and a Franck Muller King Conquistador.