For a player whose career began as a “long shot,” the 2025-2026 NBA season has served as an example of persistence. Going from an undrafted NBA player to a veteran leader for the Detroit Pistons, Duncan Robinson ’12 has spent the last six months proving that the same resilience is one of his greatest assets.
While the Pistons have surged to the top of the Eastern Conference this season with a dominant 58-22 record, Robinson’s contribution has been defined by his ability to battle through the grind of a long NBA season.
In late March, a nagging wrist injury threatened to throw off his rhythm in the midst of the league’s playoff race. Shortly after, a right hip strain sidelined him for a critical matchup against the Orlando Magic. For Robinson, who persevered from the JV basketball squad to varsity at Govs, from Division 3 Williams College to Division 1 University of Michigan, they were just the latest challenges to conquer.
True to form, Robinson didn’t just return; he responded. Just 48 hours after being listed as “doubtful” with that hip strain for an April 6 matchup, he stepped onto the floor against the Milwaukee Bucks and put on a clinic. He dropped 20 points, including four three-pointers, allowing Detroit’s young stars to find their lanes. It was a game that mirrored his career: Finding a way to be indispensable even when the physical odds were stacked against him.
Long-serving history teacher Perry Nelson P’24,’25 recalls Robinson’s singular focus when he was a student at Govs: “It always impressed me that Duncan could rise above difficult situations. You’d never know that other things in his life weren’t going smoothly for him — he just dealt with it. He seemed to manage every obstacle with grace and perseverance.”
Beyond the box score, Duncan has embraced the challenge of a new environment. Moving from the Miami Heat, where he had played for seven years and signed the largest-ever contract for an undrafted player, to a Detroit team with championship aspirations required a change in his role. He is now key to opening up space to allow the Pistons’ young players to succeed and score.
Robinson also continues to emphasize that being a good human and giving back to others matters just as much as being great at three-pointers. He often talks about the bumps along the road in his podcast, The Long Shot. He once told national radio broadcast The Dan Patrick Show that he makes his bed in hotel rooms, even though there are housekeeping staff to do so, a lesson he picked up at Govs and during his post-grad year at Phillips Exeter Academy.
Robinson, his fiancée, and his sister also recently founded the Robinson Family Foundation, which will support initiatives surrounding heart, mind, and body. Its creation was spurred by the loss of Robinson’s brother, Eli Robinson ’10, in 2025.
With the NBA Playoffs around the corner, and Robinson’s Pistons one of the favorites to go far, his journey serves as a reminder to the Govs community that the road to success is often filled with challenges along the way, but overcoming them is part of the journey.
“He seemed to manage every obstacle with grace and perseverance”
