Clifford Ralph Robinson (December 16, 1966August 29, 2020) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who played 18 seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Selected in the second round of the

1989 NBA draft The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn K ...

, he played the first eight seasons of his career with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

, followed by stints with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

, and

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. Robinson received the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1993 and was selected as an

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of al ...

in 1994. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's foo ...

College career

Robinson played four seasons at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

beginning in 1985. The

Huskies Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...

won the

1988 National Invitation Tournament The 1988 National Invitation Tournament was the 1988 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 32 teams selected for the tournament.

championship, and he was named to the all-tournament team. Robinson was later named to UConn's All-Century men's basketball team. On February 5, 2007, Robinson's number "00" was retired at

Gampel Pavilion Harry A. Gampel Pavilion is a 10,167-seat multi-purpose arena in Storrs, Connecticut, United States, on the campus of the University of Connecticut (UConn). The arena opened on January 21, 1990, and is the largest on-campus arena in New England. ...

during halftime of a UConn basketball game against Syracuse as part of the "Huskies of Honor" ceremony which recognized personal accomplishments of 13 former players and 3 coaches.

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (1989–1997)

Robinson was selected with the 36th overall pick in the second round of the

by the

. Robinson played for the Trail Blazers for eight seasons. Portland made the playoffs each year he was on the team, and played in the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

and

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

. Robinson won the Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1992–93 after averaging 19.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and a career-best 1.99 blocks per game. He was an All-Star with the team in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. Following Game 4 of the 1992 Western

Conference Finals Conference Finals may refer to: * NBA Conference Finals, National Basketball Association * NHL Conference Finals The National Hockey League (NHL) Conference Finals are the Eastern Conference and Western Conference championship series of the NHL. ...

against the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

, Robinson performed a victory dance that he later told press was named the "Uncle Cliffy". The nickname stuck with Robinson for the rest of his career. Following a game against the

on February 22, 1995, Robinson was forced to end his 461 iron man streak of consecutive games played since the start of his career. This streak stands as a franchise record for the Trail Blazers.

Phoenix Suns (1997–2001)

Robinson signed with the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on August 25, 1997, where he remained for four more seasons. The highlight of his tenure with the Suns was registering a career-best 50 points against the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

on January 16, 2000. He became the oldest player in NBA history to register his first 50-point game, aged 33 years and 2 months.

Detroit Pistons (2001–2003)

Robinson was traded to the

on June 29, 2001, in exchange for

Jud Buechler Jud may refer to: People People with the surname * Leo Jud (1482–1542), Swiss reformer * Jakob Jud (1882–1952), Swiss linguist People with the nickname or given name * Jud Birchall (1855–1887), American baseball player *Jud Birza (born 1989 ...

and John Wallace.

Golden State Warriors (2003–2005)

Robinson was traded to the

on August 21, 2003, along with Pepe Sánchez, in exchange for

Bob Sura Robert Sura Jr. (born March 25, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played ten seasons for five different teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). At , , he played as a shooting guard and point guard. Earl ...

. Although he played all 82 games during the regular season, it would be the first season in his career where he would not participate in the NBA playoffs.

New Jersey Nets (2005–2007)

On February 14, 2005, Golden State traded Robinson to the

in exchange for two second-round draft picks. He played with the Nets for two more seasons until he was released by the team in July 2007. Robinson then retired.

Suspensions

Robinson was arrested for

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

possession and

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

in February 2001 and received a one-game suspension. Robinson was also suspended for five games in February 2005 while playing for Golden State, and was suspended for five games during the NBA playoffs on May 12, 2006 for violating terms of the league's drug policy for the second time in two seasons.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 82 , , 0 , , 19.1 , , .397 , , .273 , , .550 , , 3.8 , , .9 , , .6 , , .6 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 11 , , 23.7 , , .463 , , .316 , , .653 , , 4.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 7 , , 25.9 , , .466 , , .091 , , .664 , , 5.1 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 12 , , 31.4 , , .473 , , .247 , , .690 , , 6.6 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , 2.0 , , 19.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 64 , , 34.8 , , .457 , , .245 , , .765 , , 6.7 , , 1.9 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , 20.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 73 , , 36.3 , , .452 , , .371 , , .694 , , 5.6 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , 21.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 76 , , 38.2 , , .423 , , .378 , , .664 , , 5.7 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 21.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 79 , , 38.0 , , .426 , , .346 , , .696 , , 4.0 , , 3.2 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 80 , , 64 , , 29.5 , , .479 , , .321 , , .689 , , 5.1 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 50 , , 35 , , 34.8 , , .475 , , .417 , , .697 , , 4.5 , , 2.6 , , 1.5 , , 1.2 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 67 , , 35.5 , , .464 , , .370 , , .782 , , 4.5 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 33.5 , , .422 , , .361 , , .709 , , 4.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, 80 , , 80 , , 35.7 , , .425 , , .378 , , .694 , , 4.8 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , , 1.2 , , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 69 , , 34.9 , , .398 , , .336 , , .676 , , 3.9 , , 3.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 82 , , 82 , , 34.7 , , .387 , , .357 , , .711 , , 4.1 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , .9 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 42 , , 29 , , 26.0 , , .398 , , .331 , , .603 , , 2.7 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 29 , , 0 , , 20.7 , , .361 , , .379 , , .692 , , 3.3 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .5 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 13 , , 23.3 , , .427 , , .343 , , .658 , , 3.3 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .5 , , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 50 , , 1 , , 19.1 , , .372 , , .379 , , .444 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .5 , , 4.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 1380 , , 844 , , 30.8 , , .438 , , .356 , , .689 , , 4.6 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 14.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 18.0 , , .625 , , .000 , , – , , 2.0 , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 10.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 6 , , 18.6 , , .358 , , .000 , , .558 , , 4.1 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 0 , , 22.1 , , .538 , , .333 , , .551 , , 3.9 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 1.0 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 0 , , 24.9 , , .462 , , .167 , , .571 , , 4.2 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1993 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 32.8 , , .262 , , .000 , , .409 , , 4.3 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , 1.8 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 37.3 , , .412 , , .222 , , .875 , , 6.3 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , 1.5 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 39.7 , , .362 , , .235 , , .563 , , 6.3 , , 2.7 , , .7 , , .3 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 36.2 , , .344 , , .261 , , .757 , , 3.6 , , 1.6 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 40.3 , , .362 , , .188 , , .688 , , 6.8 , , 3.0 , , .5 , , 1.0 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1998 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 23.0 , , .273 , , .000 , , .778 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , .8 , , .5 , , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 39.0 , , .475 , , .222 , , .636 , , 5.3 , , 2.7 , , 2.0 , , .3 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 9 , , 37.0 , , .386 , , .325 , , .733 , , 6.0 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 17.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 28.5 , , .420 , , .250 , , .636 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 10 , , 40.9 , , .363 , , .340 , , .800 , , 3.0 , , 2.9 , , 1.8 , , 1.9 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 17 , , 17 , , 30.8 , , .358 , , .373 , , .595 , , 2.7 , , 2.9 , , .9 , , .8 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 17.8 , , .407 , , .286 , , 1.000 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .3 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , 0 , , 24.8 , , .333 , , .316 , , .800 , , 3.3 , , .6 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .167 , , .500 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 141 , , 69 , , 27.6 , , .393 , , .298 , , .629 , , 3.9 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , 10.3

Retrospective

Robinson held career NBA per-game averages of 14.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.05 steals, and 1.03 blocks. His 1,380 games played are the 13th most all time in the NBA. and second among players eligible for the 2015

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

(after

Kevin Willis Kevin Alvin Willis (born September 6, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player mostly known for playing with the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 7-foot power forward/center. Excluding player ...

). At the end of the 2013–14 NBA season, his 42,561 minutes played in the NBA ranked him 19th among all players, 14th among retired players, and first among players eligible for the 2016 class of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Robinson was one of only two players drafted in the 1980s that was still active in the league in 2007, with the other being

. He played in the NBA Playoffs in all but one of his 18 seasons in the league, with his 2003–04 campaign with the Golden State Warriors being the exception. As of the 2014 NBA Playoffs, his 141 playoff games played ranked him 16th among inactive players not yet in the Hall of Fame, although he had a low .393

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gener ...

(compared to .438 during the regular season) and 2.1 Win Shares in those games. At 6'10", he was the tallest player to make more than 1,000

three-pointers A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a Field goal (basketball), field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, i ...

until he was surpassed by

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gre ...

and

Rashard Lewis Rashard Quovon Lewis (born August 8, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Lewis entered the NBA directly from Alief Elsik High School. He rose to prominence in the NBA as a scorer with the Seattle SuperSonics, and was later ...

; Robinson made 1,253 threes in his career. Among players who qualified for the 2015 Class of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Robinson ranked fifth among all players for

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

made and first among those 6'10" or taller. Robinson is one of seven players to record 1,300 steals and 1,300 blocked shots in their ABA/NBA career - the others are

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed KG by his initials, and the "Big Ticket" for his emphatic dunki ...

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

, Bobby Jones,

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian Americans, Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Ass ...

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

and Ben Wallace.

''Survivor''

Robinson was a contestant in the 28th installment of the American reality television series '' Survivor'' (filmed in 2013 and broadcast the following year). The theme for the season was Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty, and Robinson was placed on the "Brawn" tribe, Aparri. Although he did not initially plan to reveal his identity, he was recognized by Yung "Woo" Hwang, who admitted to being a fan of Robinson. Once his identity was revealed, he did not attempt to cover it up. After a tribe swap, Trish Hegarty revealed her strong distaste for Robinson and convinced fellow tribemate

Tony Vlachos Anthony Vlachos (born September 10, 1973) is an American police officer, best known for competing on the reality television competition series '' Survivor'', of which he is the second person to win two seasons. He won the show's 28th season, '' Su ...

to vote with her to eliminate him. He was the fifth contestant of the season to be voted out, finishing in 14th place.

Trip to North Korea

In 2014, Robinson was named to a team assembled by

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

as part of his "basketball diplomacy" effort in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

with the job of playing an exhibition match against the Northern Korean Senior National Basketball Team to celebrate the birthday of

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

. The team also included Kenny Anderson,

Vin Baker Vincent Lamont Baker (born November 23, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He appeared in four consecutive All-Star Games. As of 2018, Baker serves as an assista ...

Craig Hodges Craig Anthony Hodges (born June 27, 1960)
''basketball-reference.com''. Retrieved March 19, 2011 is an ...

Doug Christie Douglas Dale Christie (born May 9, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at , he played the shooting guard p ...

Sleepy Floyd Eric Augustus "Sleepy" Floyd (born March 6, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. An NBA All-Star in 1987 as a Warrior, he is perhaps best known for his tenures for Golden State and Houston. Early life, family and education ...

, Charles D. Smith, and four "streetballers".

Cannabis

During his post-basketball life, Robinson became an entrepreneur in the

cannabis industry The cannabis industry is composed of legal cultivators and producers, consumers, independent industrial standards bodies, ancillary products and services, regulators and researchers concerning cannabis and its industrial derivative, hemp. The can ...

, selling assorted

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

products under his "Uncle Cliffy" brand name. He was also an advocate for the

legalization of cannabis The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. These ...

, supporting efforts to reform cannabis laws in the states of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. During his time in the NBA, Robinson used cannabis to help relieve pain and anxiety, and to avoid the undesirable side effects caused by

pharmaceutical drugs A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...

. He partially attributed the longevity of his NBA career to his use of cannabis. Robinson appeared in the 2019 Netflix film '' Grass Is Greener'', which examines the history of cannabis prohibition in the United States.

Personal life

On September 21, 2003, Robinson married Heather Lufkins on the island of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. His son Isaiah Robinson played basketball for the Jefferson High School Democrats in Portland and the

Houston Baptist Huskies The Houston Christian Huskies, HCU or Huskies (formerly known as Houston Baptist, HBU) are the athletic teams that represent Houston Christian University, located in Houston, Texas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I leve ...

. As of 2017, Robinson resided in the West Hills area of

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

Health issues and death

Robinson suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in March 2017 that paralyzed the left side of his body, but he soon recovered much of his arm and leg movement. He had a tumor removed from his jaw in March 2018. In March 2019, Robinson underwent surgery for cancer treatment. He died of

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

on August 29, 2020, at the age of 53.

References

External links

NBA bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Clifford 1966 births 2020 deaths African-American basketball players American cannabis activists American men's basketball players Basketball players from Buffalo, New York Businesspeople in the cannabis industry Centers (basketball) Deaths from cancer in Oregon Deaths from lymphoma Detroit Pistons players Golden State Warriors players National Basketball Association All-Stars New Jersey Nets players Phoenix Suns players Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Survivor (American TV series) contestants UConn Huskies men's basketball players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people

College career

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (1989–1997)

Phoenix Suns (1997–2001)

Detroit Pistons (2001–2003)

Golden State Warriors (2003–2005)

New Jersey Nets (2005–2007)

Suspensions

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Retrospective

''Survivor''

Trip to North Korea

Cannabis

Personal life

Health issues and death

See also

References

External links