Milwaukee Bucks’ $100 Million Deal Rejection Restricted NBA Champ’s Mastery, as Per Ex-Teammate

Back in 1994, signing a player to the team that drafted them was not as easy as it is now. This is because there was no rookie-scale contract at the time. Currently, there are rules for NBA rookies getting signed, and the deals can only last a maximum of 4 years. But before this rule was put into action, players were able to bring up various demands for their contracts.

One of the first players to demand a relatively big contract, which aided in the NBA making this rule change, was Glenn Robinson. He asked for a $100 million contract as a rookie but was rejected by the Milwaukee Bucks. Although he may have deserved the money, Robinson’s teammate Vin Baker feels that he missed out on a career accolade because of this.

NBA held its remorse against Glenn Robinson

In a recent episode of the Knuckleheads podcast, the special guest was Vin Baker. During his conversation with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles, Baker talked about the time Glen Robinson asked for $100 million from the Bucks. Robinson was selected number one overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1994. Vin Baker, meanwhile, had been drafted by the Bucks a year earlier.

Robinson and his agent, at the time, asked for a 13-year contract worth 10 million dollars. It took the two parties some time to come to an agreement, but Robinson later agreed to a 10-year contract worth $68 million.

Although asking for that kind of money is ludicrous as a rookie, his teammate Vin Baker believes that he deserved all the money that he got and that he asked for. However, according to Baker, Robinson was left out of the Rookie of the Year award contention because he demanded more money from the Bucks and did not show up for the team’s preseason games.

Baker said, “The only reason he didn’t win it was because he held out for the money. In my humble opinion,”.

In 1995, Jason Kidd and Grant Hill shared the Rookie of the Year award. Baker feels like, as Robinson averaged almost 22 PPG as a rookie, which is close to 30 PPG in the current generation, the award should have been split three ways.

Signing the deal was a mistake for Glenn Robinson.

As a rookie, Robinson averaged almost 22 PPG. He was consistent throughout his career, and over his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks, he held an average of 21.1 PPG.

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But although Robinson got what he asked for, it ended up being a mistake in the end. The NBA salary cap took a massive jump in the next two years. After that, great players started getting paid over $10 million a season. So Robinson was still bound to his 10-year contract, and this likely made him lose out on millions.

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Do you think Glenn Robinson should have won the Rookie of the Year award? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!