David Robinson, “The Admiral,” is living proof of the old adage that good things come to those who wait.  Robinson was a star at the U.S. Naval Academy, earning All-American honors twice, and winning college basketball’s most prestigious honors, the Wooden and Naismith Awards, in his senior season – but waited two seasons before debuting in the NBA.

Robinson graduated from the Naval Academy in 1987 with a mathematics degree and was selected first overall in the 1987 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs; however, he honored a commitment to serve two years in the Navy before joining the Spurs in 1989. As one of the most gifted and versatile athletes, the former Navy Midshipman was an easy choice for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award at season’s end. 

Within his first three seasons, Robinson established himself among the best in the league. His early achievements included All-NBA First Team selections in 1991 and 1992, an NBA All-Defensive First Team nod in 1991 and the 1992 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Robinson was also the first player in NBA history to rank among the top five in rebounding, blocks and steals in a single season. His excellence earned him a second consecutive All-NBA First Team selection and a third-straight trip to the NBA All-Star Game. Additionally, he won an Olympic Gold Medal with the NBA Dream Team at the Barcelona Games that year.  

After winning the 1995 NBA MVP award and being named one of the 50 greatest players of all time, Robinson had accomplished all that he could as an individual, but he longed to earn basketball’s ultimate team honor – an NBA Championship.  This finally came in 1999 when he teamed up with future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan to earn the trophy.  The pair would repeat this feat in Robinson’s final season in 2003. 

Over the course of Robinson’s decorated career, he was a two-time NBA champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, ten-time NBA All Star, NBA Sportsmanship Award recipient, ten-time All-NBA honoree, eight-time All-Defensive team honoree, and named to the NBA’s 50^thAnniversary 50 Greatest Players list.  In 2009, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility. 

Robinson’s basketball skills may only be surpassed by his charitable nature as he is recognized as one of the most distinguished philanthropists in professional sports.  He and his wife, Valerie, established the David Robinson Foundation in 1991 that has raised close to $40 million for The Carver Academy (TCA), a nonprofit school to provide better opportunities for inner-city children. In 2012, the school became a public charter school, IDEA Carver, and reaches over 10,000 students today. 

Robinson was named Reader’s Digest Star Who Makes Kids Shine, honored with The Sporting News Good Guy In Pro Sports Award, and named as Sports Illustrated’s Ambassador of Sports for their 50^th Anniversary Celebration. He was also a recipient of the 1999 Montblanc de la Culture Award (the first athlete and youngest recipient in the award’s history), was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, and received a Patriot Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society in September 2000.  Robinson is an active participant in Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood of Achievers Program and NBA’s “Hoops for Troops” and other programs to honor and support the military and their families. His charitable work is so well recognized that the NBA decided to rename its award for outstanding charitable efforts to honor him. The NBA Community Assist Award is presented with the David Robinson Plaque. 

In 2011, Robinson earned a Master of Arts in Administration from the University of the Incarnate Word to better "understand how businesses work and how to build them.” Bringing together a continuing desire to make a positive impact and an interest in private equity and business, in 2007, David founded Admiral Capital Group with Daniel Bassichis, built around Robinson’s values and integrity. Through philanthropy and investments, Admiral currently has over $1 billion of assets under management and operates with a sense of purpose and service to impact local communities in which they invest, with a strong focus on education and low-income communities.

As an entrepreneur, family man, and passionate educator, most recently, Robinson and his son, David Robinson, Jr. launched a podcast called “The Fundamentals” that features his perspectives as a Navy veteran, education philanthropist, and investor and touches on his life stories and experiences that led to the creation of the IDEA School.