ARTICLE AD BOX
While it is reasonable to refer to Blake Griffin as a perfect Clippers player, it should not be forgotten that he has also become one of the franchise stalwarts and made it to competitive NBA teams established in Los Angeles.
As the first pick in the 2009 draft, Griffin won all the honors, including the Rookie of the Year award, and became a central figure of the fantastic "Lob City" for eight seasons with the Clippers. He's known for his sky-in-the-lane dunks and his aggressiveness on the court, which won fans and attention to the team.
This glory was, however, short-lived for Griffin as after leaving the Clippers, he faced different hurdles, including injuries that robbed him of most of his athleticism. In the following teams he played on, the Detroit Pistons and the Brooklyn Nets, he already started to sink without his physical attributes entirely; only the vices over crippling injuries remained.
As early as 2022, a former slam-dunk champion, who could no longer compete due to his decline in form, moved to the Boston Celtics, hoping for a new beginning, embracing the veteran’s minimum salary contract.
Griffin's Boston Revival
Upon age 35, Griffin seemed to refuel in Boston with the young talents Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Looking back at his revival, Griffin stated, "The intensity in those (preseason) games and in practice and shootaround has been something I haven’t seen in a while. Probably since my Clipper days when we were really making a run for it." Alderson Brent said that Griffin was a senior citizen in his final season in the NBA, and C created an appropriate period where the photograph of the C man played for the Celtics.
He was given a basketball and became a mentor on and off the court. Griffin was amazed at how much of the team spirit and aggression, they had. He added, "The maturity of this team, and some of us sat down in the meal room for probably two and a half hours and just talked, and more and more people came, and it was a group of like 10 of us." However, in April 2024 when Griffin was preparing for life after basketball he reflected on his career, a measure of complete satisfaction having been achieved.
As the evolution of the franchise he helped to reshape becomes a dominating narrative, talks of hanging his jersey from the rafters and never letting it graze the ground has gained momentum thanks to the expected opening of the Intuit Dome soon.
English (US) ·