Blake Griffin

At 35 years old, Blake Griffin has this physical status:

Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

When he was named Consensus National Player of the Year as a sophomore, he played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Griffin was drafted first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA draft and has since been a six-time NBA All-Star and a five-time All-NBA pick. Griffin's father, head coach Tommy Griffin, won four high school state titles at Oklahoma Christian School.

Before being drafted by the Clippers in 2009, Griffin played two seasons of college basketball for the Sooners.

He broke his left kneecap, underwent surgery, and missed the entire 2009–2010 season.

Griffin made his NBA debut as a rookie the following season, during which he was selected as an All-Star in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, and was named NBA Rookie of the Year.

Sports Illustrated named him one of the NBA's Top Rookies of All Time in 2011.

Early life

Griffin was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Tommy Griffin, who is of Afro-Haitian descent, and Gail Griffin, who is white. At Northwestern Oklahoma State University, his father was a basketball center and track standout. Since Griffin and his older brother, Taylor Griffin, were home-schooled by their mother from first grade to eighth grade, and Blake was in eighth place. Griffin, who was growing up, was a great friend of future NFL quarterback Sam Bradford. Blake and Taylor played basketball in a gym owned by Bradford's father. Griffin also played baseball as a first baseman and football as a wide receiver, security, and tight end before deciding to concentrate on basketball.

Personal life

Blake is one of five children and the younger brother of professional basketball player Taylor Griffin.

Griffin's ex-fiancee, Brynn Cameron, who is the sister of American football player Jordan Cameron, has two children. Cameron was given $258,000 a month in child care, according to some news outlets like Radar Online, but both Griffin and Cameron denied that this figure was correct.

Griffin is a Christian. "I was just excited about the opportunity to play in the NBA," he said of his faith in connection with his rookie season injury. I was supposed to go, but then everything went crashing down, so to speak, but these things happened. It was frustrating, but at the same time, I know everything happens for a reason. I have no idea what the reason is because only God knows. "I just have to wait and watch His scheme unfold."

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High school career

Griffin moved with his brother to Oklahoma Christian School, where they spent under their guidance from their father, head coach Tommy Griffin. They competed together in the 2003-2004 and 2004-05 high school seasons, winning two state basketball championships. The Oklahoma Christian Saints had a perfect 29-0 record in his freshman year, winning the Class 3A boys state championship game against Riverside Indian School, 55-51.

The Saints maintained as Class 3A state champions in Griffin's sophomore season, defeating Sequoyah-Tahlequah 534-34, where he scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Griffin averaged 13.6 points per game, leading to the team's 24–2 record on the season. In what was his last high school season with his brother, he was later named to the Little All-State squad in Little All-State. Taylor went on to receive a scholarship to play college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners. Blake was a member of the Athletes First AAU team, where he competed against Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson's AAU team, the DC Blue Devils, during the summer of 2005.

The Oklahoma Christian basketball team was moved to Class 2A from Class 3A during Griffin's junior season. He was already blossoming as a player as he began his third season with the Saints as he led them to their third straight state championship. Oklahoma Christian defeated Washington High School, 57–40, with 22 points, nine rebounds, and six blocks. Griffin was named the state tournament MVP, and the Saints finished the season 27-1, with Griffin averaging 21.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists. He has been named The Oklahoman Player of the Year and the Tulsa World Boys All-State First Team for his efforts. Jeff Capel, Oklahoma's current basketball head coach, first heard of him through his brother, Taylor, attracted his attention. Capel saw him play for the first time this spring and was immediately impressed. Capel loved the fact that Griffin did not yet become a household name among recruiters, and believed he was the player with whom he had to rebuild the Oklahoma men's basketball program. Griffin had considered Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, and Texas, but his brother eventually sold him on Oklahoma when he heard about the Sooners' direction and the possibility of playing together again for his home state.

Griffin committed to Oklahoma right away in his senior year. Although leading the team to a 26-3 record, he continued to average 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 2.9 blocks per game as a senior. He had 41 points, 28 rebounds, and 10 assists in a game against Oklahoma City Southeast. The Saints advanced to the semifinals and Foyil in the quarterfinals and semifinals, beating Crescent in the quarterfinals and Foyil in the semifinals to win a spot in the Class 2A state championship once more. He played his last high school game against Pawnee High School on March 10, 2007. The Saints defeated Pawnee 81-51, winning their fourth straight state championship. Griffin had 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and two blocks. After scoring 26.6 points per game in the tournament, he was named the Class 2A state tournament MVP for the second year in a row. The Oklahoma Christian Saints had a 106–6 overall record during their four-year tenure.

Both Tulsa World and The Oklahoman announced Griffin as Player of the Year for his senior year. He was also selected to the Oklahoma Boys All-State First Team, EA Sports All-American Second Team, and Parade All-American Third Team. In addition,, he was named as the Gatorade Oklahoma Player of the Year and was selected to the McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand All-America teams. He won the Powerade Jam Fest slam dunk competition at McDonald's All-American game in Louisville, Kentucky. By HoopScoop, 20th by Scout.com and 23rd by Rivals.com, he was ranked as the nation's 13th best high school senior by HoopScoop, 20th overall by HoopScoop, the nation's best high school senior. According to Scout.com, HoopScoop rated him as the country's third-best power forward, although Rivals.com rated him sixth and seventh.

College career

Griffin was one of Oklahoma's most highly rated and decorated recruits ever. He averaged 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds as a freshman at Oklahoma and led the Sooners to a 23-12 record. In the Big 12 Conference, he came in ninth in scoring, fourth in rebounding, and third in field goal percentage. In a game against the Kansas Jayhawks, he suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee five minutes into the game. In a home victory over Texas A&M, he injuring his left knee. This time, the injury was torn cartilage, and he underwent arthroscopic surgery on March 2, 2008. He missed the following game, a victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys, but he returned to action a week after the injury with 14 points and eight rebounds in a victory over Missouri. Griffin was a first-team all-district pick by the USBWA and NABC, and was selected by league coaches and the Associated Press to the first-team All-Big 12 picks. He was the first Sooner to play for the Big Eight Conference since Wayman Tisdale in 1983. He was supposed to be a lottery pick in the 2008 NBA draft, but he decided to return to college to grow physically and help Oklahoma win the NCAA championship.

The Sooners opened out the season with their first 12 games before falling to the Arkansas Razorbacks in Griffin's sophomore season. He scored 25 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in his third game of the season, defeating the Davidson Wildcats. He had 35 points and 21 rebounds against Gardner-Webb, becoming the first player in Big 12 history to record back-to-back games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. This week, he received three consecutive Big 12 Player of the Week awards as well as a record-tying six player of the week award. With 40 points and 23 rebounds in a home victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders, he set career-bests for both points and rebounds, becoming the first player in the University of Oklahoma's men's basketball program to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a game, beating Wayman Tisdale (61 points and 22 rebounds in 1983) and Alvan Adams (43 points and 25 rebounds in 1975).

Griffin suffered a concussion in a loss to the Texas Longhorns on February 21, when he took an inadvertent shot to the side from Texas center Dexter Pittman's open hand. With a bloody nose, he was unable to get out of the second half of the Sooners' defeat. It was the Sooners' first loss of their conference schedule for the season. In a win over Texas Tech, he was cleared by the medical staff and returned a week later to 20 points and 19 rebounds. Oklahoma finished second in the conference with a 13–3 record, but they fell short in the first game of the Big 12 tournament to Oklahoma State. Oklahoma was seeded No. 1 in the NCAA tournament. With a 27–5 record, there are two in the South Region. Griffin had 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a second-round victory over the Michigan Wolverines, becoming the second player in the 2000s to have at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in an NCAA tournament game. In the South Regional final, the Sooners lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels.

During the regular season, Griffin averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game, earning All-American First Team distinctions. He aided the NCAA in rebounding and was also the Big 12 scoring and rebounding champion. Griffin also grabbed 15 rebounds 15 times, which is a Big 12 record. He also set school and Big 12 single-season records for the most rebounds (504), rebounding average (14.4), and double-doubles (30) as a result of his free throw attempts (344), the most by a Sooner in a single season. With 30 double-doubles during the season, he fell one point shy of David Robinson's NCAA record of 31 set in 1986-1987. Larry Bird's average of 14.7 rebounds in a season since 1979-84, the most in a season by an NCAA Division I player since 1978, 1979 to 1991, with his rebounding average of 14.4 was the highest since Wake Forest's Tim Duncan averaged 14.7.

Griffin received all six of the national player of the year awards for his sophomore year. He was unanimously voted by voters in all nine geographical areas for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and was named Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year by 66 percent of the 71 national media panel members' votes. Griffin was named the Naismith College Player of the Year on April 5 in Detroit. He received the John Wooden Award as the best college basketball player three days after announcing that he would turn pro. He became the first Oklahoma player to win the Naismith Trophy, Adolph Rupp Trophy, John Wooden Award, and Associated Press player of the year. The Big 12 named Player of the Year by the Year, as well as FoxSports and FoxSports.com.

Professional career

Griffin reported on April 7, 2009, that after his sophomore year, he would forego his last two years of eligibility and registered for the NBA draft. On ESPNews, a press conference announcing his decision was broadcast nationally. In the 2009 NBA draft, he was selected as the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers. Griffin was named the Summer League MVP for the Clippers' Summer League team. He strained his kneecap in his last preseason game after a dunk. Griffin had a stress fracture in his left knee, delaying his NBA debut for seven weeks the day before the 2009–10 season began. After resting the stress fracture for several weeks, medical investigations revealed that his knee was not recovering properly. Griffin had surgery on his broken left kneecap in January 2010, causing him to miss the remainder of the 2009–2010 season.

Griffin was still regarded as a rookie during the 2010–11 season even though he skipped the entire 2009–2010 season. Griffin scored 20 points and 14 rebounds in his NBA debut against the Portland Trail Blazers. He set a new franchise record for most consecutive double-doubles in a home game against the Golden State Warriors, with 23. He made his streak of consecutive double-doubles, which ended at 27 games against the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 19, marking the first double-double streak since 1968. Griffin scored a career-high 44 points against the New York Knicks on November 11, 2010 and the Indiana Pacters on January 17, 2011, a career-high 47 points and a franchise record for most points by a rookie. During the 1996–97 season, Allen Iverson was the first rookie to have two 40+ point games since Allen Iverson.

Griffin was selected by coaches as a reserve on the Western Conference team's 2011 NBA All-Star Game, becoming the first rookie to play in the All-Star game since Yao Ming in 2003 and the first rookie to play by coaches since Tim Duncan in 1998. He competed in the 2011 Rookie Challenge and then won the Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star break. Griffin's first triple-double with 33 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists in a double-overtime victory over the Washington Wizards on March 23, 2011. In the season's final game against the Memphis Grizzlies, he recorded his second triple-double, 10 rebounds, and ten assists.

Griffin earned all six of the Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards this season, the first time a rookie has swept an entire season of Rookie of the Month awards since Chris Paul during the 2005–06 season. He appeared in all 82 regular season games and became the first rookie to post at least 20 points and ten rebounds since Elton Brand did it in 1999-2000. He led all rookies in points, rebounds, and double-doubles, earning him the Rookie of the Year Award for the first time since David Robinson in 1990. He was also the only unanimous pick to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Griffin was ranked as one of the "NBA's Best Rookies of All Time" after his stellar rookie season.

Griffin and Chris Paul, a new teammate, were selected to start as a starter in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game for the first time. He was also selected to participate in the inaugural Rising Stars Challenge, which featured a combination of the best rookies and sophomores from around the country. Team Shaq selected Griffin first.

Griffin posted his second double-double on the lockout-shortened season, averaging 20.7 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game. Chris Paul and his colleague Chris Paul aided the Los Angeles Clippers to a 40-26 record and made the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Griffin helped the Clippers beat the Memphis Grizzlies in seven games in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs. In the next round, the Los Angeles Clippers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. Griffin was then named to the All-NBA Second Team for the first time in his career.

Griffin announced a contract extension on July 10, 2012, reportedly worth $95 million for five years before the 2012-2013 NBA season. The contract will keep him under control until the end of the 2017-18 season. He was also selected to compete for Team USA in the 2012 London Summer Olympics, but he was forced to withdraw after a practice. Griffin was voted by the fans as a starter for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game. Griffin won the Los Angeles Clippers by 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dishing out 11 assists on March 6, 2013, his third triple-double in his career as a result.

Griffin finished the season with 18.0 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game in 32.5 minutes per game. As the Clippers captured their first Pacific Division title in franchise history, Chris Paul led the Los Angeles Clippers to a 56–26 record. In the first round, the Clippers lost in six games to the Memphis Grizzlies. Griffin was accepted to the All-NBA Second Team once more.

The Los Angeles Clippers' latest leadership and recruited head coach Doc Rivers after a disappointing first round exit in the playoffs. Griffin averaged 24.1 points per game in his first season with Rivers at the helm. He was named as a starter in the NBA All-Star Game for the fourth time and third in a row. Griffin won 20+ points in 31 straight games from January 20 to March 26. Griffin and Chris Paul led the Los Angeles Clippers to an 112-108 victory over the Phoenix Suns on April 2, 2014, clinching their second franchise division title. Griffin's fourth triple-double in a 107-113 loss to the Dallas Mavericks was recorded on the next day.

The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference playoffs for the third time. In the first round, they will meet the Golden State Warriors. In a victory over Golden State on April 21, 2014, Griffin scored a career-high 35 points. In the midst of the Donald Sterling controversy, the Clippers would eventually defeat the Warriors in seven games. They would then lose in the conference semifinals to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Griffin was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the third year in a row, and he also placed third in the MVP polls.

Following Donald Sterling's inflammatory remarks, NBA commissioner Adam Silver barred Sterling from the league for life and ordered him to sell the Clippers. Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, bought the Clippers for $2 billion, the most money paid for a franchise in NBA history.

The Clippers defeated the Phoenix Suns in overtime 121–120 on December 8, 2014, scoring a season-high 45 points on 14-of-24 shooting, including a game-winning three-pointer as time expired. This was Griffin's first game-winning buzzer beater. It was the Clippers' eighth straight victory. He was out for four to six weeks due to a staph infection in his right elbow on February 8, 2015. In a 100-98 loss to the Houston Rockets, he returned to action on March 15 after missing 15 games to produce 11 points and 11 rebounds. Griffin finished the regular season with 21.9 points, a career-low 7.6 rebounds, and a career-high 5.3 assists in 67 games.

Griffin posted his first playoff triple-double on April 22, with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists in a first-round Game 2 series loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Griffin added 19 rebounds in Game 4 and 20 points, helping the Clippers win the game even more than 2-0. Griffin scored 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in the series's Game 7 victory that moved the Clippers into the second round. Griffin scored 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists for his second straight triple-double match against the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the Clippers' semi-final match, boosting the Clippers to a 117-101 victory. In seven games, the Clippers lost the series to the Rockets.

Griffin finished with 40 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to the Utah Jazz on November 25, 2015, with the Clippers falling to 7–8 after starting the season 4-0. He was banned from working indefinitely with a partially broken left quadriceps on December 26, according to the journal. Griffin was expected to return to action on January 26, but instead he was forced to miss four to six weeks due to a right hand injury suffered on January 23 while assaulting a member of the team's equipment staff, who was also his friend, during an argument at a restaurant in Toronto. Griffin's defenders were scathing of the Clippers, who also stated that further punitive action would follow. A police report was not submitted, according to the Toronto Police Service.

Griffin returned to action against the Washington Wizards on April 3rd, missing 45 games in total due to injury and suspension. With a 114–109 victory, he spent 24 minutes as a starter and collected six points and five rebounds to help the Clippers clinch home-court advantage in the playoffs. He appeared in five of the Clippers' final seven games of the regular season and then appeared in the first four first-round playoff games against the Portland Trail Blazers before causing the left quad injury in Game 4, which kept him out for the remainder of the postseason.

In a 116–92 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on November 5, Griffin scored a season-high 28 points, giving the Clippers a 116–1 start to the season. On November 9, he aided them in their league-best 7-1 win over the Portland Trail Blazers with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Griffin was the second fastest player to play in 417 games during his fifth back to the game, with 8,500 points, 4,000 rebounds, and 1,500 assists in 408 games; Chris Webber did so in 408 games. With 25 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 11, he helped the Clippers record their franchise-best 8–1. Griffin continued to play for 9,000 career points, 4,000 rebounds, and 1,500 assists in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves the next day. He became the youngest player to reach that plateau since Larry Bird. Since requiring minor surgery on his right knee, he was ruled out until some point in January. In a 121–110 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, he returned to action on January 24, 2017, scoring 12 points on 3-of-11 shootings. Griffin scored his fifth career triple-double and first game of the season on February 6, finishing with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high-tying 11 assists in a 118-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors in his sixth game since minor knee injury that kept him sidelined for 20 games. In a 119-115 win over the New York Knicks, he scored a season-high 32 points in a season-high victory. In a 124–121 overtime victory over the Charlotte Hornets on February 26, 2017, he set a new season record with 43 points. Griffin, a tenacious player, scored 10,000 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 1st year. He became the second player in franchise history to reach that milestone, joining Randy Smith, who scored 10,467 of his team's record 12,735 points when the team was called the Buffalo Braves in 1993.

Griffin was disqualified from the remainder of the 2017 NBA Playoffs due to an injury to his right big toe against the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of their Western Conference first round playoff series on Friday night.

Griffin re-signed with the Clippers on July 19, 2017 to a five-year, $173 million contract. In a 116-103 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on November 22, 2017, he had 26 points, ten rebounds, and 10 assists, snapping the Clippers from a nine-game losing streak. He made a 10-foot jumper with 3.2 seconds remaining and led the Clippers to a 97-95 victory over the Sacramento Kings three days later. He was ruled out for about two months after suffering an MCL sprain against the Los Angeles Lakers the night before. On December 29, he returned to action against the Lakers in a 121–106 victory, scoring a game-high 24 points. In a 126-118 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 22, 2018, he had a triple-double with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and a career-high 12 assists. Griffin scored his seventh straight season triple-double and his second on the season. It was his third 30-point game of the season, but he was only one point shy of his season's high.

Griffin, Willie Reed, and Brice Johnson were traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovi, a future covered first-round draft pick and a future second-round draft pick. In a 104–102 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, he made his Pistons debut three days earlier, scoring 24 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. In a rookie with the Pistons for the first time since Grant Hill (1925 points, ten rebounds, and five assists) in 1994, Griffin became the first player with at least 20 points, ten rebounds, and five assists. In a 115–88 victory over the Phoenix Suns on March 20, 2018, he had a near triple-double with 26 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds. In a 100-96 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets, he scored 21 points, ten rebounds, and 10 assists. Against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 26, he sustained a bone bruise in his right ankle. He then missed the final eight games of the season.

In a 133-132 overtime victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on October 23, 2018, Griffin scored a career-high 50 points, as well as the game-winning free throw. He became the first Pistons player to score 50 points in a game since Richard Hamilton's 51 points in 2006, and the first NBA player to score 50 points in a game during the 2018-19 NBA season. Griffin's point total was his seventh-highest in Pistons history, and he became the fifth different player to reach 50 for Detroit. In a 113–104 victory over the Boston Celtics on December 15, he scored 27 points. He had at least 20 points in his ninth straight game, becoming the first Detroit player to do so since Richard Hamilton in 2008–09. Griffin also surpassed the 12,000-point mark for his career. In a 107-104 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, he had 19 points, 11 assists, and ten rebounds, but also had 10 turnovers. In a 109-104 victory over his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers, on January 12, he scored 44 points. In the fourth quarter of Detroit's 98-94 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, he scored 20 of his game-high 37 points on January 23, 20 of his game-high 37 points. In a 93-89 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, he scored 24 points on January 31. He scored 445 points in January, the most in a single month in Pistons franchise history, beating the previous record set by Isiah Thomas, who had 442 points in March 1983. In a 113-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers on February 25, he had 20 points, ten rebounds, and 10 assists. Griffin made 11 of 15 shots and had 44 points in the first three quarters, with nine of 14 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scoring just one point as the Pistons lost 123-110 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 5, after missing the previous three games due to left knee pain. He missed the first two games of the playoffs after missing four of the last six regular season games due to his ailing left knee. He underwent left knee surgery after the playoffs.

Griffin hasn't played in the first ten games of the 2019-20 season since suffering from left knee surgery. Griffin underwent his second knee surgery on January 7, 2020, after playing 18 games for the Pistons. Griffin was out of action for the remainder of the season as a result of the injury.

Despite the injury, Griffin returned to action at the start of the 2020-2021 season. Griffin struggled in the early stages of the season, averaging 12.3 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game in just 20 games. Griffin played his last game for the Pistons on February 15, 2021, as he was awaiting to be traded or bought out by the team. The Pistons bought Griffin's deal on March 5nd.

Griffin signed with the Brooklyn Nets on March 8, 2021. Griffin won 113-106 over the Washington Wizards on March 21, making his Nets debut, two points, two rebounds, and a block. Griffin had ten points and ten rebounds in a 113–109 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on May 6, his first double-double as a Net in a 113–109 loss.

Griffin re-signed with the Nets on a one-year contract on August 9, 2021. Griffin was dropped from the starting lineup and the rotation largely in favour of LaMarcus Aldridge, who began 17 games early in the season. Griffin lost by 19 points in a 104–124 loss to the Denver Nuggets on February 6, 2022.

Griffin agreed to a one-year contract with the Boston Celtics on September 30, 2022.

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