SAN ANTONIO, May 24 (UPI) -- San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson, voted one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1996, announced Friday he will retire following the 2002-03 campaign.
Robinson has spent his entire 13-year career with the Spurs, but his play has declined in recent years. During the 2001-02 season, he averaged just 12.2 points and 8.3 rebounds -- both career lows -- and was hampered in the playoffs by a lower back injury.
The Spurs were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the Western Conference semifinals.
Robinson will play out the final year of a two-year, $20 million contract he signed last summer.
Robinson helped the Spurs to their only NBA championship in 1999 and is the franchise's all-time leader in points (20,144), rebounds (9,989), blocks (2,843), steals (1,336) and games played (923).
He has posted career averages of 21.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.08 blocks while shooting 51.9 percent from the field.
Robinson, who had two years of active duty in the Navy before joining the Spurs, was the unanimous winner of the Rookie of the Year award in 1989-90, helping the Spurs win the Midwest Division with a 56-26 record. The prior season, San Antonio finished with a league-worst 21-61 mark.
Robinson captured the Most Valuable Player award in 1994-95 and has appeared in 10 All-Star Games. He joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players to win a scoring title (1993-94), rebounding title (1990-91) and lead the NBA in blocked shots (1991-92).
