Cliff Robinson, former 1994 All-Star, 1993 Sixth Man of the Year and 18-year NBA veteran, passed away at the age of 53.
In his 18 NBA seasons, Robinson played for the Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors and New Jersey Nets.
Robinson was also named to two NBA All-Defensive second teams in 2000 and 2002.
He finished his NBA career with averages of 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in 1,380 career games, 13th-most in NBA history.
He was a standout at UConn where he won an NIT title in 1988, was named to UConn’s All-Century Team in 1999 and had his No. 00 jersey retired in 2007.
“He was our first great player,” former UConn coach Jim Calhoun told Hearst Media. “He came from a difficult background in Buffalo, I watched him evolve as a man. … He was a good man, had a great career, and was instrumental in a lot of the great things that happened at UConn.”
UConn men’s basketball paid their respects on Twitter:
Robinson, nicknamed “Uncle Cliffy,” experienced some health issues in recent years.
In 2017, he suffered a brain hemorrhage that temporarily paralyzed the left side of his body, followed by surgery to remove a tumor from his jaw in 2018.
The cause of his death has not yet been made public.
