Flynn James Robinson was an American professional basketball player.
Biography
Flynn was born April 28, 1941 from the union of Sam Hopkins and Dorothy Mae Robinson. Later Flynn's mother married Johnnie Hodge, Sr., Flynn's step-father. A native of Murphysboro, Illinois, Robinson later moved to Kinloch, Missouri where he attended Dunbar Elementary School thru the 4th Grade as Flynn Hodge. Afterwards Flynn lived in Elgin, Illinois and graduated in 1959 from Elgin High School.
Robinson attended Southern Illinois Universityin September 1959 for one semester and was on the Basketball Team. Later he transferred to and attended Casper College in Casper, Wyoming before transferring to the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. A 6'1" guard at Wyoming, Robinson was a three-time first-team All-Western Athletic Conference honoree. He averaged 26.2 points per game as a sophomore, 25.6 points as a junior and 27 points as a senior and was the 6th leading scorer in the Nation. His 2,049 points place him third on Wyoming's all-time scoring list, and in 2005 he was named to the school's All-Century team. Robinson played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association and one season in the later merged American Basketball Association. He averaged 14.5 points per game and 3.1 assists per game during his NBA/ABA career. The 15th pick in the 1965 NBA draft, Robinson made his NBA debut with the Cincinnati Royals in 1966. Later Robinson played for the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks' Broadcaster, Eddie Doucette, called him the "Electric Eye". In the 1969–70 season with Milwaukee, Robinson averaged a career high 21.8 points per game and was selected to the 1970 NBA All-Star Game, the only All-Star game he would play in. He also led the NBA in free throw percentage that season. Traded to Los Angeles in 1971 from the Cincinnati Royals, Robinson was a Reserve Guard behind Jerry West and Gail Goodrich for the Los Angeles Lakers team that won a league-record 33 consecutive games and later won an NBA championship with the team in 1972, playing on what has been considered one of the NBA's Top Ten Teams of all time. When he joined the Lakers, their Broadcaster, Chick Hearn, called him "Instant Points". In 1992, Robinson returned to Los Angeles where he and his Laker Teammates, including Legends Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West, were Honored at the 20th Year Celebration of the 1972 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers. Later in January 2005, Robinson was named to Wyoming's All-Century Team. In 2012, while living in the Los Angeles area, Robinson again was Honored with his surviving Teammates at the 40th Year Celebration of the 1972 NBA Champion Lakers who continue to hold the Historic 33-Games Win Streak, a long-standing Pro Sports Record. The Lakers presented Flynn and each surviving Team member with a huge expensive Diamonds Cluster Ring.
