Justin Robinson Gets A Plum NBA Gig

A loss for Duke but what an opportunity for Robinson

Well this is pretty cool news although it could be better for Duke: Justin Robinson, who has been Jon Scheyer’s Director of Player Development, has taken on a new post: he’s now with JJ Redick’s Los Angeles Lakers, where he’ll more or less have the same title: player development coach.

Six of one, half dozen of the other and it doesn't matter what you call him, because Robinson has been coaching since he got to Duke, and we mean as a player.

He has a pretty interesting background. His father is NBA legend David Robinson, and while Robinson was never near his father’s talent level, we think he had the biggest impact on Duke of any walk-ons that have ever been here.

That’s saying a lot.

In the ‘70’s, Bruce Bell stepped in when no one on the roster was capable of running point and did a damned good job.

Reggie Love walked on as a football player and carved out an unbelievable role in 2001. More recently, 5-8 Spencer Hubbard had a major impact in practice and became a fan favorite.

Robinson is different. While everyone liked him, and while he was an effective practice player, he had a big role behind the scenes. In particular, Marshall Plumlee was distraught after Duke blew a 16-point lead to Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament. Robinson just basically hung out with his friend and made sure that he felt cared for.

Sounds small, but it had a dramatic impact on Plumlee, who emotionally related the story at Duke’s Basketball banquet in his senior speech.

We’re sure he had an impact on this year’s team too and that he’ll be a solid presence with the Lakers, especially the younger players.

One of the real losses of the Covid era was that Robinson, after years of working hard, had just started to emerge as a key to Duke’s post-season hopes when the pandemic hit. It’s a very small footnote considering all the terrible losses of that era, but he was about to do something amazing and was denied by circumstances out of his control.

Here’s hoping he does amazing things with the Lakers.