Portland Trail Blazers’ Clifford Robinson has died at age 53

Clifford Robinson, most notably a Portland Trail Blazer over his 18 NBA seasons, has died at age 53.

Tragedy hit the NBA on Saturday, as Chris Haynes of Yahoo! reported former Portland Trail Blazer Clifford Robinson has died at the age of 53. The University of Connecticut, Robinson’s alma mater,  confirmed the news.

The cause of Robinson’s death has not been made clear yet. He suffered a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body in 2017, though he would later recover most of his arm and leg movement. In March of 2018, he had a tumor removed from his jaw.

Robinsin was drafted in the second round (36th overall) in the 1989 NBA Draft by the Trail Blazers, and he spent his first eight seasons in Portland. He was a key cog on teams that made two NBA Finals appearances in three years (1990 and 1992), with one All-Star selection (1994) and a Sixth Man of the Year Award in (1993) over that time in a Trail Blazers uniform.

Robinson, best-known for his trademark headband, went on to play for the Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors and New Jersey Nets until his age-40 season in 2006-07. His 1,380 career games played (regular season) are the 13th-most in NBA history. He earned two All-Defensive Second Team selections later in his career (2000 and 2002).

For his career, Robinson averaged 14.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, one block and one steal per game. He was also something of a “stretch four” before the term entered the lexicon, with 1,253 made 3-pointers on 35.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

UConn retired Robinson’s number, 00, in 2007. The Trail Blazers will surely retire his No. 3 in due time, and as they return to play Saturday night against the Los Angeles Lakers it’s safe to assume there will be an acknowledgement of his passing before the game and/or among players.