James Robinson (basketball)

James "Hollywood" Robinson (born August 31 1970 in Jackson, Mississippi) is a former American professional basketball player, most notably in the NBA.

Robinson, an undersized 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) shooting guard, attended the University of Alabama before being selected with the 21st overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.

High school & college

As a Mississippi high school star, Robinson competed against Chris Jackson, who went on to collegiate stardom at Louisiana State and NBA fame with the Denver Nuggets. As a junior at Alabama in 1992-93, Robinson led the Crimson Tide with 20.6 points per game, also tallying 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest, and was named to the All-Southeastern Conference First Team. He set a school record by scoring 20 or more points in 12 straight games and became the first junior in Crimson Tide history to surpass 1,500 career points (he finished with 1,831).

Robinson's scoring average was the highest at Alabama since Buck Johnson's 20.7 in 1986. After such a stellar year, Robinson elected to pass up his senior season and enter the 1993 NBA Draft.

NBA

After an uneventful first professional season (58 games with 11 minutes per game), although he did compete in the Slam-Dunk Championship at the NBA All-Star Weekend, Robinson's importance in Portland increased from 1994–96, as Clyde Drexler was traded to Houston midway through 1994-95 and Terry Porter was often injured the following season. After that season, he was traded, along with Bill Curley and a conditional first-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves, for Isaiah Rider.

As a Timberwolf, Robinson achieved roughly the same averages than his final two Portland years, albeit in less playing time. In 1997-98, he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Clippers, and posted similar numbers (almost 8 ppg in 84 games). Waived in March 1999, he would rejoin the Timberwolves, with little impact.

Midway through 2000-01, after one season of absence, Robinson served a ten-day contract with the Orlando Magic, eventually his last NBA stint.

Career statistics

Trades and contracts

*7/23/1996 – Traded by the Blazers with Bill Curley and a conditional first round draft pick in 1997 or 1998 to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Isaiah "J.R." Rider.
*8/16/1997 – Signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Clippers; 3/18/1999 – waived
*3/26/1999 – Signed to the first of two consecutive 10-day contracts by the Minnesota Timberwolves; 4/17/1999 – signed for the remainder of the season

Trivia

*He was one of three Robinsons that the Portland Trail Blazers had in its roster in the 1995-96 NBA season, the others being Clifford Robinson and Rumeal Robinson.

External links

*NBA-profile|james_robinson|James Robinson
*basketball-reference|id=r/robinja02|name=James Robinson