Nate the Great

Even in college, Robinson showed his fondness for bold actions and breaking unwritten rules. In 2004, the University of Washington guard picked a game against rival Oregon to unleash a mild controversy. His Huskies already had secured the victory with less than seven seconds left in the game. The first congratulatory handshakes had already taken place and everyone expected Washington to just run out the final seconds. But not Nate Robinson, who took Brandon Roy’s inbounds pass, dribbled the length of the court and threw down a spectacular dunk. Clearly an insult to any idea of fairness and the spirit of sports, many Oregon players and coaching staff had to be restraint from attacking Robinson, who was the subject of plenty of verbal attacks. Robinson’s opinion of the incident? “Sometimes things like that happen. The situation just called for it,” said Robinson rather unregretful one year after “Oregon-Gate”.

Awaiting the then 21-year-old Robinson for his start in the NBA was a Knicks franchise without a leader, direction or perspective. The Phoenix Suns selected Robinson with the 21st pick of the 2005 NBA Draft and promptly sent him to New York as part of the Kurt Thomas-Quentin Richardson trade. Playing for coaches Larry Brown and then Isiah Thomas, Robinson offered regular performances which gave the suffering Knicks fans a rare ray of hope during one of the worst periods in the club’s history. Nate used his explosive nature and game perfectly in the role of energizer off the bench. “Everybody talks about my size. But as long as I play like a giant, that’s fine,” said Robinson, who clearly considered himself one of the most important players in the Knicks rotation.

Nate’s lack of size clearly creates match-up problems which make it difficult to find the ideal position in the Knicks system. As a point guard, Robinson turns the ball over too many times – his assist-turnover ratio of 2.1 is one of the lower among the league’s playmakers. And being just 5-foot-9 is much too short as a shooting guard. Robinson makes up a bit of his lack of size with his superior jumping ability and quickness. But he is helpless when tall or heavier guards bring him into the blocks. The same goes for the pick-and-roll, against which he lacks the body mass to fight off a screen. In addition, Robinson is not a strong one-on-one defender And every taller guard (and that is nearly every player in the league) knows they will have the room to shoot over Robinson. If Nate does use his leaping ability to try and block the shot, he is susceptible to fouls or drives.

But the arrival of Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo offense not only drew rave reviews from fans, but it seemed a system built ideally for Robinson. The numerous fast break situations compensate for his below-average passing skills and give him plenty of chances to excite the fans with another of his exhilarating dunks. Still, the fan favorite’s coach and his teammates know that Robinson is a shoot-first point guard who will throw up a shot if he’s in trouble instead of looking for a teammate. And too often, Robinson relies on his jump shot in the half-court offense instead of using his tremendous quickness to penetrate the zone. “He still has a long way to go,” said D’Antoni.

Of course it’s clear that D’Antoni’s “Seven Second Or Less” system tends to inflate guards’ statistics. Without questioning his skills, Steve Nash won the 2005 and 2006 MVP titles by leading the up-tempo – and advantageous – Suns offense. And the same tendency is happening for Knicks guards Chris Duhon and Robinson.

So what does the future hold for “Nate the Great”? In the NBA, the shorter a player is, the more important traits such as specialization, fitness and mental stability become. As someone who lives a bit on the edge, the last point will be a challenge for Robinson. He is responsible – with the help of the Knicks coaching staff – for staying consistent and focused. If that doesn’t happen, the way out of the league is quick and steep. But if Robinson can maintain his athleticism and keep his emotions under control, then he has good chances of becoming one of the biggest short guys in league history. And millions of kids will dream of being like him.

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