The six hours between the signing of Mitchell Robinson and the Jaylen Brown trade were a magical time for Boston Celtics fans. Robinson was the top free-agent center available this summer, and frankly felt like a pipe-dream for Boston in the week or so leading up to the official start to free agency.
First off, it didn’t seem like the New York Knicks were going to let him walk. Robinson had become an important part of the Knicks’ bench, and gave them a huge lift on the offensive glass every time he checked in.
Not only was it shocking that New York wasn’t willing to go into the second apron to re-sign him, but also that the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t manage to lure him to L.A.
It turns out that Robinson has long admired Boston from afar. He said as much during Sunday’s Beneath the Banners episode on the Celtics’ YouTube page.
“Boston is actually one of my favorite places to visit,” Robinson said. “Anytime I’ve come out here I kinda find new things to do. I’ve heard the lobster is like A1, so I definitely gotta try that. But, yeah I’m just excited to be here.”
Mitchell Robinson will quickly win over fans with his hustle
If they don’t already, Celtics fans will love Big Mitch. The guy gives everything when he’s on the court and will supercharge one of Boston’s biggest advantages from last season -- maximizing their possessions.
The Cs ranked fifth in the NBA in second-chance points en route to 56 wins in the 2025-26 campaign. Robinson led the league in offensive rebounding percentage at 21.1%, per databallr.
It might sound ridiculous, but there’s a real chance that Robinson, as an elite offensive rebounder, can also help the Celtics become more efficient shooting the ball. Think about it. The rest of the team knows that there’s about a one-in-five chance that Robinson secures the offensive rebound if they miss.
That insurance policy will mitigate the already minuscule amount of nerves NBA players have when shooting the ball. Again, sounds crazy, but the mental aspect of the game can be very real from a confidence standpoint.
Availability is the biggest question mark for Robinson (not far ahead of his free-throw shooting). He played 60 games last season for the first time in four years -- a bittersweet stat. It’s great that he managed to be on the court as much as he was, but simultaneously alarming that it’d been so long since he’d last been that available.
Thankfully, the Celtics frontcourt is deep enough to help manage Robinson’s minutes, with both Neemias Queta and Luka Garza coming off career-best seasons. The Celtics wouldn’t have committed to a three-year deal with the big man if they didn’t have a load management plan ready to best preserve his health, either.
Now, someone get him some lobster.
Add us as a preferred source on Google