Remembering Blake Griffin: An NBA Icon's Career in Retrospect
Explore the legacy of NBA icon Blake Griffin as he announces retirement after 14 seasons. Reflect on his impact, accolades, and memorable moments.
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There are some players whose descent into their late career or retirements who make you feel a little old. Blake Griffin is one of those for me. Griffin announced on Tuesday via Instagram that he was retiring after 14 NBA seasons with the Clippers, Pistons, Nets and Celtics. His decision is unsurprising considering he did not play this season and his role declined steadily since 2020.
However, this is a good time to remember Griffin as a player. The excitement Griffin had around him as a No.1 overall pick out of Oklahoma was incredible. Griffin was a high flyer whose highlights were must-see but Griffin missed his would-be rookie year with a knee injury. When he did play, he turned heads.The athleticism and ferocity of his dunks made people pay attention to Clippers games for the first time in years.
In fact, you could argue that the Clippers drafting Griffin was a turning point. From the franchise’s inception in 1971 as the Buffalo Braves up to Griffin’s first playing season, the Clippers had an abysmal .362 winning percentage, second in the league in that time to the Grizzlies’ .337 winning percentage. The big difference is the Clippers were that bad in significantly more games. During Griffin’s tenure in Los Angeles, 2010-2018, the Clippers had the sixth-best winning percentage (.605) behind the likes of Miami, Golden State, Oklahoma City and Houston.
Griffin’s arrival allowed for Chris Paul’s arrival, a caliber of player who never would have given the franchise a second look in the past. Paul helped maximize everyone from Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, J.J. Redick and more. Suddenly, guys were coming to the Clippers to chase rings.
The On-Court Challenges
The playoff success, or relative lack thereof, is relevant in Griffin’s career story. Those great Clippers team never got out of the second round despite having great seasons. Oftentimes, misfortune or bad luck was a factor, but they never got over the hump all the same. Much like the early 20s Jazz or these Celtics, we had seen them make the playoffs and win playoff series, but the expectations continued to rise and the Clippers eventually reached their ceiling. They were good, but so were teams like the Rockets, Thunder and Warriors in that time.
Injuries are likely something else that is associated with Griffin, but he was more memorable than I remembered. After missing his would-be rookie season, Griffin missed just four games in the next four seasons. He played 67 games in 2015, but would miss 91 games from 2016-2018, including 46 in 2016. His play style was physically demanding, so maybe it’s unsurprising the injuries came, but he was fairly durable those first few seasons.
Now that everything is said and done for Griffin, he was the Rookie of the Year, a six-time All-Star and made five All-NBA Teams (2x second, 3x third). His peak was likely 2014 when he finished third in MVP voting after posting averages of 24.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game on 52.8 percent shooting from the field.
My Favorite Bake Griffin Season
Even though Griffin finished third in the 2014 MVP voting, that was not my favorite season of his. Oddly enough, that would go to his 2019 season with the Detroit Pistons. Griffin played 75 games this season, the most he had played since 2015, but the last time he would play more than 46 in a single season for the rest of his career. Anyway, Griffin was incredible and arguably at his most complete as a basketball player. Griffin averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists. He averaged 7.0 3’s taken per game and converted 36.2 percent of them, which is great volume and efficiency considering Griffin finished as a 31.1 percent shooter from deep.
Unfortunately, Griffin’s hurt his knee near the end of the season. He had not missed a game until Game 70 that season, but began suffering from knee soreness. Griffin still played eight of Detroit’s final 12 games, often still playing 30+ minutes per night. The Pistons were in a battle for a playoff spot in the pre-play-in tournament days. With the Pistons playing the Knicks in the season finale needing a win, Griffin could not play but his teammates stepped up to beat New York. The Pistons finished 41-41 and Griffin would return for their first-round matchup with the Bucks, but were swept 4-0.
Griffin underwent knee surgery at the end of that month, meaning he was out there on a knee that was worse than let on to drag a mediocre team to a certain first-round defeat. His willingness to play through the injury to help his team was admirable and was rewarded with a third-team All-NBA selection for it.
Griffin Was One of the Best of His Generation
While Griffin does not have an MVP or championship, he was still one of the defining players of the 2010s. He was one of the most exciting players in the game at the beginning of the 2010s and helped change the perception of one of the most reviled franchises in all of sports, not just the NBA. Even now, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George chose the Clippers five years ago and that feels improbable without what Griffin helped build with the Lob City teams.
I still can’t help but to think back to 2009 when Griffin was drafted and I was three months away from turning 21. It feels like in a blink 15 years has passed.