Remembering Cliff Robinson on the day of his demise; how the Blazers star rose to the occasion during the 1990 and 1992 NBA finals.
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Cliff Robinson, the 36th pick of the 1989 draft was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers. Robinson had already shown potential in his college career by winning the 1988 NIT Tournament and getting selected for the all-tournament team.
In his 8 years with the Trailblazers, they made the playoffs each year. They made the Finals in 1990 and 1992. Robinson was named the 6th man of the year for his 1992-93 season performance. In 1994 Robinson was named an all-star. He set a 461 consecutive games played record, which still is a Trailblazers record.
Cliff Robinson further played 4 seasons with the Phoenix Suns, where his most notable stint was the 50-point game against Nuggets. He set the record for the oldest player to score 50 for the first time in their career, at 33years and 2 months.
After that, he played 2 seasons each for the Pistons, Warriors and he ended his career with the final 2-year stint in Brooklyn.
Also Read: “LeBron passes Cliff Robinson in regular-season wins.”
What made Cliff Robinson so invaluable?
Cliff Robinson, if you look at him by his stats, doesn’t look that impressive. The thing that made Robinson stand out was what his on court presence did to the team, instead of his individual stats.
Even though Robinson shot 39.7% off the field in his rookie year, he never shied away, and still asked Clyde Drexler for the ball. He was ‘offense oriented’ and tried to score every time he hit the court. His shooting improved by the passing years, and so did his on-court importance.
His 1990’s Finals performance, against the almighty Pistons, was impressive for a rookie. He came off the bench and had the assignment of guarding Pistons star Isiah Thomas. In the 1992 Finals, he averaged a little over 10ppg and had a tremendous defensive rating against the Bulls, who were on a rampage.
Robinson passes at 53
Cliff Robinson reported dead by his family today. He survived a major brain haemorrhage in 2017. He had been a pillar for the society and the entire Portland community has been paying their tribute to him.
