One of the standouts in the early going of the 2023-24 NBA regular season has been New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson. He has quickly cemented himself as one of the best centers in the NBA because of his intimidating presence in the paint.
On the offensive side of the ball, Robinson is off to a historic start on the glass. His offensive rebounding rates are higher than some teams in the NBA, as he is creating extra possessions, keeping the ball alive with his own rebounds or deflecting the ball to teammates.
Defensively, Robinson makes his impact felt as well. He is an intimidating presence in the paint as a rim protector, using his length and athleticism to his advantage. He has come a long way in that regard, as he used to be foul-prone but has done a great job of avoiding infractions to stay on the court for more minutes.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Mitchell Robinson & New York Knicks Updates
While his rebounding numbers aren’t as dominant on the defensive side of the ball, Robinson still helps immensely with his ability to box out. That enables players such as Julius Randle to clean the glass and end defensive possessions.
Coming into the season, there were some outlets that vastly underrated Robinson, as one publication had him nearly last in the starting center power rankings. Over at The Ringer, Robinson was ranked No. 83 in their player rankings coming into the season.
This week, they released an updated NBA Player Rankings. Inexplicably, Robinson was left off the list as the only Knicks to make it were Randle, Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett and Josh Hart. Immanuel Quickley, who some believe is the front-runner to win the Sixth Man of the Year award, was also left off the updated player rankings list.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Mitchell Robinson & New York Knicks Updates
For some of the players who made the updated list, a strong argument can be made that Robinson should be on there ahead of them. Moving up the list would have seemingly been more likely than moving down and being removed altogether given how well Robinson has been performing.
Steven Adams, who is sidelined for the entire season with an injury, landed at No. 96 on the list. Walker Kessler, who is also injured, is at No. 90. Kevon Looney at No. 87 and Nikola Vucevic at No. 86 are two more centers that it can be argued Robinson should be on the list ahead of as well.
Want the latest NBA analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click Here. Follow NBA Analysis Network on Twitter and Facebook.
Interested in reading the latest storylines and analysis in the NFL? Check out our partner NFL Analysis Network.
