"It's some bulls—t" - Ron Harper directly mocked David Robinson over his historic 71-point performance
When NBA legends reunite, they look back at some of their most memorable experiences. It was exactly what happened when David Robinson and Ron Harper took part in a '90s NBA stars virtual reunion alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Dominique Wilkins back in 2020.
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One of the things the group discussed was Robinson's historic 71-point outburst in 1994 against the Los Angeles Clippers. Harper, who was playing for the Clippers at the time, sparked the conversation by poking fun at Robinson, suggesting that it wasn't a legitimate career-high performance.
"I just wanna say congrats on the 71 points," Harper sarcastically told Robinson during the group conversation. "But it's some bulls—t."
"If he says they gave it to me then they must've given it to me," Robinson said about Harper's comment while laughing.
What went down the night Robinson dropped 71
The context of Harper's remark stemmed from the controversy surrounding Robinson's 71-point game. It was said that then-Clippers owner Donald Sterling rigged it and the story quickly made the rounds within the NBA community. Rumors swirled that Sterling ordered the Clippers to allow the San Antonio Spurs center to score as many points as he could for the purpose of helping Robinson win the scoring title.
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Apparently, Sterling's plan was to keep the scoring title in the West. It was the final game of the season and Robinson only needed 35 points to beat Orlando Magic's Shaquille O'Neal. To ensure that The Admiral would edge Shaq, Sterling allegedly instructed the Clippers coaching staff to pull the starters and let Robinson dominate the game early on.
As a result, Robinson ended up dropping 71, an insane tally that put him above O'Neal by 0.5 in total points per game. Robinson finished the season with an average of 29.8 points per outing, while Shaq logged 29.3.
Many of those who have watched the entire game felt as if the 71 points were handed to Robinson. However, it seemed like both Robinson and then-Clippers coach Bob Weiss didn't even have an inkling of the apparent dubiousness going on.
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"Robinson was spectacular," said Weiss.
"That was exactly what we didn't want to happen. We double-teamed him with our forwards every time we could, but he still scored the points. I think the foul situation was a little ridiculous, though. He played great, and he deserves the title," Weiss gave him credit.
"I looked up at the scoreboard," Robinson told reporters after the win.
"It said, 71 points. Oh, my goodness. It was unbelievable. My team has been behind me for the whole year. They always push me to do a lot of individual things. As a leader, I just try to win games, but tonight, they really wanted me to shoot it. When the game started, they were looking for me almost every time down the court," he concluded.
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Related: Lance Stephenson explains why Carmelo won't play against Michael Beasley 1-on-1: "Nobody wants to lose their stripes"
How Shaq reacted to Robinson's scoring title win
In the end, Robinson won the scoring title that year. It didn't take long before Shaq learned about the shady things that took place during the Spurs-Clippers game.
For O'Neal, what happened that night in L.A. was an utter mockery, which was something that he and the Magic hadn't even thought about. However, Shaq pointed out that had they done the same thing, he would've had 70 points as well.
Related: "You guys created this" - Shaq credited media for motivating him to get serious and start winning championships
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.
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