Mitchell Robinson helped bring a championship back to New York after 53 years of waiting. But when the Knicks raised their banner and handed out their rings at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, the longest-tenured member of their championship team wasn’t watching.
Not even on television.
Robinson, now with the rival Boston Celtics, admitted Thursday that he deliberately avoided watching the ceremony celebrating a title he helped deliver.
“I didn’t watch it,” Robinson told reporters, via SNY. “I mean, again, it was still stuck in my head from the last game. So, still, I mean, I’m proud of those guys. I mean, obviously, I was a part of it, and you know, I just didn’t really want to watch it.”
It was a revealing admission from a player whose eight-year Knicks career ended only weeks after the franchise’s first championship since 1973.
The celebration wasn’t something Robinson dismissed. He simply had trouble turning his attention toward it after a frustrating first game in Boston.
Mitchell Robinson Still Frustrated by Celtics Debut
While his former teammates celebrated their championship at Madison Square Garden, Robinson was processing a disappointing Celtics debut.
Boston squandered a 22-point lead in a 121-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
Robinson finished with four points, three rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes, falling well short of the rebounding impact Boston expected when it signed him to a three-year, $47.4 million contract in July.
He was particularly critical of his work on the glass afterward.
“I got my ass kicked on the glass,” Robinson said after the loss.
For a player who built his reputation on rebounding and protecting the rim, the performance clearly bothered him.
That disappointment has carried into preparations for Friday’s game against the Knicks at TD Garden.
Mitchell Robinson Downplays Emotional Knicks Reunion
Robinson’s first game against New York comes sooner than his return to Madison Square Garden, where he is expected to receive his championship ring when Boston visits in March.
But he insists that facing his former teammates won’t distract him from trying to help the Celtics recover from their opening loss.
“It doesn’t matter that I’m playing my former team,” Robinson said Thursday.
“It’s more so just, you know, trying to bounce back from what happened two nights ago.”
Robinson then offered a matter-of-fact assessment of his new circumstances.
“At the end of the day, this basketball is business, and I’m just, you know, you gotta play the same. You gotta play the team just like you play the other team.”
Those words reflect the reality of an NBA career that changed quickly after Robinson reached its greatest height.
From Beloved Teammate to Rival
A second-round pick in 2018, Robinson became one of New York’s most dependable interior defenders during eight seasons that included injuries, rebuilding years and finally a championship.
He averaged 5.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 60 regular-season games last season before contributing to the Knicks’ title run.
His departure also marked one of the few major changes to New York’s championship rotation.
The Knicks replaced him with Andre Drummond, who delivered 12 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks in his debut during Tuesday’s 106-100 loss to Philadelphia.
Now Robinson will find himself battling the teammates he once helped protect.
Josh Hart has already joked about challenging Robinson on the glass and letting him hear about any shots he makes against him.
Robinson, however, seems less interested in exchanging pleasantries than rediscovering the physical presence that made him so valuable in New York.
His championship memories aren’t going anywhere.
For now, neither is the frustration of his first night in Boston.
Mitchell Robinson Reveals Why He Refused to Watch Knicks’ Ring Ceremony