Published: January 30, 2007
By Brian Taylor
Being a number one, first-overall draft pick carries a lot of heavy expectations, pressure and scrutiny. But in 1994, one Naismith College Player of the Year paid no heed to that, and demanded one of the most ridiculous rookie contracts in the history of sports, and that one audacious guy was Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson.
There are rookies that come in with hype from college and then carry that over into the League, but Robinson, who was absolutely insane at Purdue, looked like a sure shot for whoever picked him up at the draft. Before Robinson had even stepped onto and NBA floor, he made some waves, amplifying his name.
For starters, the “Big Dog” had it all, the smooth jumper, the handles, and the hops, all tied up in a neat 6’7” package. The problem was that no team in their right mind was going to pay $100 million bucks (pun intended) for said package. I don’t know if Dr. Evil was his agent, but Glenn was serious about his price tag after the Bucks selected him first overall. The Bucks’ franchise was worth $77 million back in 94’, so you could imagine the freak-out-factor this had on the national sports media. Not only that, but Robinson had drawn the ire of Utah veteran Antoine Carr, who already laid claim to the nickname “Big Dog”.
Before that season started, Herb Kohl (who owns the Bucks and Kohl’s and is also a Wisconsin Senator) brought Robinson back to earth with a $68.15 million dollar guaranteed contract. It was then thought to be the most expensive rookie contract of all time, and in the process, Robinson pissed off a lot of Bucks’ fans, but he turned out to be decent.
As a member of that 1994 rookie class (which featured Juwan Howard, J-Kidd and Grant Hill) Glenn led all rooks in scoring, firing at a 21.9 ppg clip. He was named to the All-Rookie team for that year, earning numerous honors along the way. In 1996, he was even named to the Olympic team, but couldn’t play due to injury.
It wasn’t until the 98’-99’ season that it all came together for Glenn, as the team hired a new coach (George Karl) and GM of GMs’ (Ernie Grunfeld) together with veteran point guard Sam Cassell from the Martian National Team. With those pieces in place, Milwaukee returned to the playoffs annually, culminating with an Eastern Conference Finals appearance against A.I. and the 76ers in 2001.
Losing left a really bitter taste in Glenn’s mouth, and no amount of Orbit gum could’ve gotten rid of it, so he lashed out at teammate Ray Allen, saying he was “soft” and that he wilted under the pressure. Since that wasn’t a good way to endear one’s self to a team, (and since Ray Allen was more of a true star anyway), Milwaukee shipped Glenn down south to Atlanta for Toni Kukoc. Robinson still put up All-Star worthy numbers, but he garnered the unscrupulous reputation of Locker Room Cancer (e.g.: “Christian Laettner”).
After a year with the Hawks, Glenn was on the move again, this time to Philly in a four-team deal (its how Spree got to NY). Robinson had a mediocre season in Illadelph before getting hurt and staying on the IR for most of 2005. He was traded to the Hornets before being waived and scooped up by the San Antonio Spurs, who were looking for another shooter during their title run. It was after that transaction that Glenn Robinson (by default) was crowned an NBA Champion. Don’t worry, I made the same face you just made after reading that sentence, but it’s legit, he has a ring.
If you want to hear and see how folks reacted to Glenn’s rookie demands, peep this.
22 Comments on "Hey! Whatever Happened To Glenn Robinson?"
Austin on Tue, 30th Jan 2007 1:57 pm
Oh man, now this is a player who I find myself completely forgetting about every couple months. That picture is priceless.
Ryan on Tue, 30th Jan 2007 6:39 pm
Like you B I still find it weird that Big Dog has a ring while “greats” like Stockton and Malone don’t, however, from what I remember Robinson posted some legit numbers for the Spurs in their playoff run. I remember there was a bit of a buzz surrounding him that summer heading into his free agency but I can only assume he was asking for too much money and this time GM’s weren’t willing to dish out the money to make playing hoops another year worth the effort for Big Dog.
Mark P on Thu, 1st Feb 2007 11:09 am
Man, the Big Dog/Philly trade IS NOT how spree got to NY, you way off. Spree got to NY about 5YEARS before that (not sure where you got your info) in a trade for John Starks, Chris Mills and a few other muppets.
B Teezy on Thu, 1st Feb 2007 6:03 pm
My bad Mark, I forgot about the Starks trade.
Mark P on Tue, 6th Feb 2007 12:45 pm
Great article tho…
Beef on Fri, 23rd Feb 2007 5:39 pm
Where is he now?
Carlton Mitchell on Mon, 11th Feb 2008 12:02 am
Thanks very much for this article. I went to Purdue, and really liked Glenn Robinson. I think he was very misunderstood, and although I don’t know much detail about the initial contract dealings, I know that he really wanted to be the best contributor to his team that he could. Probably wanting to win so badly and probably feeling that Ray Allen had an aloof way about him, I could see Glenn talking not so well publicly about Ray. That’s too bad, because it gave him a locker room reputation possibly not deserved. In ‘94 at Purdue, he was the most exciting college player since Jordan, no doubt about it.
I sure would like to hear about where he is NOW. In Gary, IN? Hopefully well, and giving back to youth or something. Again, thanks for the article.
6'11" on Mon, 21st Apr 2008 9:26 pm
My boy is chillin and doing his thang so all the haters step back & get you some, ya wanna be like real us get some game first!!!!!
Los Da Most on Mon, 5th May 2008 10:31 pm
QUIT HATIN BIGG DOGG CHILLIN STILL MAKING MONEY RETIRED LIKE ANY RICH NBA STAR G.I.
Kathy on Tue, 10th Jun 2008 9:59 pm
I’m looking for a way to reach Mr. Glenn Robinson aka Big Dog. I need to reach him for a personal matter. Thank you. Kathy
Matt Woryn on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 1:11 pm
Glenn lost his mother in an unexpected illness. It is understood he has been dealing with his grief since.
Sabrina on Tue, 29th Jul 2008 2:10 am
Glenn Robinson is living in Atlanta for the most part but he also frequent Chicago from time to time. If you want to find him check out the clubs he frequent on Saturdays in Atlanta and follow the weed smoke….
bdub on Tue, 9th Sep 2008 6:01 pm
I watched Glenns entire carrer in milwaukee . I just wanted to let it be known to whomever that true fans of this game appreciated Glenn Robinson . He was a remarkable basketball player , capable of playing all aspects of the floor .
The ” problem ” with Glenn was a lack of stability within the milwaukee org and surronding glenn with qustionable talent . Imagine drafting a lebron james and surronding him with the Benoit Benjamins of the nba . It was a difrent day and a diffrent time . Teams werent as savy as they are now and theyve learned from watching talent like Robinson not be surronding with the right players .
Ray Allen was a cancer on that team and really worked his butt off to isolate Glenn out of the offense ..Vin Bakers aka the black hole was no diffrent . Glenn was always playing with guys that had to ” get theirs ” and getting theirs didnt mean just getting theirs , it meant getting as much as they could . Glenn suffered …his carrer suffered .
But to the true fans that could read between the lines , watching that turn around post up jump shot was as good as it gets . You just knew when glenn got that ball in post up position from literally ANYWHERE on the floor it was going to be money and he very rarely let ya down . Even the shot against phylly wasnt a let down , man that was a good shot in and out ..cant complain …99 times out of a 100 that shot drops .
It is what it is ..dont like grob ?? cool , thats on you ..I could read between the lines and i got to watch one of the best basketball players ive yet to see play this game and enjoyed every last minute of it ..He wasnt a disapointment to me ..i could see whats going on .Glenn, you were a great pro playing for an organization that lacked vision ..thanks for all the memories ..more people understood the situation then people might think .i dont know anyone that didnt respect the big dog and most people that claimed not to like him simply couldnt read between the lines and see how grob was put on a very short leash in milwaukee .. Dude could drop 35ppg as a pro night in and night out but it wasnt going to happen with Ray Allen breaking off plays and taking bad shots , or with vin baker trying to shoot thru tripple teams …the irony of those that perputrated selfish offense in miwlaukee and NEVER got called on it , but the one guy that stayed commited to playing team ball was the guy that took the slack ??? dont make much sense to me but it is what it is …grob is a legend to those that know this game . i couldnt care less what the rest say they simply dont know .
Joel on Tue, 18th Nov 2008 9:52 pm
We all want to know where he is at, that is why we came to this site. I searched “where are they now Glenn Robinson” and got your article. Well written, and Big D is and will alwys be a bad ass but we want to know wtf he does now and shut.
Terry jones on Tue, 25th Nov 2008 6:54 am
Big Dog you was the best. Thanks for the memories Terry J.
J Reeds on Tue, 25th Nov 2008 8:44 pm
Glenn was always underapprecited and I am ecstatic that he has a championship ring.
R. Jones on Fri, 20th Mar 2009 4:58 am
I saw him at the club the other week in ATL doing his thing.Nice car, two women and a joint!
drizz on Mon, 1st Jun 2009 2:39 pm
it’s a shame for a player with that much talent, and resume that he should be relegated to a where are they now site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
big dog should’ve gotten a legitimate ring before “jesus” er ray allen!!!!!!!!!!!
Bugg on Wed, 3rd Jun 2009 1:32 pm
Glenn if you are reading this, I hope that you are doing well and I miss working out with u and scoop. I passed you in smyrna recently, we were going in opposite directions, but I was reluctant to turn around and try to catch up with you. I hope all is well and tell Verdene that “I” asked about her..xoxoxoxo
erik on Mon, 15th Jun 2009 4:10 pm
Glenn was a great player. I follow B-ball very closely and believe if he would have been able to have got his defense to a M.J level, he would have been absolutely incredible.
Hopefully, he will find a job where he can help others, like a mini-camp or something. Hell, maybe he does. But then again, if you got bank, females and a joint, then life would be satisfying anyways.
Peace Peeps
C on Sat, 9th Jan 2010 1:34 pm
HAPPY 37TH BIRTHDAY GLENN!!!!
Jeff T on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 11:06 pm
First of all Big Dog lost his mom to cancer during the 2005 finals. Secondly he was the man the best pure mid-range jumper in the game! All you punks that hating step yo game up! Ray Allen was soft then and he is soft now…period! JT from Detroit! #1 Big dog fan!