Imagine your main takeaways from Mitchell Robinson's time with the Knicks are that he didn't play much and can't hit free throws, especially given the role he played in helping New York end its championship drought. At least one fan out there feels that way (and there's probably more) and wonders why the center signing with the Boston Celtics is such a big deal.
James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, who covers the Knicks, answered questions (subscription required) from fans in a mailbag, and the first question was:
“Why is losing Robinson a big deal? He didn’t play much and cannot shoot free throws. He’s injury-prone and cannot make a shot further than a layup.”
Mitchell Robinson is irreplaceable
Maybe that fan is coping with Robinson's absence by trying to believe that the center wasn't that valuable. At least, hopefully that's the case.
But if not, they won't have to wait much longer to understand just how much the Knicks will feel his absence as he enters his first season with the Celtics, who look at him as more than a player who doesn't play much and can't shoot free throws.
Yes, Robinson's injury history is a concern. Even before the Knicks traded for Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitch was coming off the bench while Isaiah Hartenstein started. That was because the former was out for most of the season with an ankle injury, and it made sense to keep things as is.
Robinson is also a bad free-throw shooter, and he's coming off his worst season yet, shooting 40.8% from the line on an average of 1.7 attempts per game. His career-high is 68.4% in 2024-25, when he played just 17 games. While it's not ideal that he struggles from the charity stripe, it's certainly not a deal-breaker. The Celtics can help him improve, at least a little, in that category.
He's not going to knock down midrange jumpers or three-point shots, either, but again, that's okay.
Mitchell Robinson is an elite offensive rebounder
If we're going to point out his flaws, we might as well look at his biggest strength, right? Offensive rebounding, which the aforementioned Knicks fan coincidentally forgot to mention. Robinson is one of the top offensive rebounders in the league, averaging 4.2 this past season, second to Donovan Clingan, who averaged 4.5 per game, for players who played at least 60 games.
New York finished with the fourth-best offense in the league during the 2025-26 regular season and seventh in offensive rebounding rate (32.8%). Those two things go hand-in-hand. Robinson generated extra possessions for his teammates, an underrated factor in what made the Knicks' offense elite.
In the regular season, Robinson grabbed 20.1% of New York's misses when he was on the floor, and 17.9% in the playoffs. He'll make the Celtics even better.
Andre Drummond was a decent replacement for Robinson in the offensive rebounding department, as he averaged 3.2 per game this past season with the Sixers, but Mitch is on a different planet.
There are more Robinson pros than cons
While, as a Celtics fan, you're probably most excited about his offensive rebounding prowess, he'll also serve as a lob threat on that end, and on the other, he's a great rim protector, averaging a career-high 2.4 blocks per game this past season.
Of course, none of that will matter if he can't stay on the floor. He played 60 games this past season but averaged only 19.6 minutes per contest, as New York carefully managed his minutes to keep him in shape for the playoffs. You can trust Boston to figure out how to do the same, whether that be with Robinson starting or coming off the bench.
Getting Robinson was a big deal for Boston, just as losing him was a big deal for New York. Yeah, you'll probably cringe more often than not watching him shoot darts at the free-throw line, worry about him missing time, and won't see him hit a three-pointer, but what he offers is more than enough.
That Knicks fan will learn soon enough.
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