Duncan Robinson has become a crucial piece for the Miami Heat. However, that was not always the case.
In a recent episode of Robinson’s podcast, the sharpshooting youngster looked back at how an innocent night out with friends led to him worrying that his time with the team might come to an end.
During his first season with the team, Robinson took advantage of a night off in New York City to grab dinner with some old friends. When he arrived at the bar, he was shocked to run into the entire Heat coaching staff.
As Robinson tells it, he was worried that the optics of spending a night out on the town would lead to his tenure with the team coming to an end.
“I am absolutely mortified,” he said. “I’m so embarrassed that in my first year, basically the optics of what it looks like is that I’m having a night out on the town, I’m sure to them. I’m literally like the most innocent thing in the world. I’m going to see my friends, we’re going to basically drink water and catch up.”
Robinson went on to say that his coaches clearly were not worried about his decision to catch up with his friends during the night off. However, that didn’t stop Robinson from going into panic mode.
“I go and sit down and have dinner with you guys, and I’m a mess,” he continued. “I’m like, ‘Dude, this is over. I’m going to get cut. They don’t think I take my work seriously. This is it. We’re done. We had a good run.'”
Clearly, Robinson was a bit more concerned than he should have been. After all, many previous reports indicated that the Heat knew they had found a diamond in the rough with the undrafted guard.
How right they proved to be.
Robinson is averaging 13.4 points per game and is shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 40.4 from beyond the arc.
Clearly, he’s got no reason to worry about this status with the team these days. In fact, it’s looking like he’s going to earn a fairly rich deal this offseason.
If that comes to pass, there’s no doubt his friends will be expecting him to cover the bill the next time they all get together for a night out on the town.