NBA champion Mitchell Robinson reportedly agrees to 3-year, $47.4M deal with Celtics

Mitchell Robinson has reportedly agreed to a3-year, $47.4 million contract with the Boston Celtics, according to ESPN's Shams Charania — a lucrative new deal for one of the best backup big men and premier rebounders in the sport.

Robinson has averaged 7.5 points, 8 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 0.9 steals in 23.4 minutes per game across eight pro seasons. He is one of just three players in NBA history to shoot at least 70% from the field for his career in more than 5,000 minutes played, joining fellow centers Robert Williams III and Daniel Gafford.

A five-star prep prospect, Robinson withdrew his commitment to Western Kentucky to focus fully on preparing for the pros. The New York Knicks selected the 7-footer in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft, and he quickly impressed in limited minutes on lousy Knicks teams, showing flashes of elite traits as a shot-blocker, lob threat and interior finisher, setting an NBA record for the highest shooting percentage in a single season when he shot 74.2% from the field in 2019-20.

When the Knicks hired Tom Thibodeau in 2020, Robinson became an increasingly important piece of the new head coach's puzzle on both ends. His rim protection helped elevate New York into the top 10 in defensive efficiency, and his development into perhaps the NBA's best offensive rebounder played an integral role in the Knicks winning the possession battle night after night.

Along with Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, and later Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, Donte DiVincenzo and OG Anunoby, Robinson helped re-establish the sort of rugged, physical identity that Knicks teams had lacked for years. That identity was on full display in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs, when New York bullied the Cleveland Cavaliers in a five-game romp that saw the Knicks dominate the glass and the paint, with Robinson telling reporters that he could see Cleveland's players getting shook at the prospect of venturing inside:

As impactful as he can be when he's on the court, the 28-year-old has spent a ton of time on the shelf over the years, topping 70 games just once in eight seasons and being limited to fewer than 40 games three times. In recent years, those injury absences mostly stemmed from problems with his left ankle, which he injured during a December 2023 meeting with the Boston Celtics, requiring a procedure initially expected to keep him out for eight to 10 weeks. The Knicks later revised their projection, expecting Robinson to miss the rest of the season; instead, he returned to the team in late March, helping New York finish off its first 50-win campaign in more than a decade and knock off the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2024 playoffs.

During that series, though, Robinson reaggravated the injury after Sixers superstar Joel Embiid pulled him down on a layup attempt:

A visibly hobbled Robinson finished the Philly series, but missed the final six games of New York's second-round defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. He underwent surgery to repair a stress reaction in that left ankle and missed the first four months of the 2024-25 season, coming back in time for the stretch run and playing a key role in the Knicks' first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years with his combination of bruising offensive rebounding and high-level interior defense.

After falling short against Indiana again, the Knicks fired Thibodeau and replaced him with Mike Brown, who implemented a load-management plan that kept Robinson out of back-to-back sets and kept his minutes down. The move paid dividends, as Robinson played more games and minutes than he had in the previous two seasons combined, and made significant contributions as part of a deep, talented second unit. Robinson played a key role in the Knicks' NBA Cup victory over the San Antonio Spurs in December …

… and had several big moments in New York's run to the NBA championship, including critical late-game stops and rebounds over Victor Wembanyama in the NBA Finals:

The longest-tenured Knick, Robinson said that being able to come through with those plays on the biggest stage of all and raise the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy was a "dream come true."

"I have been here when we had won 17 games, we won [54] games, and to finally be able to get it done in 2026 after all the journey I've been on with the team and stuff like that, it's just been amazing," he said. "This is an amazing feeling. I'm pretty sure every basketball player want to feel like this, and we got it."

And now, he's got even more — a sizable bag to throw in the back of one of his big, big trucks.