Robert Covington

BIOGRAPHY

Robert Covington was born on December 14, 1990, in Bellwood, Illinois. He is a small forward in the NBA.

Covington attended Proviso West High School in Hillside, Illinois. In 2008–09 as a senior, he was named the West Suburban Conference Player of the Year after leading Proviso West to the West Suburban Championship. While leading his team to the West Suburban Championahip, he averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks per game.

Robert Covington played all four years at Tennessee State. He shot .476 percent from the field during his four years, scored a total of 1748 points, and started 118 games. While in college, he earned a spot on the First-team All-OVC in 2012, and was a 2× Second-team All-OVC member. 

After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Covington joined the Houston Rockets for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On July 15, 2013, he signed a multi-year deal with the Rockets. He spent most of the 2013–14 season in the NBA Development League with the Rockets' affiliate team, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, appearing in just seven NBA games. He participated in the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game in February, where scored an NBA D-League All-Star record 33 points. In April, he was named the NBA D-League Rookie of the Year.

On November 15, 2014, Covington signed a four-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, and spent the majority of his first year with the team as a role player off of the bench. To begin the 2015–16 season Covington dealt with injuries and was forced to miss time. Upon his return from injury, he made a name for himself on defense as he had multiple games with six-plus steals, becoming the first to do so since 1986. 

On April 12, in a loss to the Toronto Raptors, Covington had his seventh game of the season with six or more three-pointers, joining Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and J. R. Smith as the only players to do so in 2015–16. On March 31, 2016, he was ruled out for the rest of the season with right knee soreness and swelling.

On November 17, after restructuring the terms of his contract for the 2017–18 season, he signed a four-year, $62 million contract extension with the 76ers. In May 2018, he was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, as he continued to show that he was one of the best defenders in the NBA.

On November 12, 2018, Covington was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with Jerryd Bayless, Dario Šarić and a 2022 second-round pick, in exchange for Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton. After sustaining an injury to his knee, Covington was forced to have arthroscopic surgery after having multiple setbacks in his recovery. 

On February 5, 2020, Covington returned to the Rockets in a four-team, 12-player trade. On November 22, 2020, Covington was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers

On February 4, 2022, Covington was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. On April 1, Covington logged a career-high 43 points, along with eight rebounds and three blocks. He also made 11 three-pointers during the game, setting a Clippers franchise record for most three-pointers made in a game. On May 8, Covington signed a two-year, $24 million extension with the Clippers.