Getty Duncan Robinson #55 of the Miami Heat controls the ball against in the second quarter at Spectrum Center on May 02, 2021.
Miami Heat‘s sharpshooter Duncan Robinson is one of the NBA’s biggest success stories. After going undrafted out of Michigan in 2018, the Heat star is now breaking NBA records. And when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer, Robinson is expected to receive a fat contract.
This season, the 27-year-old became the fastest player to notch 500 three-pointers in league history, and even though he’s shooting 40.2% from beyond the line, down from 44.6% from last season, he gets bonus points for style.
Bleacher Report‘s Dan Favale wrote of his shooting technique, “The level of difficulty on Robinson’s threes is gargantuan. He is not binge-swishing standstill, ultra-open triples. He is firing treys off motion and doesn’t need oodles of breathing room to let ‘er rip.”
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While Favale listed Robinson as one of the “Top 5 Free Agents Most Likely to Be Overpaid This Offseason,” the man has earned what’s coming to him. “Just two other players (minimum five appearances) are averaging four made three-pointers per game while hitting them at a 40-plus-percent clip over the past two seasons: Davis Bertans and Stephen Curry,” Favale noted.
Last season, Bertans signed a five-year $80 million contract in free agency, so it makes sense to assume Robinson will earn at least that much, if not more. Robinson is younger than Bertans and has talent on defense. The big question is whether or not the Heat will have the cap space to keep him in South Beach. Favale wrote:
[Miami] can chisel out more than $20 million in room if they renounce everyone except Robinson and Kendrick Nunn (restricted). They could also re-sign Victor Oladipo and function as an over-the-cap team. Footing the bill for Robinson’s next contract won’t be a big deal if the Heat aren’t trying to preserve flexibility. But the relative dearth of star power on the market might tempt them to prioritize 2022 cap space, in which case any multiyear offers, let alone one that pays him upward of $20 million per year, for Robinson become problematic.
There’s also the chance that Miami keeps Robinson for a sign-and-trade deal in hopes of landing a franchise star such as Kyle Lowry, or in case Bradley Beal decides to leave Washington.
Robinson Remained Humble After Smashing the NBA’s Three-Point Record
Duncan Robinson is the fastest EVER to 500 threes made…
1. DUNCAN ROBINSON
2. Luka Doncic
3. Damian Lillard
4. Donovan Mitchell
5. Klay Thompson
Despite smashing NBA star Luka Doncic’s three-point record by 35 games, Robinson clearly still thinks of himself as just the guy that the Heat took a chance on.
“I’m sure there’s going to be somebody that comes around and instead of 85% of his shots are threes, 95% of his shots are threes, and this record will be short-lived,” Robinson said.
I asked Duncan Robinson last night about his 500 three milestone, as well as reflecting back if he ever envisioned this being possible:
Thus far this season, Robinson is averaging 13 points per game, and he chalked up being the fastest player to reach 500 three-pointers as simply being in the right place at the right time:
I say it often, I’m certainly a beneficiary of the times. There’s a good chance that if I’d come around 20 years earlier, I definitely probably wouldn’t have been an NBA player. So it’s a skill that’s valued. And the thing I love about this place, in Miami, is they just let me be me. They encourage me to be aggressive, give me nothing but support and breathe life into me and give me confidence and it makes my job a whole lot easier.
Even with the prospect of big money coming his way, Robinson keeps it real when it comes to his NBA career. Last month, he opened up about what it’s really like to have your name tossed around in trade talks.
“One thing I don’t have a shortage of, moments of being humbled in my basketball career, thinking that I got it figured out and quickly realizing that I don’t,” Robinson said on his podcast The Long Shot. “At this point, if I weren’t able to apply that to my situation now then I would just be doing myself a serious disservice. Of course, anyone who says that they’re able to block it out entirely is just lying.”
“Of course, it’s everywhere, so even if you turn off your phone or you delete social media, which I do, it’s unrealistic to say that it’s gone,” Robinson continued. “Because you know it’s happening and you know that it exists. I think the important thing is to just keep the main thing the main thing.”
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