Former NBA All-Star, Sixth Man of the Year, and veteran of 18 seasons Cliff Robinson has passed away, Claudine Ewing of WGRZ-TV first reported (Twitter link). He was 53.
Across his 18 seasons, Robinson suited up for the Trail Blazers, Suns, Pistons, Warriors and Nets. After a standout showcase at UConn, Robinson was drafted by Portland in the second round (36th overall) of the 1989 NBA Draft.
During his eight-year run in Portland, Robinson became a weapon off the bench as he appeared in all 82 games for his first five seasons. Robinson became the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year for the 1992/93 season, then an All-Star in 1993/94 when he moved into the starting lineup.
Robinson remained a double-digit scoring weapon for most of his post-Portland career before he retired from the league following the 2006/07 campaign. He appeared in 1,380 total regular season games and another 141 postseason contests over the course of his NBA career, averaging 14.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG.
The Buffalo, New York native had experienced some health problems in recent years. In 2017, Robinson suffered a brain hemorrhage that temporarily paralyzed the left side of his body, according to the Portland Tribune. Then, in 2018, he underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his jaw, per KATU.
Hoops Rumors sends our condolences to Robinson’s family and friends.
Holy crap. What a loss. Great player who played for a long time. Nearly 20 thousand points. All star and could play 4 positions at various times.
Too soon. Life is precious.
This has been a strange, sad, disappointing year for Blazer fans. Can’t wait for 2020 to go away.
Never saw him play in person, but even on TV, it always looked like he was happy to be playing and the type of player who did what was asked and what needed done.
Besides bring an NBA player, Cliff was also on Surivor season 28 back in 2014
You say that like it’s a good thing.
Apparently he had stroke way back. Could have been health issues. That’s too young. He was an all star. Solid big who would be great for today’s game. Solid 2way player. Great Blazer player. 2020 man .
RIP Baller
The 2nd most famous 80s headband after mark knopfler. Great player of the great blazers. Rip
Way too young.RIP.