Glenn Alan Robinson Jr. (born January 10, 1973) is an American former 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. Nicknamed "Big Dog" and "The Chosen One", he played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA) from 1994 to 2005 for the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

, and

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

. Robinson attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

and was the first overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft. He is the father of Glenn Robinson III, who played college basketball at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and has also played in the NBA.

Early life

Robinson was born to Christine Bridgeman in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along th ...

. With his mother being an unmarried teenager, Robinson rarely saw his father. Not receiving the best grades at school, his mother once pulled him off the basketball team, and he took a job at an

air-conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

and

refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

shop.

High school career

Robinson attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in Gary, where he started playing organized basketball during the 9th grade. He was a member of three IHSAA Sectional title teams, two Regional title teams and a State Championship team. During his senior season (1990–91), he led the Panthers to an Indiana state basketball championship, winning the final game against Brebeuf Jesuit and their star Alan Henderson; this highly anticipated showdown was captured in ''The Road to Indianapolis''. and ''Indiana High School Basketball 20 Most Dominant Players''. Robinson won the 1991

Indiana Mr. Basketball The Indiana Mr. Basketball honor recognizes the top high school basketball player in the state of Indiana. The award is presented annually by ''The Indianapolis Star''. The first Indiana Mr. Basketball was George Crowe of Franklin High School in ...

award, the oldest such award in the nation (inaugurated in 1939). He was selected as a McDonald's All-American and along with

Chris Webber Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III (born March 1, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Drafted number one overall by the Orlando Magic, though arguably best known and remembered as the star forward for the Sacramento Ki ...

was one of the MVPs of the Dapper Dan Roundball classic.

College career

1991–1993

After high school, Robinson attended

to play under head coach Gene Keady and his recruiter/assistant coach Frank Kendrick. A school custodian gave him the nickname of "Big Dog" before he played a game for Purdue. Robinson subsequently got a tattoo of a "snarling bulldog wearing a spiked collar" on his chest. Due to struggles with NCAA eligibility, resulting from Proposition 48 which requires minimum academic standards, he had to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

for his freshman season. He worked as a

welder In a broad sense, a welder is anyone, amateur or professional, who uses welding equipment, perhaps especially one who uses such equipment fairly often. In a narrower sense, a welder is a tradesperson who specializes in fusing materials togethe ...

during the summers while at Purdue. Eligible for his sophomore season, Robinson led the Boilermakers with 24.1 points and 9.4 rebounds a game in his first season as a Boilermaker. He led them to an 18–10 record in the regular season and an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

tournament appearance. He received First Team All-Big Ten and Second Team All-American honors.

1993–1994

In his junior season, Robinson built upon his previous season's averages with 30.3 points and 11.2 rebounds a game, while becoming the first player since 1978 to lead the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

in both categories. Along with teammates Cuonzo Martin and Matt Waddell, he led the Boilermakers to a

Title and an

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

appearance, finishing the season with a 29–5 record and a 3rd overall ranking. In his last college game against a

Grant Hill Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player who is a co-owner and executive of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Duke University and is widely consider ...

-led

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

team in the NCAA Tournament, Robinson was held to only 13 points, his season low, while suffering from a back strain he sustained against

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

in the prior game. Leading the nation in scoring and becoming the conference's all-time single season points leader with 1,030 points, Robinson was unanimously selected as the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year. He also unanimously received the John R. Wooden Award and Naismith Award, the first national player of the year-honored Boilermaker since

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as hea ...

himself did it in 1932 (who also wore the jersey #13). Robinson also was the recipient for the

USBWA College Player of the Year The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the outstanding men's college basketball player by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). The trophy is considered to be the oldest of its kind and has been given out since 195 ...

College notes

Robinson left Purdue after becoming the only Boilermaker to have more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 steals, 100 assists and 50 blocked shots in a career during his two seasons at Purdue, along with a school weightlifting record with a 309-pound clean-and-jerk. His 1,030 points during his junior year made him only the 15th player in college history to score 1,000 points in a season. In September 2010, the

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs ...

named Robinson Icon No. 35 on its list of the biggest icons in Big Ten Conference history. Purdue's campus bookstores sold T-shirts featuring Robinson's image and his nickname "Big Dog" before Robinson complained and they discontinued the practice.

Professional career

Milwaukee Bucks (1994–2002)

Robinson was selected by the

with the first overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, the first Boilermaker to be selected as the first pick since

Joe Barry Carroll Joe Barry Carroll (born July 24, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After retiring from basketball, he became a wealth advisor, philanthropist, artist, a ...

in 1980. At the draft, Robinson wore a gold suit and black alligator slip-ons. Before he could take the court, he and the Bucks became involved in a contract holdout that lasted until the beginning of training camp after it was rumored that he desired a 13-year, $100 million contract. Robinson eventually signed a rookie-record 10-year, $68 million deal that stands as the richest NBA rookie contract, as a salary cap for rookies was implemented the following season. During his first year in the NBA, Robinson was twice named the Schick NBA Rookie of the Month and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team after leading all rookies with an average of 21.9 points per game. Robinson finished third in Rookie of the Year voting behind

and Jason Kidd, who shared the award, but was named Rookie Of The Year by ''Basketball Digest'' magazine. While playing for the

, Robinson recorded some of the best statistical seasons in franchise history. Early in his career, Robinson shared the frontcourt with teammate and All-Star Vin Baker. On December 7, 1996, Robinson scored 44 points on 70% shooting, alongside 7 rebounds and 6 assists, in a 126-118 victory over the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

. Despite another strong statistical season from Robinson, the Bucks would again fail make the NBA playoffs. After several trades, one of which had Baker go to Seattle, Robinson teamed with Ray Allen and Sam Cassell, and helped lead the Bucks to several postseason appearances. On May 11, 1999, Robinson scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a narrow 108-107 playoff loss against

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played his entire 18-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Indiana Pacers. Miller was known for his precision three-p ...

and the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...

. The underexperienced Bucks (was both Robinson's and Allen's first postseason appearance) would eventually lose the series. On January 29, 2001, Robinson scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and recorded 5 steals in a 99-96 loss against the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. On February 25, 2001, Robinson scored a career-high 45 points in a 122-95 win against the

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 ...

. That season, Robinson and the Bucks would reach the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the

in a 7 game series. In the final game of that series, Robinson scored 24 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and recorded 4 assists in a losing effort. It would be the closest the Bucks would get to the finals until 2019, when another Bucks Forward,

Giannis Antetokounmpo Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo (born Adetokunbo; December 6, 1994) is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Antetokounmpo's country of origin, in addition to his ...

, helped end their 18 year conference finals drought. Robinson was the second place all-time leading scorer in

history, only trailing

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

until surpassed by Giannis Antetokounmpo. Robinson averaged at least 20 points per game in seven of his eight seasons in Milwaukee. He made back-to-back

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 ...

Team appearances in 2000 and 2001.

Atlanta Hawks (2002–2003)

Robinson was traded by Milwaukee to the

for Toni Kukoč, Leon Smith, and a 2003 first-round pick on August 2, 2002. In Robinson's debut as a Hawk in the season opener, he scored 34 points, had 10 rebounds and 8 assists against the

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 ...

. During the 2002–03 season, he averaged 20.8 points a game and shot a personal-best 87.6 percent from the free throw line.

Philadelphia 76ers (2003–2005)

After a year in Atlanta, he was traded on July 23, 2003 with a 2006 second-round pick to the

in a four-team deal. In his tenth overall and only season playing with the Sixers, Robinson averaged 16.6 points and 1 steal per game as second scoring option to teammate,

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson (; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions. Iv ...

. After his year in Philadelphia during the 2003–04 season, Robinson did not play a game for the 76ers in 2004–05, largely due to an injury. On February 24, 2005, he was traded to the

New Orleans Hornets 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 ...

in exchange for forwards Rodney Rogers and

Jamal Mashburn Jamal Mashburn Sr. (born November 29, 1972) is an American entrepreneur and former professional basketball player. Nicknamed the "Monster Mash", Mashburn was a prolific scorer as a small forward in his 12 seasons in the National Basketball Assoc ...

. Robinson was waived by the team almost immediately and never suited up for them.

San Antonio Spurs (2005)

Robinson signed with the

on April 4, 2005 to establish an additional veteran shooting presence as the team prepared for the playoffs. As a role player in the 2005 playoffs, Robinson helped the Spurs win the

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. The games in the NBA Finals would be Robinson's last in the NBA, capping off his 11-year career with a title. Robinson was forced to retire due to injuries, particularly to his knees. He finished his career with 14,234 career points, averaging 20.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, also playing in two league all-star games.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

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, 82 , , 82 , , 39.6 , , .454 , , .342 , , .812 , , 6.1 , , 3.6 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 20.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 81 , , 81 , , 35.9 , , .472 , , .363 , , .802 , , 6.0 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 20.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 66 , , 63 , , 35.5 , , .467 , , .326 , , .837 , , 6.2 , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , 20.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

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Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

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Playoffs

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

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, 13 , , 0 , , 8.7 , , .356 , , .300 , , .882 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .2 , , .5 , , 3.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 39 , , 26 , , 28.0 , , .416 , , .379 , , .885 , , 4.7 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , .9 , , 13.8

National team career

Robinson was selected for the 1996 U.S. Olympic basketball team, but was unable to play because of injury. He was replaced by

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played the point guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best known for his 13-year tenure with ...

Personal life

His oldest son, Glenn III, played basketball for the University of Michigan and started for the national runner-up 2012–13 team. Following the 2012–13 Big Ten season he was an honorable mention All-conference selection and All-freshman honoree by the coaches. Glenn III currently plays in the NBA for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. His younger son, Gelen (class of 2014), is the 2013 Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) wrestling champion, the 2013 IHSAA

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's c ...

runner-up, the 2013 IHSAA discus runner-up, and a repeat (2012 and 2013) winner of ''

The Times of Northwest Indiana ''The Times of Northwest Indiana'' (NWI) is a daily newspaper headquartered in Munster, Indiana. It is the second-largest newspaper in Indiana, behind only ''The Indianapolis Star''. History The paper was founded on June 18, 1906, as ''The Lake ...

'' Football Defensive Player of the Year and as a result the 2012–13 Times of Northwest Indiana Athlete of the Year. Gelen played for the Purdue University football team and signed with the CFL

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

in 2018. He currently plays rugby for the LA Giltinis of

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR). Robinson also has a daughter named Jaimie who competes in track and field. On May 16, 2003, Robinson was convicted in Cook County, Illinois of domestic battery and assault charges involving his former fiance on July 20, 2002 in her Chicago Heights home.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Glenn 1973 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Gary, Indiana Big Ten Athlete of the Year winners McDonald's High School All-Americans Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Milwaukee Bucks players National Basketball Association All-Stars Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia 76ers players Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players San Antonio Spurs players Small forwards