New York Knicks: Mitchell Robinson is fans’ favorite player by far
By Ed Stein
In a recent New York Knicks fan poll conducted by The Athletic, second-year center Mitchell Robinson was voted their favorite player.
The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov recently conducted a poll of over 1,100 New York Knicks fans. Among other things, forward Mitchell Robinson is their favorite current player. Judging by the response, this should come as no surprise to the Madison Square Garden faithful.
Robinson received just short of 600 votes. He almost beat the rest of his New York Knicks teammates combined. This year’s first-round draft pick, RJ Barrett was a distant second not even reaching the 200 mark. Frank Ntilikina came in third (ahead of none).
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In his rookie season last year Robinson’s blue-collar, all-out work ethic impressed the fan base. He busted his tail on both ends of the court but excelled on the defensive end. He led all rookies and finished fourth overall in the NBA with 161 blocks, but his 2.4 per game average was second overall behind only Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner (2.7 per game).
Robinson pounded the boards, averaging 6.4 per game despite only playing 20-ish minutes a night. His 7.3 points per game was a nice compliment to his defense. That’s a pretty good return on investment for a player selected 36th overall and considered an afterthought. The fans certainly appreciated his effort.
While they love him on the court, Robinson has also wowed them off it. His big smile is clear to see and an easy demeanor to go along with it is a big hit. Watch his interviews, he answers every question and says the right things. The New York Knicks public relations people saw how his positive personality attracts people and gave him his own YouTube web series “Mitch’s Block Party.”
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In 2019-20 Robinson looks to take the next step. He will undoubtedly get more minutes. Toward the end of last season coach David Fizdale had more trust in his 7-1 center. Robinson played more than 29 minutes per night in the final 11 games. For those contests, he averaged 11.6 points and 11.1 rebounds. With Julius Randle drawing attention inside and Barrett outside, Robinson will have more room to work the boards. He may become even more popular among New York Knicks fans in 2020.