Robinson grew up in Washington, DC, and attended Eastern High School, and Riverdale Baptist before moving on to the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

[3] Robinson began his junior year and the 2011–2012 men's college basketball season as one of 50 candidates for the preseason John R. Wooden Award.

He was the first Kansas player to record a 30/20 performance since Wayne Hightower scored 36 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in a 1961 game against the University of Missouri.

Prior to their game on January 22, 2011, against Texas, Kansas players, coaches and fans held a moment of silence in honor of Robinson, who had lost his grandmother, grandfather, and mother all within three weeks of one another.

[12] On February 21, 2013, Robinson was traded, along with Francisco García and Tyler Honeycutt, to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Patrick Patterson, Toney Douglas, Cole Aldrich and cash considerations.

[15] On July 10, 2013, Robinson was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for the rights to Kostas Papanikolaou and Marko Todorović, as well as two future second-round picks.

[19] The 2014–15 season saw Robinson consigned to the bench, buried on the depth chart by the team's off-season addition of former All-Star big man Chris Kaman.

Robinson's first real opportunity of the season came with the injury of starting center Robin Lopez, who fractured his right hand on December 15 in a win over the San Antonio Spurs.

[20] Robinson made his first NBA start in the team's next game, a December 17 home contest against the Milwaukee Bucks, racking up 15 points and 16 rebounds to help the Trail Blazers win 104–97.

[21] In subsequent games, Robinson was paired with Kaman off the bench, playing solid reserve minutes as power forward behind LaMarcus Aldridge.

[22] On February 19, 2015, Robinson was traded, along with Will Barton, Víctor Claver and a lottery-protected 2016 first-round pick, to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee.

[27] He made his debut for the Nets in the team's season opener against the Chicago Bulls on October 28, recording four points and five rebounds off the bench in a 115–100 loss.

[37] On February 6, 2020, Robinson returned to his former Russian club Khimki of the VTB United League and the EuroLeague, signing a one-month contract with an option to renew for the rest of the season.

[49] On December 11, 2023, Robinson signs with the Pelita Jaya of the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) as the team's 2024 season import player.

[51] On November 30, 2024, Robinson signed with the Taipei Taishin Mars of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL).