Truck Robinson Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Truck Robinson
Personal information
Robinson in 1975
Born	(1951-10-04) October 4, 1951 (age 73) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
High school	William M. Raines (Jacksonville, Florida)
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
College	Tennessee State (1970–1974)
NBA Draft	1974 / Round: 2 / Pick: 22nd overall
Selected by the Washington Bullets
Pro career	1974–1985
Coaching career	2009–2012
Career history
As player:
1974–1977	Washington Bullets
1977	Atlanta Hawks
1977–1979	New Orleans Jazz
1979–1982	Phoenix Suns
1982–1985	New York Knicks
As coach:
2009–2012	Sacramento Kings (assistant)

Career highlights and awards
2× NBA All-Star (1978, 1981) All-NBA First Team (1978) NBA rebounding leader (1978)

Career NBA statistics
Points	11,988 (15.5 ppg)
Rebounds	7,267 (9.4 rpg)
Assists	1,348 (1.7 apg)

Leonard Eugene "Truck" Robinson was a famous American basketball player and coach. He was born on October 4, 1951. Truck played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 11 seasons. He played for teams like the Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Jazz, Phoenix Suns, and New York Knicks.

Truck Robinson was known for his strong playing style and excellent rebounding skills. He was one of the best forwards in the NBA during the 1970s and 1980s. After his playing career, he also worked as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings.

Who is Truck Robinson?
Truck's Early Career
Becoming an NBA Star
Moving to Other Teams
Truck Robinson's Career Statistics
- Regular Season Stats
- Playoff Stats
See also

Who is Truck Robinson?

Leonard Robinson was known as "Truck" because of his strong build and powerful playing style. He was a very smart player who could score points and grab rebounds. Truck was good at many parts of the game. He had the strength of a power forward and the quickness of a small forward.

He played in the NBA for 11 years, always bringing a lot of energy to the game. Truck was chosen as an NBA All-Star two times. His best season was with the New Orleans Jazz in 1977–78. That year, he scored 22.7 points per game and led the entire NBA in rebounds with 15.7 per game.

Truck's Early Career

Truck Robinson played college basketball at Tennessee State University. After college, the Washington Bullets picked him in the second round of the 1974 NBA draft. In his first year, 1974–75, Truck didn't play much. He was behind other great players like Elvin Hayes. He averaged only 5.8 points in about 13 minutes per game.

That year, his team, the Bullets, made it to the NBA Finals. However, they lost to the Golden State Warriors. In his second season, Truck played more, and his scores and rebounds got better.

Becoming an NBA Star

Truck Robinson really became a star during the 1976–77 season. The Bullets traded him to the Atlanta Hawks. Playing for both teams that year, Truck averaged 19.0 points and 10.8 rebounds. This showed everyone how talented he was.

Before the 1977–78 season, Truck joined the New Orleans Jazz as a free agent. This was his best season ever. Even though he was 6-foot-7, which is not super tall for a center, he led the league in rebounding. He grabbed an amazing 15.7 rebounds per game. He also scored his career-high of 22.7 points per game. That same year, he was named to the All-NBA First Team and was an All-Star.

The Jazz team, coached by Elgin Baylor, won 39 games but did not make the playoffs.

Moving to Other Teams

Truck started the 1978–79 season strong with the Jazz. He was averaging 24.2 points and 13.4 rebounds. But in January, the Jazz traded him to the Phoenix Suns. The Suns had many good players, so Truck's playing time and stats changed a bit. He averaged 16.0 points in about 29 minutes per game.

The Suns won 50 games that year and made it to the Western Conference Finals. They lost to Seattle in a close series. For the next three seasons with the Suns, Truck continued to play well. He averaged at least 17 points and 9 rebounds each year.

After the 1981–82 season, he was traded to the New York Knicks. In 1982–83, Truck had a tough season. His scores and rebounds were lower than usual. Fans sometimes chanted "Dump Truck" because they were disappointed. He played one more full season for the Knicks before he retired in 1984–85.

In his 11 seasons in the NBA, Truck Robinson scored 11,988 points and grabbed 7,267 rebounds. He is still remembered as a powerful player who was great at rebounding.

Truck Robinson's Career Statistics

Here are some of Truck Robinson's statistics from his time in the NBA.

Regular Season Stats

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1974–75	Washington	76		13.1	.486		.522	4.0	0.5	0.5	0.4	5.8
1975–76	Washington	82		25.1	.454		.672	6.8	1.4	0.5	1.3	11.2
1976–77	Washington	41		32.4	.478		.677	8.9	1.1	0.7	0.4	16.0
1976–77	Atlanta	36		40.3	.478		.772	12.8	2.7	1.1	0.6	22.4
1977–78	New Orleans	82		44.4*	.444		.640	15.7*	2.1	0.9	1.0	22.7
1978–79	New Orleans	43		41.4	.485		.723	13.4	1.7	0.7	1.5	24.2
1978–79	Phoenix	26		29.1	.508		.642	8.7	1.5	0.7	0.5	16.0
1979–80	Phoenix	82		33.0	.512		.667	9.4	1.7	0.7	0.7	17.3
1980–81	Phoenix	82		37.7	.505		.629	9.6	2.5	0.8	0.5	18.8
1981–82	Phoenix	74	72	37.1	.513	1.000	.687	9.7	2.4	0.6	0.4	19.1
1982–83	New York	81	76	30.0	.462		.587	8.1	1.8	0.7	0.3	9.5
1983–84	New York	65	63	32.8	.489		.646	8.4	1.4	0.7	0.4	10.8
1984–85	New York	2	1	17.5	.400		.000	4.5	1.5	1.0	1.5	2.0
Career		772	212	32.6	.483	1.000	.662	9.4	1.7	0.7	0.7	15.5
All-Star		2	0	22.5	.462		.500	5.5	1.5	0.0	0.0	6.5

Playoff Stats

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1975	Washington	17		7.6	.333	.500	2.4	0.4	0.4	0.6	2.1
1976	Washington	7		19.6	.432	.810	4.7	0.7	0.7	1.1	7.0
1979	Phoenix	15		26.1	.403	.652	8.1	0.7	0.4	0.8	10.5
1980	Phoenix	3		21.3	.375	.714	6.7	1.3	1.0	0.7	5.7
1981	Phoenix	7		33.3	.351	.588	10.7	1.9	0.7	0.3	10.6
1982	Phoenix	7		30.4	.563	.300	7.6	2.7	0.7	0.1	13.3
1983	New York	6		34.2	.534	.571	11.0	2.2	1.7	0.3	15.7
1984	New York	12		30.2	.514	.600	8.1	0.6	0.6	0.8	7.1
Career		74	?	23.5	.448	.616	6.8	1.0	0.6	0.6	8.2

Truck Robinson facts for kids

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