Even thought it's been a tumultuous NBA career for the Miami Heat's Duncan Robinson, he has found some major success this season as being a mainstay in the starting lineup. In an interview with Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, he said that the year of 2023 has been “fun.”

“Honestly, the whole year has been fun,” Robinson said. “I think part of that has been my approach, part of that has been just the mindset that I had coming in. But then, obviously, part of it is getting to enjoy having the opportunity and doing my best to make the most of it.”

While Robinson has always been known as a dynamic three-point shooter, he has improved in multiple facets of the game that don't involve the deep ball. Even Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra praised Robinson saying that it's not a “surprise anymore.”

“With Duncan, it’s not at all even a surprise anymore,” Spoelstra said. “He’s so skilled offensively and he fits with any unit. He knows how to complement either unit, he also knows how to be a focal point of actions. He creates overreactions.”

Robinson has been averaging 14.8 points so far this season and has been crucial for the Heat. He was masterful in the seven-game winning streak Miami had earlier in the season and was exceptional Monday night in the win to the Hornets where he scored 24 points on five for nine shooting from deep to go along with his seven rebounds.

Robinson talks pushing through the negativity

As said before, it wasn't always sunshines and rainbows for Robinson as playing time came sparse the past few seasons, but he kept on pushing through. He said to The Miami Herald that the reason for that was because “there was no other alternative.”

“In terms of why I kept pushing, I think part of it was there was no other alternative,” Robinson said. “That’s all it was always ever going to be. And then two, I think I try to walk a very delicate line, I think everybody does to a certain extent, of you don’t want to be caught up in narratives or this and that. You want to keep that out of sight, out of mind. But the reality is, all those exist. And a part of it, too, is having the inner fire to be like, ‘I’m not going out like that.’”

Robinson said overcoming downward trends is a skill

The 29-year old acknowledged that there will always be stretches in anyone's career where it can go down. However, Robinson said that “you get a little better at dealing with it” as time goes on.

“I mean, it’s bound to happen,” Robinson said. “There’s going to be another stretch in my career where everything kind of trends down or whatever. I think having gone through this, it’s a skill like everything else. You just get a little bit better at dealing with it. The goal is to make the highs what they are, the lows what they are and then find that consistency in between.”

Robinson will continue to show his improvement as the Heat will begin a four-game home stretch that starts with a back-to-back Wednesday against the Hornets, then on Thursday, Miami will face the Chicago Bulls. The Heat are currently 13-10 on the season which puts them at eighth in the Eastern Conference.