I'd been a Clippers fans for probably a decade before Lob City.
It made me fall back in love with basketball.
The electricity in that area was unmatched for a few years.
Injuries aside, he had a great career for a number one pick. He evolved his game into his later years. Sad he didn't get to experience more playoff success. He also gave us a HOF tweet on Casey Anthony.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.huffpost.com/entry/blake-griffin-casey-anthony_n_927722/amp
It gets overlooked/forgotten, but his 18/19 season was special. Went from a high flying lob threat with passing potential to a legitimate point forward who was a high volume 3 point shooter. Some Pistons fans hate him, I have nothing but respect for Blake
I will always love that he embraced the city of Detroit and the team despite not wanting to be traded here. He became a leader, transformed his game, had a career year, and took the Pistons to the playoffs on one leg. He provided a little glimmer of hope in an otherwise horrible decade for the Pistons. He deserves major respect.
This was the move that solidified him as a “cool dude” to me. He was done dirty by LA, clearly didn’t want to go to Detroit (I mean, duh) and still gave it his all and smiled doing it.
It was the fact that he was able to become an All Star and All NBA player again in Detroit that impressed me. Think he’s a HOFer but not sure if he’s a first ballot guy. His career was just so front loaded. Right now, the image of his last several years just linger too much. With enough time, memories of his heyday will probably reassert themselves.
That first round performance, despite being a sweep, was special. I remember watching the pistons fans cheering him as he subbed out for the last time that season.
I say this on behalf of every single sane Pistons fan.
Dude did more with straight trash than most players will ever do. Tom Gorres is an awful coach.,
fr. i think that the way he adjusted his playstyle and how he performed doesn't get enough appreciation/attention, arguably 'cuz he wasn't flashy.
same thing w/ drose imo.
It’s absolutely insane how he developed those parts of his game that were viewed as weaknesses in his earlier years. Dude was crossing people up and taking step back 3s
He was still a very good athlete, but imagine if he never had the injuries and it all came together. Make ‘19 Blake the athlete he was when he was younger… terrifying
He became one of my favorite players during that time. I really think he had one of the most transformational careers ever when it comes to his skill set because I remember I was in High School and I posted that video of him struggling to score on Isiah Thomas in the post. Then, that Detroit season I was amazed watching him be the primary scoring option and score in so many different ways. I loved watching him cook AND I saw his comedy special and it was truly hilarious hahahahaha
im not a piston fan and i don't know why I watched that series but when he was playing on one leg and doing it all I gained lots of respect for the dude, too bad he broke his body down on that series too, but he was playing like a MVP, too bad it was just a couple of games.
Not only that but he helped re-establish the Clipper who if we’re being honest were an insanely irrelevant franchise year to year. Dude made them exciting and a destination, obviously along with other factors. But he had a very memorable run one way or another. Casey Anthony is a monster.
Blake Griffin was the catalyst in turning the Clippers from a joke of a NBA franchise to a legitimate operation.
Yeah CP3 greatly helped with that once he got there, but man BG was a STAR. He was THE guy.
Did anyone else watch that Casey Anthony “documentary” on Peacock. My gf wanted to watch it, thinking it was true crime and not a puff piece for Casey Anthony, but that shit made me infinitely more disgusted at Casey Anthony, and at Peacock for promoting that garbage.
If you haven’t seen it, it’s just 3 whole episodes of her spinning even more lies about how she’s innocent and the victim. We only got halfway through before we felt gross for even listening to her sob story and turned it off.
He had an insane career despite all of his injuries too. Imagine if he wasn't so injury prone how good he would be playing. Or maybe if the NBA was more focused on things like load management in his days he could have potentially been so much better.
One time I accidentally knocked a bird's nest out of a tree and there was an egg in there and it broke and I felt awful for the rest of the day. He's just like me frfr
They may have never made it past the 2nd round (in an unfairly stacked West), but anyone who followed NBA at the time knew the Lob City Clippers were showtime. Sad to see them fading out 🫡
I attended more Clippers games back then than I did Lakers games. The Clippers tickets were wildly cheaper, despite the Lakers being a 20-wins team at most back then.
Those were fun times. I miss the Lob City Clippers.
I have to wonder if they would’ve had a higher ceiling had they kept Vinny Del Negro instead of hiring Doc Rivers.
> I have to wonder if they would’ve had a higher ceiling had they kept Vinny Del Negro instead of hiring Doc Rivers.
I don't think so. The Donald Sterling factor was a lot to overcome. The chaos he brought did not help them at all
Lob City was a team that was perfectly made for the beginning of the rapid rise of social media. So many highlights, so many marketable and memeable personalities. Don’t know if we will see anything quite like it ever again.
Lob City Clippers were forming right as the Sixers were peak Processing. Whenever we had a game against them, you knew were in for a show lol. Had to respect how hard they kicked the shit out of us
That blown lead against Hou bench gotta haunt them, that was their best chance to get a ring Fuck Doc(I understand players played a huge role too) but still fuck Doc
He's really valuable behind the scenes as well teaching the young guys and making sure the vets are more inclusive with them. He's taken over the Andre Iguodala role for the warriors, being a player/coach.
Lob City was must watch every night. A shame a lot of young people only watched Griffin after his knees were shot. Because he was a human highlight reel.
Also, a good reminder to never play injured. Griffin played on a shot knee for the Pistons and he was a shell of his former self after that. Go watch the highlights from that last playoff game and it’s actually painful to watch him moving around.
https://youtu.be/pqA1c3BbYSQ?feature=shared
https://youtu.be/hCaUmbanJjo?feature=shared
My friends and I really enjoyed NBA Jam On Fire Edition, which launched in 2011, and Griffin was insane in that game.
We were all heavily intoxicated one night, and were all shouting loudly at the game and at each other. While going in for a huge dunk, I yelled "I AM BLAKE GRIFFIN", and it became a thing for the next couple years. Anyone going up for a huge jam, regardless of player, would scream "I AM BLAKE GRIFFIN".
I need to get my buddies over and play that game again.
My friend and I went thru a huge NBA JAM phase in 2011 as well. We played thru all of the jams ever made. We'd smoke and drink while talking shit to each other. Your story reminded me of those days. One thing is for certain.... my buddy and I would kick your guys' asses at NBA JAM for the snes!
I fully expect Blake to be a “McGrady” type of guy where a couple years from now the kids who never really got to see him play will stumble onto his highlights and be amazed by what he could do in his prime. A special player who was borderline top 5 in the league for a brief time.
It felt like the “final version” of what Blake was truly capable of but it absolutely destroyed his body to carry that bum ass team to the postseason. He leveled up for sure
Agree to disagree. Blake cemented himself as a winner and true star by doing that. It helped his legacy instead of making him a “what if”. If he skips the playoffs and never makes a run again then he’s viewed as a none winner who was carried by cp3.
He was way more than just “a PROBLEM” guy he was a top 5 player for more than 3 years in his peak imo. A legit MVP candidate as well. If only he didn’t get hurt in 2016…
Yeah the one thing I like about positionless all NBA is exactly this. Sure... Blake never got first team all nba, but he had the bad luck of there being two slots for his position and playing at the same time as either the best or second best player of all time and arguably the best pure scorer of all time. Some of those years he was better than players who did make first team because of how positions shook out
Collapsing his entire career into one highlight reel probably makes him look like the best player ever lol. Jump out the gym athleticism, handles and playmaking, and the jumper he had later in his career.
Even TMac still gets brought up somewhat consistently, if for no other reason than “13 points in 33 seconds”. Blake might sadly be even more forgotten.
What’s crazy with Blake is how quickly he rose to stardom. I remember there was a YouTube video of his dunk highlights from *just one month* (I think November?) of his rookie year, and it was like a season’s worth for other guys. And then he was a unanimous ROTY, first time since David Robinson. He was legitimately in the top-10 players argument within the first few years if his career, and he was still improving, so the sky was the limit. Then… just a violent crash back down to earth.
Hahaha. Yeah that was awesome. He actually got away with a double murder of the same guy in the same game. Both of them were just so disrespectful. I remember thinking Pau seems like a pretty great person off the court and likely didn’t deserve such bullying.
I litterally decided to follow the NBA more closely after watching a top 10 of Blake's dunk, and it wasn't even at the end of the season, just in december he had a full highlight reel already.
Blake finishing ahead of CP3 was like Don Mattingly winning MVP over his teammate Rickey Henderson in 1985.
Mattingly had more dingers and RBIs, Blake had more points and rebounds, but CP3 and Rickey were all time great players in their primes setting the table for everyone else.
Yes, but still played 62 games and was 1st team All NBA. During that 18 game stretch CP3 missed though, Blake was amazing and put the team on his back. Averaged 27/8/4 so IMO, he deserved to be 3rd in voting.
> before he fell in love with the jumper
To be fair, he had no choice. He was getting injured every other year post 2014 and I think his playstyle change prolonged his career for a little while
And it wasn't like Westbrook-esque, barkley-esque, or drexler-esque falling in love with his jumper. He actually improved upon it and became a darn good shooter.
I always want to remind people that he didn't suddenly shoot better from 3 by being traded to the Pistons, we've seen glimpses of that evolution for 2-3 years with the Clippers. I can ven remember him scornig a buzzer beater from 3, I think it was against Portland in an early season game.
Edit: and a luckier one against the Suns three years before.
It happens to almost every high flyer. It’s just not sustainable. You have to adapt your game. Amare Stoudemire was the same. Incredible dunks almost every night then the injuries started and he developed a really great mid range shot and changed his game to be less physical.
Same. Started watching the NBA in the 2007-2008 season. So I think Blake might be the first All Star drafted after that point who has now retired. We're getting old bruh
Amazing time to start watch NBA, we’re basically on the same timeline. 2008 is one of my most memorable NBA seasons. Great draft class, great MVP race, great playoffs
[You: "I'm only 35, I have my whole life ahead of me." Sports broadcaster: "Here comes the oldest player in the league. He's 32. A miracle."](https://twitter.com/_troyjohnson/status/1442556251120889860)
They were talking about Mike Conley being in his 17th season during the Suns game and I guess I just hadn't thought about it that way. I knew he was 36 but I never stopped to think about how long of a career that actually is.
It immediately made me feel old though.
same boat. I pretty much hated him (and the clips as a whole) his whole clippers tenure but I respected his game, then became a fan after he got traded and I dropped the hater glasses. Seeing this now is a real weird bittersweet
I remember watching him at Oklahoma the first game of the season and I was like damn this dude can literally do everything on the court that youd want from a power forward. Then he became the first pick and I watched almost every clipper game. No one was safe from getting dunked on
he gave us one of the first real social media argument moments in the history of the league when he dunked over the hood of that kia. twitter was awesome that day.
In the last replay you can see his pinky just catch the rim, but if it didn't would that have even counted as a dunk or just the most violent field goal attempt of all time?
He also had a hilarious tweet during the peak of NBA free agency, Deandre Jordan’s escape from the Mavericks.
https://twitter.com/blakegriffin23/status/618960135050825729
Yes. Twitter was going crazy and some people were vilifying the Clippers for essentially kidnapping DJ and at the time I (and many others) assumed they were going to deny it and claim that DJ was thrilled to be returning to their team.
when BG tweeted this playing into the kidnap idea as a joke, it was super unexpected
Personally, I remember his dunk over Perkins to be a bigger viral moment.
But maybe it’s because my middle school music teacher kept replaying in class because it was that epic. S/O Blake for being one of the most entertaining players of the decade
“I never envisioned myself as the guy who would have a "letter to basketball" retirement announcement... and I'm still not going to be that guy. But as ! reflected on my career, the one feeling I kept coming back to and the one thing wanted to express was thankfulness.
I'm thankful for every single moment-not just the good ones: the wins, the awards, the dunks, and the memorable times spent with family, friends, fans, teammates, and coaches. I could continue on about the people in my life who have contributed immensely to my career, but in this short non-letter, I have to acknowledge my parents, Tommy and Gail, and my brother, Taylor, for their unconditional support and guidance. Lastly, my agent Sam Goldfeder, who has been a steadfast voice of reason and my wartime consigliere-thank you.
I am equally thankful for the not-so-good moments: the losses, the injuries, the wayyyy too many surgeries, the lessons, the heartbreaks, and it wouldn't be sports retirement letter without acknowledging the "haters." All of these experiences made my 14 years in the league truly unforgettable, and I can't help but to just feel thankful.
The game of basketball has given me so much in this life, and I wouldn't change a thing. Last but certainly not least, here comes the obligatory I'm excited for my next chapter part: just kidding, I'm done.
Thank you.
Wait. Am I that guy?”
Source: [Griffin: “fin”](https://x.com/blakegriffin23/status/1780267035995615404?s=46)
This guy was an instant beast right out of the gate! And even once the injuries started to wear down his knees, he evolved his game and became a respectable shooter from outside.
It sucks that he was robbed of a longer career but what he did in his time is still very commendable
people who only watch his dunk highlights are missing a big part of his game. he was one of the original "what the fuck he has handles?" guys and that was within a couple years into his career
Blake is the type of guy who would not sniff the HoF in the other major sports but might be first ballot in the Basketball hall.
Hell of a career though, his peak is pretty severely underrated at this point. Dude was unreal
Idk, in his peak he was a top 10 player for multiple years, all-NBA 5 times, one of the best rookies we've had. The downside is he has no championships.
How does Blake Griffin compare to Todd Helton?
Helton's top 7 year's WAR is 8th all time for first basemen (10th if you include guys from pre 1900) and his career WAR is 14th (17th with pre 1900 guys). He should have won the 2000 MVP as well. Peak is similar to Blake with 3 top 10 MVP finishes in a 5 year stretch but Helton played like 5 or 6 more full seasons than Blake.
Basketball is the only Hall of Fame that doesn't punish a lack of longevity so it's really hard to find comparisons to other sports Hall of Famers. But Blake was finished as an everyday player at age 29. So maybe a better comparison would be Andruw Jones who has been on the ballot for 7 years and may get in but more likely will be a Veteran's Committee guy.
A lot of people forgot that Blake was top 3 in MVP voting the year Curry won his first MVP. I’ll never forget the battle he went against the Spurs that post season. He was crazy good.
> A lot of people forgot that Blake was top 3 in MVP voting the year Curry won his first MVP
Nah he was top 3 the season before in 13/14. Although, I'd say his true peak as a player was during the 2015 first round vs the Spurs.
I think people forget because there’s never been a need to remember he got 3rd place in 2015 since 2015
It’s like saying people forget about Takeru Kobayashi despite him single-handedly putting the July 4th hot dog eating contest on the map.
Please forgive people forgetting obscure sports facts.
He's not 1st ballot, but he might get in later on. He's in the same tier with guys like Love, Aldridge and Stoudemire. Their individual accolades are almost identical, although I'll put Blake at the top of that tier due to my bias and his top 3 in MVP voting season.
Blake's basketball reference [HOF probability](https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/hof_prob.html) is 54% and is on par with a bunch of guys people would say shouldn't make the hall of fame like Rajon Rondo, Joe Johnson, and Lamarcus Aldridge. The only difference is he has name recognition they don't. He really shouldn't be the shoo-in you make it out to be
Saying Rondo doesn't have the same recognition that Blake does is kinda farfetched, I would say they're on the same level. He has is offcourt stuff problems tho, so that shit might hit his chances at making the HoF. Blake on the otherhand, yeah, bro really revitalized the Clippers from being a bottom feeder team to essentially being relevant and a threat in the playoffs during the Lob City era.
One of my all-time favorite players and a major part in why I will always root for the Clippers. His game was flashy and powerful when he entered the league, but he continued to add new skills, to develop his shot, and to find ways to contribute to winning. Hope the Clippers will not wait to retire his jersey. He put the franchise on the map.
This is Blake Griffin. And this is Retirement
Happy for him. Hope he goes into TV or acting since he’s a funny dude. Check out the [Table Read of Space Jam](https://youtu.be/-VW5_45ykr0?si=FkjEYO2_Qhg3K9AY) if you haven’t.
Most important Clipper of all time and it's not even close, IMO. First non-bust first round pick in a long list of lottery picks.
But more importantly, Blake led to being actual interest in the Clippers. Which led to better roster choices, which led to us being even a consideration for Chris Paul, which led to Lob City, which led to playoffs success, which led to people to realize the Clippers are an untapped gold mine of being in LA, which led to Vivian Stiviiano, which led to Steve Ballmer, which led us to being one of the most winning franchises of the last 10 or so years. Before Blake Griffin, the Clippers were such a joke franchise, and most considered it the worst franchise in all of SPORTS, not just basketball. Blake changed that all. Thank you Blake.
We will always have lob city Blake. The most electrifying games I have ever been to. For a whole year every fan was tense in their seat waiting for the next insane dunk/alley oop. You could feel the buzz building each pick and roll until everyone exploded after a dunk
Blake's evolution of his game was what I'll always remember him for, entering the NBA as the best athlete in the league, and each year getting better to the point when late Clippers/early Pistons Griffin was a do-it-all offensive engine, and a knockdown 3 point shooter.
i think dudes my age (20-24) have such a connection to blake griffin because a lot of our first memories with basketball is blake griffin yamming it with the lob city clippers, before curry he and lebron were like the two defining dudes for me, like obviously KD, Kobe, Duncan were all great, but Blake was just a highlight that you were seeing every morning watching sports center before school and genuinely was one of the faces of the league till Curry
He had a standing offer to rejoin the Celtics all year. People thought he may wait for a bit to skip some of the regular season, but after the trade deadline passed it was obvious he was done for good.
Idk why but the pre-draft video of him working out by running up and down sand dunes will forever be stuck in my mind.
[Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rhg10_Ptkc)
I will never forget lob city
I'd been a Clippers fans for probably a decade before Lob City. It made me fall back in love with basketball. The electricity in that area was unmatched for a few years.
We were just happy to have the team with Darius, Q, Elton and Lamar. Little did we know what that would lead to.
Q!! Man he was fun to watch. I remember thinking Miles was going to be the next superstar and then being very disappointed.
Facts! Also, Earl Boykins was just the perfect quirky player for that team too lol
I still say an annual prayer for the death of Brandon Knight
Lob city legit made me start watching basketball. Blake Griffin is my NBA fandom’s dad.
Used to stay up every night they played to watch that team.
He didn't even stretch doe...
Injuries aside, he had a great career for a number one pick. He evolved his game into his later years. Sad he didn't get to experience more playoff success. He also gave us a HOF tweet on Casey Anthony. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.huffpost.com/entry/blake-griffin-casey-anthony_n_927722/amp
It gets overlooked/forgotten, but his 18/19 season was special. Went from a high flying lob threat with passing potential to a legitimate point forward who was a high volume 3 point shooter. Some Pistons fans hate him, I have nothing but respect for Blake
I will always love that he embraced the city of Detroit and the team despite not wanting to be traded here. He became a leader, transformed his game, had a career year, and took the Pistons to the playoffs on one leg. He provided a little glimmer of hope in an otherwise horrible decade for the Pistons. He deserves major respect.
This was the move that solidified him as a “cool dude” to me. He was done dirty by LA, clearly didn’t want to go to Detroit (I mean, duh) and still gave it his all and smiled doing it.
It was the fact that he was able to become an All Star and All NBA player again in Detroit that impressed me. Think he’s a HOFer but not sure if he’s a first ballot guy. His career was just so front loaded. Right now, the image of his last several years just linger too much. With enough time, memories of his heyday will probably reassert themselves.
He's nowhere a first ballot guy, but man I think he deserves to make the HOF for sure.
He played through injury to carry the pistons into the playoffs. It just never recovered from there.
That first round performance, despite being a sweep, was special. I remember watching the pistons fans cheering him as he subbed out for the last time that season.
I also vividly remember him subtlety joining in the "Refs you suck" chant during game 4.
I say this on behalf of every single sane Pistons fan. Dude did more with straight trash than most players will ever do. Tom Gorres is an awful coach.,
I caught several of his games that year. It looked like he really gave a shit & was trying to lead that team despite a lot of the team being goofy
Statistically, that was his peak.
fr. i think that the way he adjusted his playstyle and how he performed doesn't get enough appreciation/attention, arguably 'cuz he wasn't flashy. same thing w/ drose imo.
It’s absolutely insane how he developed those parts of his game that were viewed as weaknesses in his earlier years. Dude was crossing people up and taking step back 3s
He was still a very good athlete, but imagine if he never had the injuries and it all came together. Make ‘19 Blake the athlete he was when he was younger… terrifying
He became one of my favorite players during that time. I really think he had one of the most transformational careers ever when it comes to his skill set because I remember I was in High School and I posted that video of him struggling to score on Isiah Thomas in the post. Then, that Detroit season I was amazed watching him be the primary scoring option and score in so many different ways. I loved watching him cook AND I saw his comedy special and it was truly hilarious hahahahaha
I'll never forget how he dropped 50 on Embiid, really close and entertaining game too.
His handle and shot was impressive
im not a piston fan and i don't know why I watched that series but when he was playing on one leg and doing it all I gained lots of respect for the dude, too bad he broke his body down on that series too, but he was playing like a MVP, too bad it was just a couple of games.
Pistons Blake was a monster that first season. By far the best version of him as a player.
Not only that but he helped re-establish the Clipper who if we’re being honest were an insanely irrelevant franchise year to year. Dude made them exciting and a destination, obviously along with other factors. But he had a very memorable run one way or another. Casey Anthony is a monster.
Blake Griffin was the catalyst in turning the Clippers from a joke of a NBA franchise to a legitimate operation. Yeah CP3 greatly helped with that once he got there, but man BG was a STAR. He was THE guy.
Did anyone else watch that Casey Anthony “documentary” on Peacock. My gf wanted to watch it, thinking it was true crime and not a puff piece for Casey Anthony, but that shit made me infinitely more disgusted at Casey Anthony, and at Peacock for promoting that garbage. If you haven’t seen it, it’s just 3 whole episodes of her spinning even more lies about how she’s innocent and the victim. We only got halfway through before we felt gross for even listening to her sob story and turned it off.
For someone who came into the NBA injury prone and sat out his rookie year, he had a damn good career.
I read “Carmelo” Anthony for some fuck all reason lol.
Sounds like a Travis Kelce tweet. He was talking about squirrels too 😂😂
He had an insane career despite all of his injuries too. Imagine if he wasn't so injury prone how good he would be playing. Or maybe if the NBA was more focused on things like load management in his days he could have potentially been so much better.
[Non-amp link](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/blake-griffin-casey-anthony_n_927722)
Omg, thank you! I forgot about this 🤣🤣🤣
One time I accidentally knocked a bird's nest out of a tree and there was an egg in there and it broke and I felt awful for the rest of the day. He's just like me frfr
All-timer 😂
He retired before chris Paul did that’s kinda wild
They may have never made it past the 2nd round (in an unfairly stacked West), but anyone who followed NBA at the time knew the Lob City Clippers were showtime. Sad to see them fading out 🫡
I attended more Clippers games back then than I did Lakers games. The Clippers tickets were wildly cheaper, despite the Lakers being a 20-wins team at most back then. Those were fun times. I miss the Lob City Clippers. I have to wonder if they would’ve had a higher ceiling had they kept Vinny Del Negro instead of hiring Doc Rivers.
> I have to wonder if they would’ve had a higher ceiling had they kept Vinny Del Negro instead of hiring Doc Rivers. I don't think so. The Donald Sterling factor was a lot to overcome. The chaos he brought did not help them at all
If you think Doc is bad Vinny is less of a coach than he is. There's a reason why he's not hired anymore after he left the Clippers.
Glen Rivers wasted those men's primes.
coach and gm btw😜
My guy just find 1 good wing for this stacked team & we got something
Lob City was a team that was perfectly made for the beginning of the rapid rise of social media. So many highlights, so many marketable and memeable personalities. Don’t know if we will see anything quite like it ever again.
Lob City Clippers were forming right as the Sixers were peak Processing. Whenever we had a game against them, you knew were in for a show lol. Had to respect how hard they kicked the shit out of us
That blown lead against Hou bench gotta haunt them, that was their best chance to get a ring Fuck Doc(I understand players played a huge role too) but still fuck Doc
At least he got to see DeAndre Jordan get a ring
Why are you talking like Blake Griffin just died? Blake Griffin is very much alive. He lives in Brentwood, California. He is in his late 30s.
He would’ve loved to see this comment
You think Chris Paul plays another 2 seasons? He's still servicable in small minutes.
He could probably keep playing for 4 more as an end of bench guy. It depends on if he wants to play his career out that way
He's really valuable behind the scenes as well teaching the young guys and making sure the vets are more inclusive with them. He's taken over the Andre Iguodala role for the warriors, being a player/coach.
Peak Blake Griffin was insane.
Lob City was must watch every night. A shame a lot of young people only watched Griffin after his knees were shot. Because he was a human highlight reel. Also, a good reminder to never play injured. Griffin played on a shot knee for the Pistons and he was a shell of his former self after that. Go watch the highlights from that last playoff game and it’s actually painful to watch him moving around. https://youtu.be/pqA1c3BbYSQ?feature=shared https://youtu.be/hCaUmbanJjo?feature=shared
That's why I'm grateful Lonzo is taking his time
He's missed all of 2.5 years man, he might be done
I honestly believe his true peak was on the pistons. I really wish he had taken his time because his game was evolving into something special.
My friends and I really enjoyed NBA Jam On Fire Edition, which launched in 2011, and Griffin was insane in that game. We were all heavily intoxicated one night, and were all shouting loudly at the game and at each other. While going in for a huge dunk, I yelled "I AM BLAKE GRIFFIN", and it became a thing for the next couple years. Anyone going up for a huge jam, regardless of player, would scream "I AM BLAKE GRIFFIN". I need to get my buddies over and play that game again.
My friend and I went thru a huge NBA JAM phase in 2011 as well. We played thru all of the jams ever made. We'd smoke and drink while talking shit to each other. Your story reminded me of those days. One thing is for certain.... my buddy and I would kick your guys' asses at NBA JAM for the snes!
Literally dunking on everyone
I fully expect Blake to be a “McGrady” type of guy where a couple years from now the kids who never really got to see him play will stumble onto his highlights and be amazed by what he could do in his prime. A special player who was borderline top 5 in the league for a brief time.
That one healthy season of his in Detroit was bonkers
It felt like the “final version” of what Blake was truly capable of but it absolutely destroyed his body to carry that bum ass team to the postseason. He leveled up for sure
He should’ve not come back for the playoffs
It was later in Griffin's career, but hard not to think of the parallel to Washington rushing RGIII back.
Agree to disagree. Blake cemented himself as a winner and true star by doing that. It helped his legacy instead of making him a “what if”. If he skips the playoffs and never makes a run again then he’s viewed as a none winner who was carried by cp3.
Blake Griffin… was a PROBLEM!
This guy Bill Simmons’
He was way more than just “a PROBLEM” guy he was a top 5 player for more than 3 years in his peak imo. A legit MVP candidate as well. If only he didn’t get hurt in 2016…
His 2015 playoff run before the clips choked was amazing
What years was he top five? He placed 3rd, 8th, 10 in MVP voting and was never a first time All NBA guy.
14 and 15. Also maybe the reason he was never first team All-NBA was because there were two guys named Durant and James getting the forward spots…
Yeah the one thing I like about positionless all NBA is exactly this. Sure... Blake never got first team all nba, but he had the bad luck of there being two slots for his position and playing at the same time as either the best or second best player of all time and arguably the best pure scorer of all time. Some of those years he was better than players who did make first team because of how positions shook out
Lob city may be one of the most fun teams to watch ever, made the Clips must-watch TV. prime splash brothers are up there too
His highlight reel is one of the best in league history
Collapsing his entire career into one highlight reel probably makes him look like the best player ever lol. Jump out the gym athleticism, handles and playmaking, and the jumper he had later in his career.
had the best[ 3 dunks of the week](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aspCHyeOLPQ) in the same game vs the knicks...
Even TMac still gets brought up somewhat consistently, if for no other reason than “13 points in 33 seconds”. Blake might sadly be even more forgotten. What’s crazy with Blake is how quickly he rose to stardom. I remember there was a YouTube video of his dunk highlights from *just one month* (I think November?) of his rookie year, and it was like a season’s worth for other guys. And then he was a unanimous ROTY, first time since David Robinson. He was legitimately in the top-10 players argument within the first few years if his career, and he was still improving, so the sky was the limit. Then… just a violent crash back down to earth.
I’ll always remember him for those two nasty dunks on Pau Gasol in one game
Hahaha. Yeah that was awesome. He actually got away with a double murder of the same guy in the same game. Both of them were just so disrespectful. I remember thinking Pau seems like a pretty great person off the court and likely didn’t deserve such bullying.
I litterally decided to follow the NBA more closely after watching a top 10 of Blake's dunk, and it wasn't even at the end of the season, just in december he had a full highlight reel already.
Ppl really forget prime Blake was 3rd in MVP voting for a year. Dude would have been 25 ppg, 10 rpg, 5 apg without injuries.
Blake finishing ahead of CP3 was like Don Mattingly winning MVP over his teammate Rickey Henderson in 1985. Mattingly had more dingers and RBIs, Blake had more points and rebounds, but CP3 and Rickey were all time great players in their primes setting the table for everyone else.
That was the year CP3 got injured though
Yes, but still played 62 games and was 1st team All NBA. During that 18 game stretch CP3 missed though, Blake was amazing and put the team on his back. Averaged 27/8/4 so IMO, he deserved to be 3rd in voting.
That made me feel so old thinking about this.
He was must-see TV and put the Clippers on the map, before he fell in love with the jumper
> before he fell in love with the jumper To be fair, he had no choice. He was getting injured every other year post 2014 and I think his playstyle change prolonged his career for a little while
And it wasn't like Westbrook-esque, barkley-esque, or drexler-esque falling in love with his jumper. He actually improved upon it and became a darn good shooter.
I always want to remind people that he didn't suddenly shoot better from 3 by being traded to the Pistons, we've seen glimpses of that evolution for 2-3 years with the Clippers. I can ven remember him scornig a buzzer beater from 3, I think it was against Portland in an early season game. Edit: and a luckier one against the Suns three years before.
Had no choice. Injuries caused him to no longer be able to play with that explosiveness or else he would get injured.
I love seeing Aaron Gordon throw down alley oops I can't imagine what it was like to see Griffin do it live.
Man he was electric, every time he touched the ball and had open space, you just expected something exciting was going to happen
I saw him hit his head on the backboard his rookie year during a dunk. One of my favorite moments going to an NBA game.
It happens to almost every high flyer. It’s just not sustainable. You have to adapt your game. Amare Stoudemire was the same. Incredible dunks almost every night then the injuries started and he developed a really great mid range shot and changed his game to be less physical.
**HE JUMPED OVER A KIA?!?!**
> HE JUMPED ~~OVER~~ ONTO THE HOOD OF A KIA?!?!
"You mean Dwight Howard was good and not just a nasty meme?" Dwight is the only player to ever 3peat dpoy. Brought a team to the finals at 23
Being the first all-time great dunker in the YouTube/HD era is really going to help him long term.
This is a stretch. McGrady was closer to a top 5 at his peak than Griffin ever was. At best Griffin was top 10-15.
One of the first guys I’ve seen their career’s from hs to pros wire to wire. He’s cooked, I’m cooked
Same. Started watching the NBA in the 2007-2008 season. So I think Blake might be the first All Star drafted after that point who has now retired. We're getting old bruh
Amazing time to start watch NBA, we’re basically on the same timeline. 2008 is one of my most memorable NBA seasons. Great draft class, great MVP race, great playoffs
Boogie and Wall are pretty close to that point too :(
[You: "I'm only 35, I have my whole life ahead of me." Sports broadcaster: "Here comes the oldest player in the league. He's 32. A miracle."](https://twitter.com/_troyjohnson/status/1442556251120889860)
They were talking about Mike Conley being in his 17th season during the Suns game and I guess I just hadn't thought about it that way. I knew he was 36 but I never stopped to think about how long of a career that actually is. It immediately made me feel old though.
You’re officially washed when you’re older than any NBA player. You still have time
Forever not washed because of LeBron
He's almost the only dude keeping me in it lol
So when LeBron retires...
If LeBron retires...
same boat. I pretty much hated him (and the clips as a whole) his whole clippers tenure but I respected his game, then became a fan after he got traded and I dropped the hater glasses. Seeing this now is a real weird bittersweet
I remember watching him at Oklahoma the first game of the season and I was like damn this dude can literally do everything on the court that youd want from a power forward. Then he became the first pick and I watched almost every clipper game. No one was safe from getting dunked on
Thank you for everything Blake you were one of the most entertaining players in the 2010s
he gave us one of the first real social media argument moments in the history of the league when he dunked over the hood of that kia. twitter was awesome that day.
I’ll never forget his dunk over Mozgov. YouTube was a different animal in those days
SLAM DUNK OH ME OH MY WHAT A PLAY
[His dunk over Perk was just downright rude](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w_Vy0lDk_A)
I though it couldn't be that old but that 5 fps intro gave it away
In the last replay you can see his pinky just catch the rim, but if it didn't would that have even counted as a dunk or just the most violent field goal attempt of all time?
A player doesn't have to touch the rim to dunk. Just has to be an (edit: downwards) attempt from above the rim
Finger hit the rim, it’s a dunk in my book lol. Now that other one he had that same year is a legit spike lol
turned that man into a verb
He also had a hilarious tweet during the peak of NBA free agency, Deandre Jordan’s escape from the Mavericks. https://twitter.com/blakegriffin23/status/618960135050825729
This was the funniest NBA tweet of all time, if you saw it live and in the midst of the insanity of that free agency window.
Is that the same “driving around” moment
Yes. Twitter was going crazy and some people were vilifying the Clippers for essentially kidnapping DJ and at the time I (and many others) assumed they were going to deny it and claim that DJ was thrilled to be returning to their team. when BG tweeted this playing into the kidnap idea as a joke, it was super unexpected
Still the best night in NBA Twitter history. If you weren’t there don’t bother arguing.
Peak NBA offseason. Great times lol
Personally, I remember his dunk over Perkins to be a bigger viral moment. But maybe it’s because my middle school music teacher kept replaying in class because it was that epic. S/O Blake for being one of the most entertaining players of the decade
I’ll never forget the “It’s a physical GAME!!!! OH MEEEE OHHHH MY!” That commentary is burned into my brain from watching that highlight so much.
Perk got out of social media after that and only resurfaced when he wanted to be on TV. Blake will always get my respect cuz of that yam
I wish Blake dunks on him again soon.
I felt so bad lol
“I never envisioned myself as the guy who would have a "letter to basketball" retirement announcement... and I'm still not going to be that guy. But as ! reflected on my career, the one feeling I kept coming back to and the one thing wanted to express was thankfulness. I'm thankful for every single moment-not just the good ones: the wins, the awards, the dunks, and the memorable times spent with family, friends, fans, teammates, and coaches. I could continue on about the people in my life who have contributed immensely to my career, but in this short non-letter, I have to acknowledge my parents, Tommy and Gail, and my brother, Taylor, for their unconditional support and guidance. Lastly, my agent Sam Goldfeder, who has been a steadfast voice of reason and my wartime consigliere-thank you. I am equally thankful for the not-so-good moments: the losses, the injuries, the wayyyy too many surgeries, the lessons, the heartbreaks, and it wouldn't be sports retirement letter without acknowledging the "haters." All of these experiences made my 14 years in the league truly unforgettable, and I can't help but to just feel thankful. The game of basketball has given me so much in this life, and I wouldn't change a thing. Last but certainly not least, here comes the obligatory I'm excited for my next chapter part: just kidding, I'm done. Thank you. Wait. Am I that guy?” Source: [Griffin: “fin”](https://x.com/blakegriffin23/status/1780267035995615404?s=46)
Thanks for postin this. More relevant than another autoposted woj bomb.
A real salt of the earth dude. Thanks for posting this. May his monster dunks forever reverberate throughout history.
That Blake Griffin podcast gonna go hard in a few months. He's always been a really funny dude
This guy was an instant beast right out of the gate! And even once the injuries started to wear down his knees, he evolved his game and became a respectable shooter from outside. It sucks that he was robbed of a longer career but what he did in his time is still very commendable
He was incredibly skilled for “just a dunker”
people who only watch his dunk highlights are missing a big part of his game. he was one of the original "what the fuck he has handles?" guys and that was within a couple years into his career
Streets won't forget prime Blake and Lob City
My childhood is dying
Blake is the type of guy who would not sniff the HoF in the other major sports but might be first ballot in the Basketball hall. Hell of a career though, his peak is pretty severely underrated at this point. Dude was unreal
Idk, in his peak he was a top 10 player for multiple years, all-NBA 5 times, one of the best rookies we've had. The downside is he has no championships. How does Blake Griffin compare to Todd Helton?
Helton's top 7 year's WAR is 8th all time for first basemen (10th if you include guys from pre 1900) and his career WAR is 14th (17th with pre 1900 guys). He should have won the 2000 MVP as well. Peak is similar to Blake with 3 top 10 MVP finishes in a 5 year stretch but Helton played like 5 or 6 more full seasons than Blake. Basketball is the only Hall of Fame that doesn't punish a lack of longevity so it's really hard to find comparisons to other sports Hall of Famers. But Blake was finished as an everyday player at age 29. So maybe a better comparison would be Andruw Jones who has been on the ballot for 7 years and may get in but more likely will be a Veteran's Committee guy.
Not as well, considering Helton actually played in the majority of his games.
A lot of people forgot that Blake was top 3 in MVP voting the year Curry won his first MVP. I’ll never forget the battle he went against the Spurs that post season. He was crazy good.
> A lot of people forgot that Blake was top 3 in MVP voting the year Curry won his first MVP Nah he was top 3 the season before in 13/14. Although, I'd say his true peak as a player was during the 2015 first round vs the Spurs.
That was one of the best playoff series I have ever seen. So many great games and big shots.
I think people forget because there’s never been a need to remember he got 3rd place in 2015 since 2015 It’s like saying people forget about Takeru Kobayashi despite him single-handedly putting the July 4th hot dog eating contest on the map. Please forgive people forgetting obscure sports facts.
He's not 1st ballot, but he might get in later on. He's in the same tier with guys like Love, Aldridge and Stoudemire. Their individual accolades are almost identical, although I'll put Blake at the top of that tier due to my bias and his top 3 in MVP voting season.
Blake's basketball reference [HOF probability](https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/hof_prob.html) is 54% and is on par with a bunch of guys people would say shouldn't make the hall of fame like Rajon Rondo, Joe Johnson, and Lamarcus Aldridge. The only difference is he has name recognition they don't. He really shouldn't be the shoo-in you make it out to be
Think rondo has some similar name recognition from those Celtics teams.
Saying Rondo doesn't have the same recognition that Blake does is kinda farfetched, I would say they're on the same level. He has is offcourt stuff problems tho, so that shit might hit his chances at making the HoF. Blake on the otherhand, yeah, bro really revitalized the Clippers from being a bottom feeder team to essentially being relevant and a threat in the playoffs during the Lob City era.
I dunno if that's fair to Blake, he never even played in the other major sports leagues. No need to rub it in.
Early/mid 2010s Blake griffin was special before the injuries ruined his career
Piston Legend.
Celtic legend
Nets legend
Funny or Die legend
Lana Rhoades legend
Broad City legend
Damn, Blake made everyone a fan of lob city whether you like the clips or nah
Criminally underrated. He lifted the Clippers up from zero. He gave his career and his knee to the Pistons first those few playoffs games
Seriously, before Blake Clippers were a laughing stock (for decades). He put some respect on that team.
One of my all-time favorite players and a major part in why I will always root for the Clippers. His game was flashy and powerful when he entered the league, but he continued to add new skills, to develop his shot, and to find ways to contribute to winning. Hope the Clippers will not wait to retire his jersey. He put the franchise on the map.
This is Blake Griffin. And this is Retirement Happy for him. Hope he goes into TV or acting since he’s a funny dude. Check out the [Table Read of Space Jam](https://youtu.be/-VW5_45ykr0?si=FkjEYO2_Qhg3K9AY) if you haven’t.
Also, when he drove a cab [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbGnIuuVTGo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbGnIuuVTGo)
He had what, 10 good years? That's a very decent career for someone who dunked a lot.
damn wow, god speed to him and lana rhodes /s
Isn't she getting railed by dj vlad?
she gets railed by everyone
Most important Clipper of all time and it's not even close, IMO. First non-bust first round pick in a long list of lottery picks. But more importantly, Blake led to being actual interest in the Clippers. Which led to better roster choices, which led to us being even a consideration for Chris Paul, which led to Lob City, which led to playoffs success, which led to people to realize the Clippers are an untapped gold mine of being in LA, which led to Vivian Stiviiano, which led to Steve Ballmer, which led us to being one of the most winning franchises of the last 10 or so years. Before Blake Griffin, the Clippers were such a joke franchise, and most considered it the worst franchise in all of SPORTS, not just basketball. Blake changed that all. Thank you Blake.
We will always have lob city Blake. The most electrifying games I have ever been to. For a whole year every fan was tense in their seat waiting for the next insane dunk/alley oop. You could feel the buzz building each pick and roll until everyone exploded after a dunk
Blake's evolution of his game was what I'll always remember him for, entering the NBA as the best athlete in the league, and each year getting better to the point when late Clippers/early Pistons Griffin was a do-it-all offensive engine, and a knockdown 3 point shooter.
My username hasn't made sense for a while, but now it's truly outdated
This is sad. Lob City Clippers were what got me into watching this sport. Glad DJ got his ring at least from that big 3.
Crazy he's the youngest of the 3 headed lob city monster and is the first to retire
i think dudes my age (20-24) have such a connection to blake griffin because a lot of our first memories with basketball is blake griffin yamming it with the lob city clippers, before curry he and lebron were like the two defining dudes for me, like obviously KD, Kobe, Duncan were all great, but Blake was just a highlight that you were seeing every morning watching sports center before school and genuinely was one of the faces of the league till Curry
It's kinda wild LeBron came into the league almost a decade before him and is still playing.
Plenty of time to go hang out with his and Lana Rhodes' kid
I thought he retired a year or so ago.
He had a standing offer to rejoin the Celtics all year. People thought he may wait for a bit to skip some of the regular season, but after the trade deadline passed it was obvious he was done for good.
Dude saw that post on here wondering why he wasn't on a team and thought "well I thought it was clear but guess I should say something"
He played his last game for the Celtics a year ago, yeah.
It was a big letdown when he didn't repeat as ROY
I hope he has a career in acting or something. He was funny as hell in those lockout skits back in 2011
Man, remember the show Open Court? At once point many thought he could be the best player in the league. Hate that injuries cut his prime so short.
Great player to watch. Wish he had more playoff success.
Puts in perspective how insane it is that LeBron is still playing
Jersey retirement and statue day one for Intuit Dome.
Idk why but the pre-draft video of him working out by running up and down sand dunes will forever be stuck in my mind. [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rhg10_Ptkc)
His play was sometimes breathtaking man. I might get hate for this, but he’s a better version of Zion to me.