David Robinson was a late bloomer. It was only after he enrolled in the United States Naval Academy that he found out his true potential. The likelihood of him getting drafted by the San Antonio Spurs rose daily, but there was a major obstacle that stood in his way. Since the government fully funded the academy, Robinson’s fate rested in the hands of the naval authorities.

As he had already enrolled in the Naval Academy before being eligible for the NBA draft, his path to the NBA was uncertain as he had to complete his commitment with the Navy before making it to the league. During a recent episode of Undeniable with Joe Buck, David Robinson revealed what went on behind the scenes.

“Once I made that commitment to the Navy, it was no longer in my hands. It was in their hands if they would actually let me go and play pro basketball… There were people on both sides of the coin. Obviously, the tax-paying public pays a lot of money per student to go for the academies. A lot of the older school people were thinking, ‘We paid for that kid to go to school. We are not gonna let him get out of the Navy, he needs to serve,” said the 2x champion.

But the Navy eventually decided to let Robinson go to the NBA, as it was sure to boost their own reputation and name as well. Robinson was one of the best athletes to come out of the Naval Academy. So it would not sit well with most of the public if the academy decided to suppress Robinson’s potential in one area by making him continue his career at the Navy.

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The Spurs’ gamble on ‘The Admiral‘ paid off.  He came to the NBA two years later after finishing his commitment to the Navy and took the franchise to new heights.

David Robinson’s height helped him get to the Spurs

In his junior year of high school, Robinson was around 5’6. But he had a massive growth spurt since then and was around 6’6 at the time of his graduation. Although Robinson was a little over the height limit of the Navy at the time, they decided to let him in as they assumed he would not grow taller again.

But this turned out wrong, as Robinson eventually became 7 feet tall while he was in the Navy. This in turn meant that Robinson’s career at sea was over as he was way over the height limit. This is why, when he eventually got drafted by the Spurs, he spent two years working at the shore before going on to become one of the best players in San Antonio Spurs history.

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