After falling to the eventual WNBA champion Washington Mystics in the semifinals last year, the Las Vegas Aces signed point guard Danielle Robinson to solidify their backcourt. It was technically a return to her first franchise, as Robinson played her first five seasons—and reached three All-Star Games—with the San Antonio Stars, who later relocated to Vegas. But she hasn’t yet had the chance to suit up for her new (old) team as the WNBA has delayed the start of its season due to the coronavirus.
Robinson has played eight WNBA seasons, having also logged short stints with the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx. She was honored on three All-Defensive teams and on the 2014 All-WNBA team. The oddity of her career was a seven-year three-pointer drought: she had missed her first 39 attempts before sinking one—actually two—on July 11, 2018.
Like many women pro basketball players, Robinson routinely plays a second season overseas. She just finished a stint with CCC Polkowice in Poland, and she has also played in Israel, Turkey, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
Robinson has been active in several community efforts and received the WNBA Cares Community Assist Award last June. She was recognized for her work with an organization supporting homeless in Minnesota as well as LGBTQ youth and Big Brothers Big Sisters. She spoke with SportTechie via Blinder, a video platform designed to facilitate broadcasting interviews with a mobile phone instead of a camera crew; it is used by the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, the U.S. women’s national soccer team, MLS’ Atlanta United, the Australian Football League, and Formula E.
On the uncertainty of the WNBA schedule . . .
Our [season] is just in limbo, kind of have to wait and see what the virus does. We really don't know anything until [later]. I think what the NBA does is a step in a direction for us. But obviously, their season was already ongoing. So it'll still be a waiting game after that for us, but it's unfortunate for the collegiate athletes, high school athletes that weren't able to finish their seasons. Obviously, we look forward to playing in the summertime, seeing our fans. Even if the season does happen without fans, it’s going to be a different experience. It’s something definitely to think about and wonder about, but you really just don't know at this moment.
On staying fit while sheltering in place . . .
I'm trying not to overwork myself. Coming off an overseas season, you normally don't have this rest time. Usually you have about two weeks before you go to training camp once you get back from Europe, and so it's been nice, honestly, to give my body a rest at times. If I wake up and I'm like, ‘You know what, I think I need a day off today, then it's OK for me to take that.’ That's the stage that I'm at right now, but usually [now I’m] doing a lot of running outside, which I never used to do—ever. So running outside, doing high-intensity workouts, getting my heart rate up. But there really is no shape like basketball shape. So that is going to have to come whenever we start to play.
“[I use] the Apple Watch, just to see [heart rate]. My normal range is really, really low so I know if it's super high, then I tell myself ‘OK, well, you took one too many days off this week.’ I like to get a sweat in, and that really helps me determine where I'm at. If I didn't sweat a lot that day, I'm like, ‘I need to do a little bit more.’ That's just how I feel. Even if I feel I've done enough, it's like I need to do a little bit more. I'll push myself a little bit harder that day, but I think I'm doing a combination of things.”
On keeping basketball skills sharp . . .
My neighbor gave me a hoop, so that's been cool to be out there, do some ball handling, obviously shooting, just trying to do as much as I can and have different options. You don't want to get tired of doing the same thing.
[The hoop] was one on wheels. My fiancée actually helped me so thank God for her because, without her, I wouldn't have been able to get it over there because it had a bunch of water in the bottom still. So like as we were dragging it, it was getting less and less heavy because the water was coming out of it. But still, it's like they have a steep driveway [down], and then we have an incline. So it was like, down to up. So we had to stop in the middle, but we made it.
On managing her year-round work to play two seasons . . .
Right now, it's all about balance. When you're younger, you're more fresh. It's like, ‘OK, I can do this, no problem.’ But now it's like making sure you're getting the massages, making sure you're recovering in the right way. Knowing that you're going to have two seasons and knowing that, when you go to Europe, you're going to practice twice a day, whether it's weights and normal practice or shooting and normal practice. You're going to have multiple times that you're going to have to work out.
As I've gotten older, I've communicated with coaches as well, 'Hey, I think the team's a little tired. This is what we may need.’ Or stuff like that. And so [I’ve been] growing into that leadership role, not only in the W but in Europe as well. So that's been good in my career, but like I said, it's all about balance, making sure that when it's go time—when it's game time, when it's practice time—I'm ready. But, in between, there's times where [if] today I'm not feeling as great, I need to stretch it a little longer, or I need to make sure I get revved up before practice. Those are the kind of things that help me stay in peak shape for both.
On playing abroad . . .
They’re varied. Israel is a fun place to play. There’s like 50 American guys, 50 American girls, so it’s like Americans everywhere. Everybody's within an hour or two so it's not real bad. They only practice once [per day]. That was my intro to [playing overseas], and I was like, ‘OK, I can do this.’ And then I got to Turkey, and it was like, ‘Oh, no, we’re practicing twice. OK, this is different.'
But since Turkey, it's been about the same—twice a day, sometimes just once, depending on that game week or how many games we have, but it's better obviously when you play Euro League or Euro Cup because you're playing twice a week, so you practice less. You're traveling more, you're getting to see more stuff. When you sign up to play in Europe, those are the places that you want to play because we get to play more than we practice.
On her WNBA 3-point drought . . .
There was never any pressure for me to shoot 3s anywhere. I always was surrounded by shooters: Becky Hammon in San Antonio, I mean, she's top 15 all-time. Obviously, I was in Phoenix with Diana [Taurasi]. Minnesota had a bunch of great shooters there. So it was never like, ‘You have to do this, this is your game.’ It's always been, ‘Drive and kick, drive and attack,’ that kind of thing.
But then my trainer out here, [Tim Springer], actually was just like, ‘You know what, let's just do it.’ We had never really worked on it because we were trying to fine-tune the mid-range game and the finishes and all that stuff. But he was like, ‘Let's just do it. At some point, you're going to need it.’ [Hitting a three] happened. It was kind of a relief because it had been talked about, talked about, talked about so much. But now, I shot it more in Europe than I ever have, and it felt great. So I was definitely looking forward to shooting it this summer. So, when the time comes, I'll be ready.
On working with her private skills trainer . . .
It's always ball-handling. We always start with ball handling because, as the point guard, people are gonna pressure. You're gonna see all kinds of pick-and-roll coverages. You’ve got to be able to dribble with both hands comfortably, and so that's always something that he has preached to me. But also just the way that we work. We work game speed, game pace all the time. There's no point of doing anything if you're going to go half-speed, and it's not realistic. He makes things fun. And I think that’s the best part about working with him is that we always have a good time. We're always laughing, but at the end of the day, we know that we accomplished something great together.
On being competitive . . .
I got the [pool] table from my brother, but I don't play much. After we got back from Europe, [my fiancée] is like, ‘Let's play pool.’ We never played. She’s played a little bit more than me, and so the first couple games, like, she was whupping me. I'm talking like, I was leaving maybe five or six balls on the table. I'm like, ‘This is horrible.’ But then after the games, I would start practicing, you know, working on angles, working on, ‘If I bounce it off this wall, where can I make it in?’ Stuff like that. And then, after that, I became the champion, let's just say that. I got so much better, but don't take me up on it. I'm not a pool shark, but I'm better than I was when we started.
On her community work . . .
Homelessness is obviously something that has had a huge part of my heart since I was younger. I used to go serve with my mom at the homeless shelters all the years of my childhood. Getting to these teams and having that community aspect be a part of our everyday job, I was like, ‘This is where my heart is, this is what I want to do.'
We had Lynx night towards the end of the year when literally the whole team came in. We served food Seimone [Augustus]’s parents cooked, and it just filled my heart so much to see these people not knowing where the next meal may come from, but knowing that we were able to provide them with a meal that night. It was very exciting, and just very, very humbling. And so those are the experiences that mean the most to me. I mean, yeah, the winds are great. Obviously, the friendships are amazing, but it's these relationships that really make a career.”
