A very difficult week for the basketball community continued on Saturday, as the UConn and NBA families lost Clifford Robinson at 53 years old, as confirmed by the UConn men’s basketball team on Twitter.
The UConn Basketball family mourns the loss of a legendary player and person, Clifford Robinson. Our thoughts and prayers are with Cliff’s family at this difficult time
Rest In Peace, Cliff. pic.twitter.com/Bp6Z5hbVUb
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) August 29, 2020
Robinson was part of Jim Calhoun’s first teams at UConn, helping build a program that would become one of the nation’s best and most consistent teams for decades. In the NBA, he played for 18 seasons, earning Sixth Man of the Year honors in 1992-93 and appearing in the All-Star Game in 1994 while a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. He would later play for the Suns, Pistons, Warriors, and Nets. For his career he averaged 14.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from three-point range.
Robinson ranks 13th all time in games played in the NBA, having played 1,380 games and being one of the league’s true iron men. He also was ahead of his time in the NBA as a stretch big man, as he ranks 55th in NBA history in career made three-pointers with 1,253 and 52nd in three-point attempts with 3,515.
Fans beyond the NBA got to know Robinson as he was a beloved figure during his time on the 28th season of Survivor. Robinson had battled cancer in recent years, but no official cause of death was given for Robinson’s passing.