Watching basketball icon and former NBA champion David Robinson in the stands of a local basketball auditorium in the city of Netanya is not something you'd typically expect to see, and the hundreds of spectators on-hand were similarly baffled watching "the Admiral" sitting among them, watching a game between Elitzur Netanya and Elitzur Ashkelon in the second tier of Israeli basketball.
But since his son, Justin, plays for the local team, that's exactly what happened.
David Robinson, for the uninitiated, played for the San Antonio Spurs all throughout the 90s and was nicknamed "The Admiral" due to his service in the U.S. Navy. Not only did he win the NBA championship twice, he's also a 10-time NBA All-Star, the 1995 NBA MVP, a two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner (1992, 1996) and a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, among other accolades.
His son's team, meanwhile, is trying to find a way into the playoffs and is currently ranked 8th. Justin has an average of 15.3 PTS and 8.5 rebounds per evening. With dad watching, he scored 8 points and took 7 rebounds.
"When I told my dad about playing in Israel, he was excited for me," says Justin. "He told me Tel Aviv is amazing and that the food in Jerusalem is something else."
Regarding the inevitable comparisons between him and his dad, Justin is indifferent about it. "I come to play and I don't let it be a thing. No one from my family or close friends cares about it either, so it doesn't matter what other people say or think, whether they compare me to my dad or not."