Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson (born May 31, 1984) is an American former professionalbasketball player. Robinson playedcollege basketball for theWashington Huskies and was the 21st overall pick of the2005 NBA draft.[1] The 5-foot-6-inch (1.68 m)point guard played 11 seasons in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) for theNew York Knicks,Boston Celtics,Oklahoma City Thunder,Golden State Warriors,Chicago Bulls,Denver Nuggets,Los Angeles Clippers, andNew Orleans Pelicans. Robinson became the NBA's first three-timeslam dunk champion in 2010.[2]
Robinson was born on May 31, 1984, inSeattle, Washington. Growing up in theSouth Seattle area, Robinson spent his first three years of high school atRainier Beach High School before moving toUnion City, California, where he played forJames Logan High School in 2000–01. He then returned to Rainier Beach for his senior season in 2001–02. At Rainier Beach, Robinson 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 teammatesTerrence Williams and twins, Rodrick andLodrick Stewart. He averaged 17.9 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals per game in 2001–02, and was named the AAA State player of the year in Washington. Rainier Beach also received a No. 7 national ranking fromUSA Today.[3]
On September 10, 2010, Rainier Beach retired Robinson's No. 2 jersey.[4]
Robinson was originally enrolled at Washington on a football scholarship, but decided to concentrate on basketball beginning with his sophomore year. He played all 13 football games in 2002 and started the final six games as a cornerback on theHusky football squad, including theSun Bowl. He intercepted two passes and made 34 tackles.[3]
In his freshman basketball season atWashington in 2002–03, Robinson was named to the CollegeInsider.com's 20-player national All-Freshmen Team, as well as earning All-Pac-10 Freshman Team honors. He led the team in scoring average with 13.0 points per game, a figure that ranked 17th among Pac-10 players; also his 300 points tied for fourth among all-time UW freshmen.[3]
In his sophomore season, Robinson was named to theAll-Pac-10 first team after he led the team and ranked 13th among Pac-10 scorers with 13.2 points per game.[3]
In his junior season, Robinson was named to the NABC All-NCAA District 14 first team, NABC All-America third team, Pac-10 All-Tournament team and All-Pac-10 first team[3] after leading Washington to theSweet Sixteen of theNCAA Tournament[5]
In April 2005, Robinson declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final year of college eligibility.[6]
Robinson was selected with the 21st overall pick by thePhoenix Suns in the2005 NBA draft. He was later traded to theNew York Knicks on draft night along withQuentin Richardson in exchange forKurt Thomas and the draft rights toDijon Thompson.[7]
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 thePhiladelphia 76ers atMadison 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. During theAll-Star weekend, Robinson won the 2006 Sprite Rising StarsSlam Dunk Contest, edgingAndre Iguodala 141–140 in overtime, although he took 14 attempts to make his final dunk. In his most memorable dunk of the night, he jumped over 1986 championSpud Webb, and received a perfect 50-point score for the dunk.[8]
During the 2005–06 season, Robinson was reportedly involved in physical altercations between teammatesJerome James andMalik Rose in separate incidents. He was at one point considered by Knicks' coachLarry Brown to be demoted to theNBA Development League. He was instead placed on the Inactive List for 10 games between February 24 and March 11.[9]
On November 11, 2006, Robinson blocked the 7'6"Yao Ming during the Knicks' 97–90 loss to theHouston Rockets.[10] It became one of his career highlights owing to the unlikeliness of the event and Robinson's own athletic abilities.[11]
On December 16, 2006, Robinson was one of the primary participants in thebrawl between theDenver Nuggets and the Knicks. His fight with Nuggets guardJ. R. Smith landed in the seats, and he was suspended for 10 games as a result.[12]
Robinson competed in the 2007 Slam Dunk Contest to defend his 2006 title, and came in second place afterGerald Green. In the second round, Green'sBoston Celtics teammatePaul 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.[13]
In the2007–08 season, Robinson averaged 12.7 points per game and was the team's leading scorer in 10 games. On March 8, 2008, he scored a career-high 45 points in a 114–120 overtime loss to thePortland Trail Blazers.[14]
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 teammateWilson 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 representingKryptonite (which he called "KryptoNATE"), countering competitorDwight 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.[15]
Robinson had 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 hisTwitter 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.
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 theAtlanta Hawks, and scored 41 points off the bench in the Knicks' overtime victory.[16] He scored 21 of the Knicks' final 25 points, which included outscoring the Hawks by himself in overtime.
On February 13, 2010, Robinson won the 2010 SpriteSlam Dunk Contest, becoming the first three-time Slam Dunk champion.[17]
On February 18, 2010, Robinson was traded to theBoston Celtics along withMarcus Landry in exchange forEddie House,Bill Walker, andJ. R. Giddens.[18] Robinson played in 26 games with the Celtics averaging 6.5 points per game in 14.7 minutes per game. He was the primary backup toRajon Rondo.
Despite his limited playing time, Robinson made key contributions during the Celtics playoff run that season. In the series clinching Game 6 of theEastern Conference Finals against theOrlando Magic, he scored 13 points in just 13 minutes while Rondo was tending to an injury.[19] The Celtics bench, namely Robinson andGlen Davis,[20] who called themselves "Shrek and Donkey",[21][22] led a 13–2 run in the fourth quarter of theirNBA Finals Game 4 victory to tie the series at two games each.[23] The Celtics ultimately lost the series in seven games.
On July 16, 2010, Robinson re–signed with Boston on a two-year deal.[24] With Rondo playing on limited minutes for the first two months of the season due to an ankle injury, Robinson received extended playing time and started 11 games for the Celtics between November and December. Six of the games Robinson started were part of a 14–game win streak for the Celtics.[25] By January 2011, both Rondo andDelonte West were healthy, and Robinson was pushed to third on the point guard depth chart.
On February 24, 2011, Robinson was traded, along withKendrick Perkins, to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange forJeff Green andNenad Krstić.[26] He appeared in a second consecutive Conference Finals that year, but had fallen out of the Thunder's rotation by that point.
On December 24, 2011, just prior to the start of thelockout–shortened 2011–12 season, the Thunder waived Robinson.[27]
On January 4, 2012, Robinson signed with theGolden State Warriors.[28] On January 10, 2012, with the absence ofStephen Curry, Robinson led the Warriors with 24 points in a 111–106 overtime victory over theMiami Heat.[29] In the 2011–2012 season he averaged 11.2 points, 4.5 assists and 2 rebounds in 51 games played.
On July 31, 2012, Robinson signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bulls.[30] Due toDerrick Rose's injury, Robinson was given extensive playing time and started 23 games behindKirk Hinrich. Robinson was named as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the first week of February, after averaging 17.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 2.5 steals on 52.9 percent from the three-point line in a 4-game span.[31] During a 19-game stretch from March 8 to April 14, Robinson averaged 18.6 points and 5.1 assists,[32] which included a win over the defending championHeat on March 27 to end Miami's 27-game winning streak.[33] The Bulls finished 45–37, good for the fifth seed in the East.
Up 2–1 in their first round series against the Brooklyn Nets, the Bulls faced a 109–95 deficit in game 4 with less than three minutes left in regulation. Robinson scored 12 unanswered points to bring the Bulls back and eventually win the game in triple overtime.[34] He finished the game with 34 points, including 23 points in the 4th quarter, just one point shy ofMichael Jordan's franchise playoff record.[35] The Nets won the next two games setting up a decisive game 7 in Brooklyn that the Bulls won, which was their first road game 7 victory in franchise history.
Matched with the Miami Heat in the semifinals, Robinson scored 27 points and nine assists in game 1 to stun the defending champions and take a 1–0 series lead.[36] He joined Michael Jordan,Scottie Pippen, and Derrick Rose as the only Bulls to score at least 25 points and nine assists in a playoff game.[37] The Bulls lost the next four as Miami went on to repeat as NBA Champions.Steve Kerr, then a television analyst, said after Robinson's performance in the2013 NBA Playoffs, "they might have to put a statue of this guy outside the building, right next to Michael."[38] Kevin Craft ofThe Atlantic called Robinson the breakout star of the playoffs.[39]
On July 26, 2013, Robinson signed a multi-year deal with theDenver Nuggets.[40] He announced that he would wear number 10 to honor soccer playerLionel Messi; his preferred number 2 was already retired forAlex English.[41]
On June 23, 2014, Robinson exercised the player option on his contract.[42][43] On January 13, 2015, Robinson was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange forJameer Nelson[44] Two days later, he was waived by the Celtics before appearing in a game for them.[45]
On March 7, 2015, Robinson signed a 10-day contract with theLos Angeles Clippers.[46] On March 17, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Clippers.[47] Due to injury, he was not retained by the Clippers following the expiration of his second 10-day contract.[48]
On October 16, 2015, Robinson signed a one-year deal with theNew Orleans Pelicans.[49][50] On October 29, he was waived by the Pelicans after appearing in the team's first two games of the regular season.[51]
On March 17, 2016, Robinson signed withHapoel Tel Aviv of theIsraeli Basketball Premier League.[52] On May 19, he scored a season-high 46 points in a playoff game againstHapoel Jerusalem.[53] In 14 games for Tel Aviv, he averaged 16.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
On February 8, 2017, Robinson was acquired by theDelaware 87ers of theNBA Development League.[54] On February 14, he made his debut in a 123–101 win over theMaine Red Claws, recording three points, three assists and three steals in 18 minutes off the bench.[55]
On April 3, 2017, Robinson signed withGuaros de Lara of the VenezuelanLiga Profesional de Baloncesto (LPB).[56] In July, Robinson won the2017 LPB championship with Guaros. Robinson was named theLPB Grand Final MVP.[57]
On July 31, 2018, Robinson signed withHomenetmen Beirut of theLebanese Basketball League.[58] He was waived by the club in September 2018 due to an injury he suffered while playing in theBIG3 during the summer.[59]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | New York | 72 | 26 | 21.4 | .407 | .397 | .752 | 2.3 | 2.0 | .8 | .0 | 9.3 |
| 2006–07 | New York | 64 | 5 | 21.2 | .434 | .390 | .777 | 2.4 | 1.4 | .8 | .1 | 10.1 |
| 2007–08 | New York | 72 | 17 | 26.2 | .423 | .332 | .786 | 3.1 | 2.9 | .8 | .0 | 12.7 |
| 2008–09 | New York | 74 | 11 | 29.9 | .437 | .325 | .841 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 1.3 | .1 | 17.2 |
| 2009–10 | New York | 30 | 2 | 24.4 | .452 | .375 | .778 | 2.4 | 3.7 | .9 | .2 | 13.2 |
| Boston | 26 | 0 | 14.7 | .401 | .414 | .615 | 1.5 | 2.0 | .8 | .0 | 6.5 | |
| 2010–11 | Boston | 55 | 11 | 17.9 | .404 | .328 | .825 | 1.6 | 1.9 | .5 | .1 | 7.1 |
| Oklahoma City | 4 | 0 | 7.5 | .267 | .250 | .750 | .3 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | 3.3 | |
| 2011–12 | Golden State | 51 | 9 | 23.4 | .424 | .365 | .832 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 1.2 | .0 | 11.2 |
| 2012–13 | Chicago | 82* | 23 | 25.4 | .433 | .405 | .799 | 2.2 | 4.4 | 1.0 | .1 | 13.1 |
| 2013–14 | Denver | 44 | 1 | 19.7 | .428 | .377 | .835 | 1.8 | 2.5 | .8 | .1 | 10.4 |
| 2014–15 | Denver | 33 | 1 | 14.1 | .348 | .261 | .650 | 1.2 | 2.3 | .4 | .1 | 5.8 |
| L.A. Clippers | 9 | 0 | 14.0 | .333 | .350 | .833 | 1.2 | 2.2 | .7 | .0 | 5.1 | |
| 2015–16 | New Orleans | 2 | 1 | 11.5 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | 2.0 | .5 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | 618 | 107 | 22.5 | .423 | .360 | .796 | 2.3 | 3.0 | .9 | .1 | 11.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
Robinson's father,Jacque Robinson, played American football for the Huskies and earned MVP honors in both the1982 Rose Bowl and1985 Orange Bowl. Robinson's father was drafted by theBuffalo Bills in 1987 and played one season with thePhiladelphia Eagles before hisNFL career ended. His mother operates a beauty salon in Seattle.[60] He is also the cousin ofpoint guardTony Wroten.[61] Robinson's great-great-grandfather on his maternal side wasFilipino.[62][63]
Robinson has three children with his high school sweetheart.[64]
In 2022, Robinson revealed that he had been battlingrenal disease.[65] In April 2024, his renal failure had advanced to the point where he did not have long to live without a new kidney replacing his failing one.[66] In February 2025, Robinson received a kidney transplant.[67]
In 2014, Robinson released a book entitledHeart over Height.[68]
In 2014, Robinson opened achicken and waffles restaurant inRainier Beach, Seattle, the neighborhood where he grew up and went to high school.[69][70]
In June 2016, Robinson played with theSeattle Seahawks practice squad.[71]
In 2018, Robinson played the role of Boots in the basketball comedy filmUncle Drew.
In July 2020, Robinson announced he would be venturing into boxing for a professional debut, facing professional boxer and YouTuberJake Paul as part of the undercard for theMike Tyson vs.Roy Jones Jr. exhibition match. The event was initially scheduled for September 12 at theDignity Health Sports Park inCarson, California;[72][73] however, in August, Tyson revealed the event had been pushed back to November 28 in order to maximize revenue.[73] Robinson lost to Paul by second-roundknockout. The same year, Adult streaming websiteCamsoda extended an offer to Robinson to compete inFull Metal Dojo's Fight Circus and get paid US$200,000 for every fighter he faces in one night.[74]
| 1 fight | 0 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 0 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Loss | 0–1 | Jake Paul | KO | 2 (6),1:24 | Nov 28, 2020 | Staples Center,Los Angeles, California, U.S.[75] |
Father Jacque Robinson played tailback at Washington from 1981–84 and amassed 2,300 career yards to rank eighth on all-time Huskies list
Bartholomew, who wrote a profile about Robinson for the Seattle Weekly, interviewed Robinson's mother Renee Busch and she confirmed that her great grand father was full Filipino
'I'm like 1/8th, on my momma's side. But that's like digging down the line though. It's like great, great grandparent.'
· Basketball Reference| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
