When the Miami Heat shocked the world by reaching the NBA Finals during the 2019-20 season, they did so with the help of Duncan Robinson, who was one of their unsung heroes that year.
He recalled a game in which Victor Oladipo lit him up and talked some trash to him, calling it his “welcome to the NBA type moment.”
“My first year in the NBA, I wasn’t playing much that year ’cause I was just a rookie, and we were playing the [Indiana] Pacers, and at the time, Victor Oladipo was on the Pacers,” said Robinson. “He was an All-NBA player, and it’s funny now ’cause Vic and I are good friends, were teammates for a while, but for about a three-minute stretch, because we had foul trouble, I had to guard him, and he just scored eight straight points, and I quickly got subbed out. And he made a little comment to me as I was getting subbed out, basically saying that I’d have to do better if I wanted to stay on the floor. But it’s funny ’cause Vic and I now laugh about it, but that was definitely a welcome to the NBA type moment.”
Robinson went undrafted out of the University of Michigan in 2018, even though he had shot well from 3-point range in his three years with the Wolverines. He got only spot duty as a rookie, but the following year, he became a key part of head coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation.
He made a sizzling 44.6 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc during the 2019-20 season, and he kept up his hot shooting inside of the Walt Disney World Resort bubble.
All season long, the Heat absolutely killed teams with their 3-point shooting. It was a key factor in them upsetting the heavily favored Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the playoffs and getting past the Boston Celtics in the next round.
It took the immense star power of LeBron James and Anthony Davis to turn Miami back into a pumpkin and end its Cinderella run to the Finals that year.
Of course, Oladipo ended up becoming a member of the Heat midway through the 2020-21 campaign. Since then, he has been hampered by injuries and isn’t exactly the same player he used to be, but not too long ago, he was a bona fide star.
During the 2018-19 season, he made his second straight All-Star team, and back then he was known for his speed and defense until he suffered a ruptured quad tendon.
Robinson’s shooting accuracy fell precipitously this past regular season, but he experienced a revival in the playoffs, hitting on 44.2 percent of his 3-point attempts as Miami once again surprised just about everyone by reaching the championship series.
If Miami is to win it all, he will need to consistently show good marksmanship from deep.
