After a third season plagued by injury, Mitchell Robinson is staring down a key fourth season, potentially fighting for his future as a New York Knick. Can Mitch recapture the glory of his standout rookie and sophomore seasons?

With the Knicks officially clinching their first playoff spot in eight years last season, it’s a great time for the fans and the organization. However, the preseason is upon us, and we’re still without one important contract extension on the Knicks. No, not THAT contract extension, that already happened. The one for Mitchell Robinson. Remember him? The one who unfortunately went down with an injury (after going down with a previous injury) and with it, taking the Knicks’ ability to rebound, defend pick-and-rolls, and execute highlight dunks we’ve grown accustomed to. Mitch’s extension is quite a conundrum because it asks one of the hardest questions with regards to team building in the NBA: how do you evaluate a center who is clearly above replacement level, but is also below the level of a franchise center? 

Mitch has clearly shown his value to the organization over the last few years, and has managed to build quite a resumé. His first season he waltzed into the NBA as a third-string center buried behind Enes Kanter at the start, and by the end of it managed to be fourth in total blocks, as well as second in blocks per game in the entire NBA. To illustrate how impressive this feat was — everyone else in the top five played at least 74 games; Mitch played 66. 

He followed up his rookie season by casually breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s field goal percentage record, setting the new mark at 74.2%. While this image brings back memories of a darker time in Knicks history, it also represents something else: the last time Mitchell Robinson shot under 50% in a game the rest of the 2019-2020 season when taking at least two shots. For the next 44 games, Mitch averaged 10.1 points per game at a blistering .763 clip, while chipping in two blocks and one steal as well. He remained one of the best shot blockers in the league, finishing in the top six for total blocks on the season. To put this in perspective, everyone else in the top 10 played in the NBA Bubble, giving them eight extra games to increase their total. 

Expectations were sky-high heading into his third year, and his season can be described best as a mixed bag. The pandemic workout videos of him hitting step-back threes were not meant to be, and Mitch didn’t expand his offensive game outside of the lobs, put-backs, and occasional touch layups that we’ve come to love. However, he did make massive improvements defensively, even if it didn’t show in the traditional box score. Mitch established himself as one of the more underrated rebounders in the league, managed to average a career high in steals, and, most importantly, kept himself out of foul trouble, and as a result stayed in games longer. Mitch only played in 31 games, but topped 30 minutes in 11 of them, something he had done just 14 times in his career previously. He also didn’t foul out in any of them, which he did 15 times over the previous two seasons. Mitch staying on the court took the analytics that stated that the Knicks were a top 10 defense with him on the floor and put them into practice, with him being the defensive anchor in the middle. 

This fourth year is a pivotal time for Mitch, but it is also set up to be by far the best offensive situation the young shot blocker has found himself in. Kemba Walker, despite a down year, has been one of the best PnR ball handlers of the last half decade…

…while Evan Fournier has graded out as above average as well:

With consistent above-average ball handlers capable of running PnR and drawing gravity as a self-creation threat, Mitch should have nothing but daylight in the lane, leading him to as effective as he’s been in his career (he’s literally been the best pick-and-roll finisher in the league his two healthy seasons in 2018-19 and 2019-20 — the idea of this efficiency on higher volume is equally tantalizing and devastating). 

Despite being one of the lone bright spots for the organization prior to last season, the general perception of Mitch seems to be an enigma. Yes, he suffered injuries this season, but calling him injury-prone is a mistake, given that he played in 86% of available games his prior two seasons to last year. He’s managed to improve mightily in areas without adding the jump shot, which isn’t necessarily something that needs to be part of his skill set in order for him to be effective. His ability to guard the perimeter, switch onto guards and wings, and his effectiveness in defending both parts of the pick-and-roll make him a unique variation of the “traditional” run/jump/dunk center. Here’s to silencing the doubters and making himself part of the Knicks for a long time.