Alvin Cyrrale Robertson (born July 22, 1962) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA) from 1984 to 1993, and for one final season in 1995–96. Robertson holds the record for the most steals per game played, averaging 2.71 steals per game for his career and is the only player to ever have a season of 300 or more steals which he accomplished in the 1985–86 season. He is also the only guard in NBA history to have recorded a

quadruple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

Career

Best known for his defense, the 6'4" Robertson played for ten years after being selected by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

with the seventh pick in the

1984 NBA draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally ...

out of Crowder Junior College and the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

. After five seasons with the Spurs, He finished out his career with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

, the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

and the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Atlantic Division (NBA) ...

. He also was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic gold-medal team. In 1986, Robertson became the inaugural winner of the

NBA Most Improved Player Award The NBA's Most Improved Player Award (MIP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player who has shown the most progress during the regular season compared to previous seasons. The winner is selected by a panel of s ...

. This also marked the first of four

National Basketball Association All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, ...

appearances for the guard (the others coming in 1987, 1988, and 1991). He also won the

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award The NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswrite ...

in 1986, and led the league in steals in 1986, 1987 and 1991. Robertson still holds the top career steals-per-game average in the NBA, with 2.71 per contest over 779 career games. Robertson thrice led the league in steals. In 1985–86 he averaged a league-leading 3.7 steals per game, a major factor in his earning the Defensive Player of the Year honor and being selected second-team All-NBA, one of only seven players in Spurs' history to have been selected first, second or third-team All-NBA. He was a four-time All-Star. Robertson led the Spurs in steals four of the five seasons he was with the club, three times averaging more than three per game. Though he played only five seasons in San Antonio, he ranks third in club history in total steals, with 1,129. During his San Antonio days, he also recorded a steal in a then-NBA-record 105 consecutive games;

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one ...

surpassed it by recording a steal in 108 consecutive games from

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

. A multi-dimensional player, Robertson is one of only four NBA players to record a

(double digits in four statistical categories in a single game) when he registered 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals while playing for the Spurs against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...

on . He is also the only non- center to record a quadruple-double, and the only player to do so with steals as the fourth category (the other three were with blocks). On May 28, 1989, Robertson was traded by the Spurs with Cadillac Anderson and a 1989 2nd round draft pick ( Frank Kornet was later selected) to the Milwaukee Bucks for Terry Cummings and a 1990 2nd round draft pick (

Tony Massenburg Tony Arnel Massenburg (born July 31, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. He shares a National Basketball Association (NBA) record with Chucky Brown, Joe Smith & Jim Jackson for having played with twelve different teams o ...

was later selected). He would continue to be a premier defender on the Bucks, leading the league in steal percentage, an advanced metric, each of his three full seasons. He was also voted to the 1991 all-star team, the same season he led the league in steals for the third time in his career. During the 1993–94 season, the

traded Robertson to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

in exchange for

Mark Macon Mark L. Macon (''born April 14, 1969'') is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He is the former head coach of Binghamton University and a current staff member at his alma mater, Temple University. Playing career Macon ...

and Marcus Liberty. However, he never saw any playing time for the Nuggets due to pre-existing back injuries. Robertson scored the first points in

' history. Ed Pinckney won the franchise's opening tip-off against the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, Robertson hit a

three-pointer A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

, and the Raptors were ahead 3–0.

Personal life

Robertson is the father of Tyrell Johnson, 2008 NFL 2nd round draft choice of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

. He is also the father of Elgin Cook, a professional basketball player. His brother, Ken Robertson, played basketball for

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a Public university, public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in op ...

Legal problems

Robertson has had a history of off-court problems, during and after his career. In August 1997, he pleaded no contest to four

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than ad ...

charges of abusing a former girlfriend and was sentenced to one year in prison. During the trial he was accused of having kicked in an apartment door while his former girlfriend and her 8-year-old daughter were inside, then taking her wallet and knocking over a television set. Robertson allegedly returned a few hours later and ripped rings off her fingers, tore a watch off her wrist, slashed furniture, damaged clothing and tried to set a fire. He also spent a month in jail during the 1990 NBA off-season on domestic assault charges against his then-wife. Robertson was arrested again in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

in January 2007, on a variety of charges, several related to domestic violence. On February 26, 2010, Robertson was arrested and charged for the alleged sexual assault of a child, trafficking an underage child for purposes of sex and forcing a sexual performance by a child (he was later found not guilty). Authorities claim that Robertson was part of a ring that kidnapped a 14-year-old girl from San Antonio, forced her to have sex with clients and to dance at a Corpus Christi strip club in 2009. The girl escaped her alleged captors, prompting an investigation. Alvin Robertson was cleared of all charges, and it was determined that the entire story was made up. There is still no explanation on why the accuser made this story up. Robertson was found not guilty of all charges on November 30, 2015. In August 2018, Robertson was arrested in San Antonio on an outstanding warrant for violating a protective order.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 9 , , 21.3 , , .498 , , .364 , , .734 , , 3.4 , , 3.5 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 35.1 , , .514 , , .276 , , .795 , , 6.3 , , 5.5 , , style="background:#E0CEF2;", 3.7 , , 0.5 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 78 , , 33.3 , , .466 , , .271 , , .753 , , 6.3 , , 5.2 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 3.2* , , 0.4 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 36.3 , , .465 , , .284 , , .748 , , 6.1 , , 6.8 , , 3.0 , , 0.8 , , 19.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65 , , 65 , , 35.2 , , .483 , , .200 , , .723 , , 5.9 , , 6.0 , , 3.0 , , 0.6 , , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, 81 , , 81 , , 32.1 , , .503 , , .154 , , .741 , , 6.9 , , 5.5 , , 2.6 , , 0.2 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 32.1 , , .485 , , .365 , , .757 , , 5.7 , , 5.5 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 3.0* , , 0.2 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 79 , , 30.0 , , .430 , , .319 , , .763 , , 4.3 , , 4.4 , , 2.6 , , 0.4 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 39 , , 32 , , 27.3 , , .479 , , .309 , , .629 , , 3.5 , , 4.0 , , 2.3 , , 0.2 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, 30 , , 22 , , 31.4 , , .434 , , .343 , , .690 , , 4.4 , , 3.6 , , 2.2 , , 0.3 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, 77 , , 69 , , 32.2 , , .470 , , .272 , , .677 , , 4.4 , , 4.2 , , 2.2 , , 0.5 , , 9.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 779 , , 680 , , 31.7 , , .477 , , .295 , , .743 , , 5.2 , , 5.0 , , bgcolor="EOCEF2" , 2.7 , , 0.4 , , 14.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 4 , , 2 , , 15.0 , , .389 , , — , , 1.000 , , 3.3 , , 1.8 , , 0.5 , , — , , 4.5

Playoffs

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, 3 , , 3 , , 32.7 , , .276 , , — , , .846 , , 4.7 , , 6.3 , , 2.3 , , 0.3 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 39.7 , , .566 , , .429 , , .778 , , 4.7 , , 9.3 , , , 4.0 , , 0.3 , , 23.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 38.8 , , .522 , , .000 , , .706 , , 5.8 , , 4.8 , , 2.3 , , 0.0 , , 23.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 39.3 , , .592 , , .333 , , .769 , , 6.0 , , 5.0 , , 2.7 , , 0.0 , , 23.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 13 , , 13 , , 37.7 , , .515 , , .353 , , .754 , , 5.3 , , 6.2 , , 2.8 , , 0.2 , , 20.2

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Alvin 1962 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players American people convicted of assault Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Ohio Crowder College alumni Detroit Pistons players Florida Beachdogs players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Milwaukee Bucks players National Basketball Association All-Stars Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball People from Barberton, Ohio San Antonio Spurs draft picks San Antonio Spurs players Shooting guards Toronto Raptors players United States men's national basketball team players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople

Career

Personal life

Legal problems

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links