New York Knicks: Dwight Howard praises Mitchell Robinson

After the New York Knicks fell to the Washington Wizards, Dwight Howard praised young center Mitchell Robinson’s performance.

2018-19 has represented a fast rise for Mitchell Robinson on the New York Knicks. The expectation was an extended trip to the G League to garner experience, which may no longer be the case after head coach David Fizdale’s latest positive words.

The 20-year-old center entered Sunday’s game against the Washington Wizards, and a battle with their starter center, Dwight Howard, lied ahead as his most notable challenge yet.

Hardly a perfect night for Robinson, it turned out to be. A technical foul and emotions had the best of him, despite 10 points and 6 points. Howard finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

After the game, the player once dubbed “Superman” had nothing but praise for New York’s 2018 second-round pick, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. It stemmed from the blocked shot, chase down of the ball and sprint to the basket before being fouled:

"“My first shot, he blocked it and I was like ‘oh man, okay.’ After that, it was like ‘oh, I kind of like this guy,'” Howard said.“He’s got a lot of potential,” Howard said. “I wish I had my legs tonight to jump up there with him. A couple times when he was jumping, I was like ‘yeah, I’m not there yet.’ Let him have it.”"

As Hughes noted, Howard also never heard of Robinson before this game, so it was an eye-opening night for the 14-year man.

“Potential” is the headline for the former Western Kentucky commit right now, and he’s flashed it through the season’s first three weeks. Headlined by 13 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals against the Dallas Mavericks, it’s just a taste of what he may provide for the rest of 2018-19 and the ensuing seasons as he garners experience.

There will be upswings and downfalls along the way, featuring what happened in Washington. All of it is a learning experience for the Chalmette High School product, who continues to learn the game.

Howard was once the young center everyone turned their attention towards, except he joined the NBA as the No. 1 pick out of high school in 2004. Robinson went No. 36 overall in June and skipped college to prep for the professional level, so entered as more an unknown.

Soon enough, Robinson won’t be a secret to the league. He still hasn’t played the game’s elite centers, including Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond. Once that happens, let’s see what they have to say about this long-term member of New York’s future.