Dubbed ‘The Admiral’ due to his service in the U.S. Navy after graduating in 1987 from the U.S. Naval Academy, David Robinson first donned the red, white and blue in 1985 and capped his USA Basketball career in 1996 as the first U.S. athlete to compete in three Olympic men’s basketball tournaments.

Through his USA Basketball career, Robinson competed on eight USA Basketball teams and medaled in each of the *six competitions in which medals were awarded. In addition to winning gold with the iconic Dream Team in 1992 and again claiming gold at the 1996 Olympics, and in his first Olympics in 1988 Robinson, who was at the time was in the U.S. Naval Reserve, returned home with the bronze medal.

Honors

• USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1986 and 1992 as a member of the Dream Team).
• Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2009, individual; 2009 as a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team).
• Inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame (2013, individual; 2017 as a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team).
• Inducted into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Hall of Fame (2008, individual; 2009 as a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team).
• Member of the NBA 50th Anniversary Team (1996).

USA Basketball Notes

• Gold Medals: 1992 and 19962 Olympics, 1992 Tournament of the Americas, 1986 FIBA World Cup, *1986 Goodwill Games
• Silver Medal: 1987 Pan American Games
• Bronze Medal: 1988 Olympics
• Capped his USA Basketball career in 1996 as the first U.S. athlete to compete in three Olympic men's basketball tournaments.
• Leading scorer on the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team that captured gold in Atlanta with an 8-0 record; averaged 12.0 ppg. to go with 4.6 rpg.
• Member of the 1992 Olympic ‘Dream Team’ that rolled through its competition in Barcelona to collect gold; averaged 9.0 ppg. and 4.1 rpg.
• Prior to the 1992 Olympics, aided the USA to gold at the Tournament of the Americas in Portland, Oregon; averaged 11.8 ppg. and 5.3 rpg.
• Member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team that finished with a 7-1 record and bronze medal; averaged a team second-best 12.8 ppg. and team-highs of 6.8 rpg. and 2.4 bpg.
• Helped the 1988 USA Select Team compile a 6-0 record during a European tour.
• As a member of the 1986 U.S. Pan American Games Team, averaged a team second-best 14.0 ppg. and team-highs of 9.0 rpg. and 2.1 bpg., as the USA finished with a 6-1 slate and the silver medal.
• Member of the 1986 USA World Cup Team that earned the USA’s first gold medal at the event in 32 years; averaged 13.1 ppg. and team-highs of 6.8 rpg. and 2.5 bpg. and was later named the 1986 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.
• Played on the 1985 USA team that finished with a 2-2 record at the FIBA Club World Cup in Spain.
• Robinson still holds several U.S. Olympic records, including most free throws attempted (14) against Yugoslavia in 1996, most blocked shots in a single competition with 19 in 1988, and ranks first in an Olympic career for blocked shots (34) and second for most rebounds (124), one behind four-time Olympian Carmelo Anthony.

*Robinson also earned the 1986 Goodwill Games gold medal, but since the GWGs took place at the same time as the 1986 FIBA World Cup, it was decided that the 1986 FIBA World Cup medalists also would go into the record books as the ‘86 GWG medalists. Therefore, he has seven medals from competing in six international competitions.