Mitchell Robinson is the Most Important Player in the NBA

The New York Knicks are 6-5 this season which is a decent start considering their leading scorer, RJ Barrett, has missed 4 games and they’ve already played the Celtics twice this year. But there’s one player on this team who is singlehandedly keeping the Knicks heads above water.

MITCHELL ROBINSON IS THE BEST BIG IN THE NBA pic.twitter.com/C1jqMn7Dan

— Big Knick Energy (@BigKnickEnergy_) November 16, 2023

Mitchell Robinson has emerged as the ultimate difference maker. He was a 2018 second-round pick asked to come in and backup Enes fucking Kanter—who last I saw was begging the WNBA for a job—but 5 years later, Robinson has turned himself into an indispensable asset who determines whether or not the Knicks win.

Here’s what Robinson did Wednesday night in the Knicks 116-114 win against the Atlanta Hawks:

6 points (3-for-3 from the field)
15 rebounds
6 offensive rebounds
3 steals
1 block
+8 +/-

The Knicks wouldn’t have won this game if it weren’t for Mitch Rob.

What makes Mitchell Robinson so special?

Mitchell Robinson currently leads the entire NBA in offensive rebounds and offensive rebound percentage. When the Knicks miss a shot, Robinson always seems to be right there ready to give them a second possession.

I remember when Robinson came into the league.

He was so skinny, he’d go missing if he turned sideways. He was 2D. Looseleaf paper ass. He used to get ragdolled by guys like Joel Embiid and Nikola Vucivec but now, he’s legit jacked. He’s strong enough to body anyone nad most importantly, he’s strong enough to tip rebounds up to himself and withstand the physicality of guys bumping him while he juggles rebounds to himself.

Mitch also has a rare ability to double jump. He can jump for a rebound and then immediately re-jump with just as much burst and height as his original jump. He has Vince Carter-level athletism as a 7-footer.

The Knicks are led by Julius Randle—a guy who constantly shoots and constantly misses.

Randle has taken 195 shots this season. He’s only made 70. The star, All-NBA player on a team shooting 35% from the field would sink any other team but it is almost completely negated when Mitch Robinson is on the team grabbing all of his misses and either putting it directly back up for an easy 2 or finding someone on the perimeter for an open second-chance 3.

When Mitchell Robinson decides he wants the ball, there is nothing stopping him from getting that ball. Rarely do you see a 7-footer diving for loose balls but Mitch isn’t afraid of scrapping his knees up for this squad.

Will Mitchell Robinson finally make an All-Defensive Team?

Mitchell Robinson has finished in the Top 10 for blocks 4 times in 5 seasons yet for some reason, he’s gotten no national recognition for his defensive contributions.

But that’s mostly from a lack of playoff success. See, most NBA voters don’t watch the NBA. Their opinions are handed to them by whatever narratives are trending on Twitter.

Marcus Smart won a Defensive Player of the Year award because most of the NBA media is from Boston and it’s like voting for senior superlatives at the end of high school. Everyone just picks who their friends are picking.

Well last season, the Knicks won their first-round matchup against the Cavaliers and had a battle with the Miami Heat in the second round. Mitchell Robinson dominated every NBA podcaster’s favorite big man, Evan Mobley.

So now he should be on everyone’s radar.

Last season, Jaren Jackson Jr, Brook Lopez and Evan Mobley all made First-Team All-Defense. Again, Mitch bodied Evan Mobley on a national scale. The Knicks are currently 5th in defensive rating. If New York continues to be a dominant defense all year, we might finally see Mitchell Robinson win some well-earned awards.

Mitchell Robinson’s value on full display on this sequence.

Steal ➡️ Offensive Rebound ➡️ Leads to Brunson go-ahead 3 pic.twitter.com/kUPDAI1dop

— Dylan Burd (@Dylan_Burd) November 16, 2023

This Mitch Rob steal last night literally won them the game.

If/when the New York Knicks win a championship this season, don’t let all the praise go to Jalen Brunson or RJ Barrett. Let’s give Mitchell Robinson his flowers. He’s doing the dirty work no one wants to do and he’s excelling at it. Nothing but respect for the soon-to-be Defensive Player of the Year.