NBLC Alumni: Brandon Robinson
6'5"
Forward
From Lake Wales, Florida
2012 Rookie of the Year
3xAll-NBLC
Back when it all began, Brandon Robinson was a wunderkind in the NBL Canada, getting both his professional career and the league underway in style.
He started out as team captain of Lakes Wales High and went on to become the starting small forward for the Seminole State Raiders in Central Florida, averaging 18 points per game in his sophomore year.
After two seasons with the Raiders, Robinson transferred to the Clayton State Lakers in NCAA Division 2. During his tenure he became the team's leading three-point shooter, making 53 from beyond the arc junior year, was the Most Valuable Player in the Winter Park Tangerine Tournament and a member of the All-Peach Belt team in 2011.
From there, he turned professional and made his way to Canada for the inaugural NBL Canada season. He signed with the Oshawa Power in east Ontario, going on to what would be an extraordinary debut year.
Starting 28 times in 36 games, he finished as the league's scoring champion and his averages of 19.8 points and 6.7 rebounds would not be enough to take Oshawa to the playoffs, but was more than enough to win the league's first Rookie of the Year award, as well as an All-NBL Canada second team selection.
Robinson again played in the NBLC next season, initially with the Halifax Rainmen before moving to the Summerside Storm, for whom he averaged 22.8 points in 34 games - more than enough for a spot on the All-NBLC first team. He also helped the Storm to their first NBLC finals, but they couldn't capture the win, losing in four games to the London Lightning.
In the 2013-14 season he signed with Chemnitz in Germany, starting in all 30 games and averaging 18.0 points and 6.3 rebounds. Next season he returned to the NBLC and the Storm, playing and starting in 35 games, averaging 18.9 points and career-bests of 7.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists. This secured him his second All-NBLC first team selection.
When it came to the 2015 playoffs, the Storm passed the Saint John Mill Rats in the first round but came up short against the Halifax Rainmen, who won the series 4-1 and progressed to the finals.
In the off-season Robinson would compete for Pedro's Posse in The Basketball Tournament, then began the following season with Crailsheim in Germany before moving back to Canada, signing with the Windsor Express.
With Windsor, he lead the league in steals per game and was a member of the All-Defensive first team, as well as the Player of the Week for January 10th. With 22.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 47 games played, he helped Windsor reach the Central Division finals, but again would fall short of the finals, losing four games to two against the London Lightning.
After this Robinson began to apply his trade with Chile, first joining Osorno and later Deportes Las Animas, for whom he won the 2018 league championship and player of the year. He spent summers playing with the Hebei Kylins in China and later became a starter for Argentinian team Quimsa in 2020, leading them to the semi finals of the Americas Champions League.
His legacy in the NBL Canada is today he is fourth on the all-time scoring list and ninth in career rebounds. His professional career has been going as long as the NBLC has, good news is that since starting out they have continued to go strong. Robinson remains a force to be reckoned with on the basketball court and though he has left the NBL Canada courts behind, the impact he made on them lasts to this day.
