headtopics
Khalid Robinson takes next step with new challenge as Warriors' head coach for NBA summer league As he enters his 11th season with the Warriors, Khalid Robinson is about to step into a new role as Golden State's NBA Summer League head coach Dubs Talk hosts Monte Poole and Dalton Johnson break down concerns over the age of Golden State Warriors 2026 NBA Draft pick Yaxel Lendeborg.
When Robinson stepped foot on Fordhams campus, his plan already was known.
Robinson, a Political Science major, had his sights set on law school until he began studying for the LSATs.I just realized this is not what Im passionate about, Robinson said to NBC Sports Bay Area.
And I said, What in life am I passionate about? Its basketball.
Thats kind of where and when I decided to make the shift to try and get into coaching.
Robinson walked onto Fordhams basketball team as a sophomore after taking one year off as a player.
The New York native describes his old playing style as a do-it-all, high energy player.
Willing to make the right play, do the dirty work, crash the glass and be a fierce defender, Robinson played 40 games in four years at Fordham and started six of them.He scored a total of 13 points in his college career, yet earned the respect of teammates and coaches so much that Robinson was named a team captain in each of his last two seasons.
Even then, all the traits of what it takes to be a great coach were clear.
Now as he enters his 11th season with the Warriors, Robinson is about to step into a new role as the teams NBA Summer League head coach.Warriors head coach Steve Kerr met with Robinson after the season ended and told him the news, and that he thought manning the sidelines throughout summer league would be a great opportunity for Robinson's personal and professional career development as the next challenge.
Naming Robinson as the Warriors summer league head coach falls in line with how Golden State has gone about business in getting coaches to the next step.Like the Warriors last three summer league head coaches, Jacob Rubin, Anthony Vereen, Robinson has gone from being a video intern a decade ago, to one season as assistant video coordinator, six seasons as special assistant to the head coach and was promoted to assistant coach going into the 2024-25 NBA season.
As Robinson, 35, prepares for his first chance to be a head coach, he has picked the brains of Rubin, Vereen and Wilson about their experiences, including what they would have done differently after going through the process, along with communicating with Kerr about what he wants to get done in the summer to help get ready for next season.The best advice he has received is probably the most obvious.Keep it simple, Robinson says.
Its a new group that for the most part hasnt played with each other, so simpler is better.
Simple allows the guys to play harder with more focus.
You just want the guys to be organized.If theyre organized, they can play harder and be more effective.
, who does plan on playing in summer league.
Lendeborg went through an ankle sprain and left knee bone bruise during Michigans title run but says hes fully healthy now after taking four weeks to heal.
Lendeborg is a seasoned 23-year-old who will turn 24 on Sept.
30.The challenges the Warriors are placing on him this summer arent so much about numbers.
They arent interested in him taking a certain number of shots or scoring a certain number of points.
The goal in getting him up to speed to play significant minutes early on is becoming a Warrior in every way possible.First, its just adapting to the concepts that were trying to teach this summer and the things were trying to get better at, Robinson said.
And I think its also just challenging him to be an all-around great defender on the ball and off the ball.
He has great instincts and great feel.
..
Offensively, just being who he is getting to the rim, being aggressive taking and making open threes and using his playmaking.Yaxel has a lot of facets to his game that can help us, and were going to challenge him to bring that every day in practices and games, and to do it with consistency.
Robinson wants his team to be a connected group that has great communication.
He wants them to be very physical defensively to take away easy buckets and play fast in transition.What he really wants is for them to build an identity that represents the Warriors culture.
Summer league records aren't indicative of a teams success in the NBA season.
Development is the main priority.
Wins and losses can get thrown to the side, for the most part.Winning also cant become an afterthought.Its a mix of both, Robinson says.
We want to develop our guys and help them get ready for preseason and next season, but we want to win.
We want to establish this culture.
Were about winning here, and when these guys come in, we want them to know what were about.Were going into this thing like we want to win.
We want to develop and get these guys better on individual skills and team concepts.But we want to win games.
Building these habits of consistent competition and playing to our identity is part of it.
Does that sound like somebody who could have said goodbye to basketball when his playing days ended? That alternate reality still pops into Robinsons head without a second of regret.Robinson isnt someone who would thrive sitting at a desk all day.
He needed to be around players and coaches.
He needed the Warriors, like theyve needed him more every year.Ron Adams always talks about coaches being teachers in a way, Robison remembered.
It allows you to help teach people, and you learn from them in the process, you learn from players in the process.
I ended up in the right place.
Robinsons head-coaching debut begins Friday night at Chase Center as the Warriors take on the Los Angeles Lakers in the California Classic.