Duncan Robinson

Early life

Born April 22, 1994, in York, Maine, Robinson is the son of Elisabeth and Jeffrey Robinson and the youngest of their three children (after sister Marta and brother Eli). He is part Hawaiian on his mother's side. Robinson grew up in the town of New Castle, New Hampshire (population 1,000), where his Maude H. Trefethen Elementary School 6th grade graduating class was composed of just four students.

High school career

Robinson attended Rye Junior High School and elected to attend The Governor's Academy in Massachusetts rather than Portsmouth High School, which is the public high school for students in New Castle. Robinson began his freshman season as a 5-foot-7-inch (1.70 m) point guard for The Governor's Academy in 2008 but did not play much until he became "serviceable" as a junior. In his early years, he practiced shooting for hours, attempting to make 1,600 shots per week. Robinson started working with trainer Noah LaRoche during his junior season. After averaging 18.5 points as a senior at The Governor's Academy, he was selected to the 2012 All-NEPSAC Class B first team and the 2012 All-Independent School League (ISL) team. Following his senior season, Robinson measured 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) and 175 pounds (79.4 kg). By the end of the summer, he had grown to 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) and 195 pounds (88.5 kg). He graduated with a 3.55 G.P.A.

Following his senior season, Robinson played on the spring and summer Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit. Robinson played for Michael Crotty Jr.'s Middlesex Magic AAU team. Crotty had been a two-time All-American at Williams College, having served as point guard for the 2003 NCAA Division III Tournament champions (and 2004 Tournament runners up). Robinson then did a postgraduate year at Phillips Exeter Academy in order to increase his college prospects. He led Exeter to a 28–1 record, ending on an 18-game win streak that included the school's first NEPSAC Class A championship victory on March 10 against Choate Rosemary Hall. Robinson posted 24 points and 10 rebounds in the championship game, earning the Tournament MVP in addition to 2013 NEPSAC Class A All-League first team honors.

During the last weekend of September 2012 while on a campus visit, Division III Williams made Robinson an offer that he accepted immediately. At the time, Williams was ranked the number one liberal arts college in the country according to U.S. News & World Report, and the school was a Division III basketball powerhouse. They had gone 93–22 over the prior four seasons under head coach Mike Maker. Nonetheless, his only scholarship offer was from NCAA Division II's Merrimack College. He also had interest from Division I Brown Bears and Columbia Lions as well as Division III Bates College and Amherst College.

College career

Williams College

Prior to the November 15, 2013, season opener against Southern Vermont College, Williams was ranked third among Division III teams according to the preseason poll. Williams lost in the shadow of a home court scheduling conflict despite 5–6 shooting by Robinson. Robinson became the only freshman starter in Maker's six-year tenure as head coach at Williams. In his 2013–14 freshman season at Williams, Robinson was twice named New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Player of the Week during the regular season. Williams reached the 2014 NCAA Men's Division III basketball tournament championship game, but fell 75–73 to University of Wisconsin–Whitewater as Robinson scored 17 points. After Williams took a one-point lead with 4.9 seconds left, Wisconsin pushed the ball upcourt without calling time-out to score the winning basket in what Chris Strauss of USA Today described as the best NCAA basketball tournament game of the weekend. Robinson had posted 30 points in the tournament semifinals against bitter rival Amherst College who had defeated Williams in the season's three previous meetings. Williams finished the season with a 28–5 record. That season, he set school records for single-season minutes played 1,110 minutes and freshman-season points scored (548). As a freshman, he led the NESCAC in 3-point field goal percentage (44.8%) and minutes played (1108), while ranking 2nd in minute per game (34.6 v. 35.4 by Joey Kizel of Middlebury College). In conference games, Robinson led the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (50%) and 3-point shots made per game (3.6). Following the season, he was the NESCAC Rookie of the Year and a Second Team All-NESCAC selection. Robinson became Williams' first freshman to be named All-American (4th team, D3Hoops.com), first D3Hoops.com National Rookie of the Year, first freshman NCAA All-Tournament Team selection and first freshman 500-point scorer.

Following the 2013–14 season, Maker left Williams to become the head coach for the Marist Red Foxes. Robinson was immediately contacted by schools from the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, Atlantic 10, Ivy League, Patriot League and America East conferences. Among the schools that were interested were Creighton, Boston College and Providence. After his freshman success, he had decided that he would only leave Williams to play for a winning program that was an elite academic institution and that used a system and style that he had become used to. Robinson had played against Nik Stauskas in NEPSAC play and was impressed with how Michigan's John Beilein had developed "under-recruited players" such as Stauskas who was a 1st round selection in the 2014 NBA draft. Maker had been an assistant coach for Beilein at West Virginia from 2005 to 2007. At both Exeter and Williams, Robinson had played in systems that were similar to the one that Beilein runs at Michigan. Robinson asked Maker to contact Beilein who on faith replied that Michigan may have interest at the preferred walk-on level. Robinson was not interested in walk-on consideration given competing scholarship offers. A week later, after seeing video, Beilein said Michigan was considering a scholarship offer. Robinson scheduled visits to Michigan and new Atlantic 10 member Davidson. After the visit to Michigan, Robinson committed to the school. He announced his decision via Twitter on August 6, 2014.

University of Michigan

Besides Bob McCann, who transferred from Division III Upsala College to Morehead State University after his freshman season, Robinson is the only other player to transfer from Division III to Division I with a full scholarship, according to some sources. During the 2014–15 NCAA Division I season, Robinson redshirted for the Michigan Wolverines, meaning that he could not participate in games, but could practice with the team. In December 2014 with assistant coach Jeff Meyer as his rebounder, Robinson broke Stauskas's Michigan Wolverines practice record for three-pointers in a drill (five minutes, one ball, one rebounder) by posting 78, surpassing Stauskas by three.

In Robinson's second game for the 2015–16 Michigan Wolverines, he posted 19 points on 6–6 shooting (5–5 three-point shots) from the floor against Elon on November 16, 2015. On December 1, in the ACC–Big Ten Challenge against NC State, he posted 17 points on 5–7 three-point shooting, which established a Michigan record for single ACC-B1G game 3-point shooting percentage (min five attempts). On December 12, Michigan defeated Delaware State 80–33, as Robinson made his first career start for Michigan by posting 11 points on 3–5 three-point shooting. At the time, Robinson ranked third in the nation in three-point shooting percentage. Note that various sources have various eligibility thresholds. E.g., while BigTen.org only requires a minimum of 1.0 made per game, NCAA.org requires a minimum of 2.5 made per game. On December 23, Robinson tied his career high (set twice at Williams) with six assists against Bryant. The game marked the ninth consecutive game in which he made at least three three-point shots. Robinson entered conference play as the Big Ten leader in three-point field goal percentage and led the Big Ten Conference in both three-point field goals (52) and three-point field goal percentage (.565) through the first week of the Big Ten Conference schedule. On January 12, with leading scorer Caris LeVert sidelined, Michigan defeated Maryland 70–67 as Robinson contributed 17 points on 5–9 three-point shooting. On January 23, Michigan defeated Nebraska 81–68, behind a game-high and season-high 21 points by Robinson. With the Cornhusker defense challenging his three-point shot, he scored more points inside the three-point line than outside it for the first time as a Wolverine. The January 27 game against Rutgers marked the 17th consecutive game in which Robinson made at least two three-point shots. Robinson made only one three-point shot in each the subsequent two games against Penn State and Indiana. Nonetheless, Robinson entered the February 6 Michigan–Michigan State rivalry game against the 10th-ranked Michigan State Spartans as the Big Ten Conference leader in three-point shots made and three-point field goal percentage, but he was held to 0–3 in three-point shooting in the game. The game marked the first time since the season opener, that Robinson did not make a single three-point shot, ending a 22-game streak. On February 10, Michigan defeated Minnesota as Robinson posted a game- and season-high nine rebounds to go along with 14 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting.

Professional career

Miami Heat (2018–2025)

After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, he signed an NBA Summer League contract with the Miami Heat. After 5 Summer League games in which he averaged 12.4 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 58% (22-for-38) from the field including 63% (17-for-27) on three-point shots, he agreed to a two-way contract with the Miami Heat and Sioux Falls Skyforce on July 10, 2018. When Robinson made his NBA debut, it was the first by a former Division III player since Devean George. It was the first ever by a Williams Eph. Robinson joined Big X, a team composed of former Big Ten players, in The Basketball Tournament 2018.

Although the Heat's formal training camp did not begin until September 25, 2018, Robinson declined an invitation to participate as part of the G League-manned squad that Team USA used from September 6 through September 17 to qualify for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup so that he could participate in informal developmental training with the Heat. When the Heat began the season with four injured players (Wayne Ellington, Justise Winslow, James Johnson and Dion Waiters), Robinson and fellow two-way player Yante Maten made the official October 15 opening day roster. The team began the season with 14 players under full NBA contracts. When the G League training camps opened on October 22, Robinson stayed with the Heat. Robinson made his NBA debut in the Heat's fourth game of the season on October 24, against the New York Knicks with three points and four rebounds in 10 minutes of action. He made his first field goal attempt, a three-point shot. He scored 15 points as a starter when Sioux Falls opened its season on November 2 with a 112–101 victory against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. On December 10, Robinson went 10 for 17 on 3-point shot attempts against the Agua Caliente Clippers posting 32 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Robinson scored five points in his first NBA start on February 25, 2019 against the Phoenix Suns. On March 19, Robinson posted his G-League best 36 points against the Oklahoma City Blue. Robinson was a 2019 All-NBA G League Third Team selection after posting 21.4 points with a 51.4 percent field goal percentage and 48.3 three-point percentage along with 4.3 rebounds and three assists in 33 games, which resulted in his contract being converted to a standard two-year contract on April 9. Robinson established two Skyforce franchise records: Single-season three-point shots made (157), career three-point shot percentage (48.5%, min 200 attempts). The career three-point shot percentage is an NBA G-League all-time record. Robinson led the G League in minutes per game that season (36.9). Robinson closed the season with his first double-digit scoring effort with 15 points against the Brooklyn Nets on April 10.

Detroit Pistons (2025–present)

On July 7, 2025, Robinson signed a three-year, $48 million contract with the Detroit Pistons via a sign-and-trade with the Heat in exchange for Simone Fontecchio. The 2025–26 Pistons earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2007. Their 60–22 finish was the third-best regular season record in franchise history and their first 60-win season since 2005–06. Robinson had his best season since his first full season 2019–20 averaging 12.2 points per game on 41.0% three point shooting in the regular season and 58.8% in the postseason.

Career statistics

Records

NBA

Fastest player to reach 300 career 3-pointers (95 games)

Fastest player to reach 400 career 3-pointers (125 games)

Fastest player to reach 500 career 3-pointers (152 games)

Fastest player to reach 600 career 3-pointers (184 games)

Fastest player to reach 700 career 3-pointers (216 games)

Fastest player to reach 800 career 3-pointers (263 games)

Fastest player to reach 900 career 3-pointers (305 games)

Fastest player to reach 1000 career 3-pointers (343 games)

Single-season 3-pointers by an undrafted player (270)

Single-season 3-pointers by a 2nd year player (270)

Season to season increase in 3-pointers (260, 10 to 270)

Single-season 3-point percentage of field goals attempts (3PA/FGA, 606/687=88.2%)

Single-game undrafted duo points (70, 36 by Kendrick Nunn)

Single-NBA Finals game 3-point shots made by an undrafted player (7)

Single-NBA Christmas Day half 3-point shots made (6, tied)

Kaseya Center single-game 3-point shots made (10, tied Tim Hardaway Jr., Paul George and J. R. Smith)

Miami Heat

Most 3-point shots made in a quarter (7)

Most 3-point shots made in a half (8)

Most 3-point shots made in a game (10; tied with Mario Chalmers and Brian Shaw)

Most 3-point shots made in a season (270)

Most 3-point shots made in a career (1202)

Consecutive games played (182)

Consecutive regular season games with 3-point shot conversion (69, 2/11/21-11/29/21)

Consecutive games within a season with 3-point shot conversion (57, 11/25/19-8/12/20)

Consecutive regular season games with multiple 3-point shot conversion (25, 3/11/21-4/24/21)

Single-season Effective field goal percentage (.667)

Single-season True shooting percentage (.684)

Single-season 2-point field goal percentage (.654)

Career Effective field goal percentage (.597, through 23–24 season)

Career 2-point field goal percentage (.598, through 23–24 season)

Seasons with 200 3-point shots made (3)

Seasons with 250 3-point shots made (2)

Most 3-point shots made in a playoff game quarter (4, 9/17/20, 4/17/22, 5/23/22, 4/19/23), tied with several including Damon Jones (4/25/2005), Dwyane Wade (4/25/10), Tyler Herro (9/19/2020), Max Strus (6/4/2023) and Luol Deng (4/23/2016), possibly others before 2015 playoffs.

G League

Career 3-point shot percentage (48.3%)

Sioux Falls

Single-season 3-point shots made (157)

NCAA DI

Single-season games played (41, shared with several 2017–18 Wolverines teammates, 2023–24 NC State Wolfpack and 2010–11 Connecticut Huskies)

Michigan

Single ACC/B1G Challenge game 3-point shooting percentage (5–7=71.4%, min 5 attempts)

Williams

Single-season minutes played (1110)

Freshman-season points (548)

Personal life

Robinson's older brother, Eli, died by suicide in 2025 after a schizophrenia diagnosis. Robinson and his family launched the Robinson Family Foundation to help others deal with mental health issues.

Podcasting career

In 2021, Duncan started a podcast called "The Long Shot Pod" with his friend Davis Reid. Produced by the podcasting company, ThreeFourTwo Productions owned by former NBA player JJ Redick, each podcast features exclusive conversations between Duncan Robinson and his co-host Davis Reid, sometimes with NBA players as well as celebrities from other areas of media. The podcast has a total of 8 million views on YouTube.