Mitchell Robinson receives zero votes for All-Defensive teams.
New York Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson is one of the most prolific blockers in the NBA, but that didn’t help him receive votes for the 2019-20 All-Defensive teams. Results of voting were released by the league on Tuesday and Robinson failed to gain any support for either the first or second teams.
The 22-year-old center finished the season with an eye-popping 74.2 percent field goal percentage that broke Wilt Chamberlain’s single-season FG% record set in 1973.
However, defense is his calling card. The Knicks were clearly a better team with Robinson on the floor this past season. In fact, their defense was 4.3 points stingier with him on the court, a point differential that ranked him among the top 20 percent of the league for impact as a big man, according to Cleaning the Glass.
Robinson finished the season averaging 2 blocks per game, which ranked 7th best in the NBA. His block percentage, which takes into account the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked while the player was on the floor, ranked second highest at 8 percent.
2019-2020 NBA All-Defensive teams:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 8, 2020
First team: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart, Ben Simmons
Second team: Bam Adebayo, Patrick Beverley, Eric Bledsoe, Kawhi Leonard, Brook Lopez
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart, and Ben Simmons made first-team All-Defensive honors; with Bam Adebayo, Patrick Beverley, Eric Bledsoe, Kawhi Leonard, and Brook Lopez earning second-team recognition.
NBA announced their All-Defensive teams
— Daily Knicks (@DailyKnicksFS) September 8, 2020
No votes for Frank Ntilikina or Mitch Robinson pic.twitter.com/OGDIItqPGJ
The other centers who received votes include Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, Steven Adams, and Jarrett Allen. Obviously, there was some hometown cooking for a few of those votes.
Frank Ntilikina also failed to receive any votes for the All-Defensive teams. The 2017 lottery pick is known for his defense in New York, but only played 20.8 minutes per game last season, which could have hurt his standing among voters. Robinson also averaged less than 25 minutes per game.
Robinson is eligible to sign a contract extension this offseason, but it’s unclear if the Knicks are ready to commit a larger sum of money to him yet. He still has two team-controlled seasons remaining on his contract.