David Robinson is one of the most unappreciated superstars in pro sports. It makes no sense that Robinson takes direct hit after direct hit for not leading the San Antonio Spurs to an NBA title, or three, when Spurs management has not provided him with a suitable supporting cast.
Instead of sticking the loser label on Robinson, why not place it on Spurs general manager/coach Gregg Popovich? Popovich had San Antonio on the verge of winning a title before allowing his ego to get in the way.
Former Spurs GM Bob Bass made a great trade when he dealt Sean Elliott for Dennis Rodman prior to the 1993-94 campaign. TENDEX loved it, considering Rodman's rating that season (.703) was fifth among all power forwards while Elliott finished last among starting small forwards (.367) that year.
Rodman had two great seasons on the basketball court with San Antonio. Teaming with Robinson, he provided the Spurs with the best complementary big-man duo in NBA history. Robinson scores and blocks shots as well as any player in the NBA. Rodman rebounds and plays defense better than anybody.
OFF THE COURT, HOWEVER, Rodman was, well, Rodman. His antics bothered Popovich to the point that he gave away, pound-for-pound, the best rebounder ever for Will Perdue, a backup center. Rodman joined the Chicago Bulls last season and helped Michael Jordan & Co. win a championship.
Popovich tried to convince everybody that trading Rodman was in the best interest of the Spurs. Well, in the immortal words of Derrick Coleman, whoop-de-damn-do! The Spurs are a one-man team again, and that isn't close to being good enough to win a title, David Robinson or no Robinson. And right now there is no David Robinson. With him out injured again, the Spurs are destined for a very rough season.
Popovich's latest power play resulted in him replacing Bob Hill as San Antonio's head coach. Popovich fired Hill after a 3-15 start, which included losses to eight non-playoff teams. Popovich said the Spurs didn't work hard enough under Hill, who didn't have Robinson because of a back injury. Popovich said it was total coincidence that he took over on the day that Robinson played his first game of the season.
Hill, who received the rawest of raw deals, chuckled when told of Popovich's comments while doing a national cable television interview.
Firing Hill without having Robinson in the lineup was like Jerry Krause firing Phil Jackson if the Bulls performed poorly because Jordan was out with an injury. That's how much Robinson means to the Spurs. Too bad some NBA players, reporters who cover the league and uninformed basketball fans believe Robinson's a wimp because he's never won a championship.
NO PLAYER, NO MATTER HOW great he is individually, has ever won a championship all by himself. Jordan won scoring titles but he didn't become a champion until Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant matured as players. Hakeem Olajuwon was labeled a loser for years before leading the Rockets to back-to-back titles. Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing and Elgin Baylor are but a few of the superstar players who don't own a championship ring.
The sad fact is, that except for the two years Rodman played in San Antonio, the Spurs never had enough talent to be considered legitimate title contenders.
Robinson's TENDEX rating the past three seasons has been the highest among all NBA players. Last year he graded out at .918. But his supporting cast was lacking. Among San Antonio's starters, guards Avery Johnson (.509) and Vinny Del Negro (.476), and forwards Charles Smith (.437) and Elliott (.491) all were below average for their respective positions.
This season, little has changed. So far, 35-year-old nobody-else-wanted-him free agent Dominique Wilkins (.647) is San Antonio's best player. Elliott's rating (.434) is worst than last season's. Johnson (.548) is playing the best ball of his career, and it still only places him in the middle of the pack among the league's regular point guards. Del Negro continues to start, although his rating (.465) indicates he should be coming off the bench.
It's virtually impossible for Robinson to win a championship with this bunch. Ironically, it's taking his absence from the lineup to prove it.
HERE'S HOW ROBINSON'S TENDEX RATING stacks up against other top centers the past three years:
1995-96: David Robinson .918, Arvydas Sabonis .891, Hakeem Olajuwon .804, Shaquille O'Neal .803, Alonzo Mourning .770, Patrick Ewing .750.
1994-95: David Robinson .891, Shaquille O'Neal .833, Hakeem Olajuwon .828, Patrick Ewing .809, Vlade Divac .701, Alonzo Mourning .685.
1993-94: David Robinson .921, Shaquille O'Neal .859, Hakeem Olajuwon .857, Patrick Ewing .834, Alonzo Mourning .711, Dikembe Mutombo .696.
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