BLAKE GRIFFIN - Power Forward, Los Angeles Clippers
Much like #3 on this list, Kevin Durant, I've gone back and forth on where to put this guy. Initially, I had him a little further down on the list just because he was very unproven having missed his entire actual rookie season with a leg injury. However, as the season progressed it became clear that this man is a once in a generation type of talent. He is the kind of guy that a franchise can draft and change their fortunes, as Lebron did for Cleveland, Carmelo did for Denver and Wade did for Miami. Unfortunately, only DWade remains with his original franchise - a growing trend in the league. Only time will tell if Blake Griffin will be able to resist temptation to jump ship in Los Angeles.
For now though, he is a Clipper and things have never looked so bright for the younger brother of LaLa land NBA franchises. Griffin is on a highlight reel tear we haven't seen since Vince Carter's best years of nightly gravity defying slams. Blake Griffin has electrified the city of Los Angeles much like a young Kobe did and has put himself in position to challenge Lebron and others as the face of the NBA in coming years.
Before he was known simply as Blake, Griffin was an Oklahoma basketball state champion and a McDonald's All American who chose his hometown Sooners over Jim Calhoun's Huskies. While a Sooner Griffin enjoyed to brilliant seasons of college basketball, even winning the Naismith Award for player of the year. Fellow Sooner, Sam Bradford (#9 on this list)won the Heisman the same year, marking the first time in NCAA history that one school had the Naismith and Heisman winners of the same year.
Griffin's trophy case is littered with college accolades despite only playing 2 years. In hist first season of NBA action he's trying to keep up the trophy pace. He's already won a Slam Dunk competition (which was basically his once he stepped on the court, but we'll debate that contest another day) and is well on his way to Rookie of the Year Award - which in my opinion is a joke. He was able to sit on the bench all last season and presumably attend meetings and generally just learn a lot about the NBA game. If that's not an advantage over John Wall and others in the actual rookie class than I am not sure what is. Regardless, his performance warrants whatever awards people want to throw his way.
While many critics may label him a one-trick pony and just a dunk machine, I think it is pretty evident that Griffin's game is much more advanced than other "dunkers" like Darius Miles, Gerald Green or Desmond Mason - athletic types that became trendy in the early 2000s. Right now Griffin's game needs a little refinement, and he'll be the first to tell you that. In a recent interview he even stated that right now much of what he gets offensively and on the boards comes just from playing harder than everyone else. Most would surmise that Griffin's frantic pace of play and energy would be hard to keep up over a whole career, and that he must make adjustments in his game in order to have longevity. Even young Michael Jordan had to develop his jumper and other aspects of his repetoire when jumping over everyone on every play became too much on a nightly basis. Griffin is in the same boat, but he has already made improvements and is developing a nice little post game to go with his unearthly leaping ability in the open court. Every time he plays against great PF like Duncan, Garnett, Stoudemire, etc. you can see how seriously he takes the task and how he is working at picking up things those guys are doing.
His season statistics suggest a player who is much more than one injury filled season into his career. He is 12th in the league in scoring with over 22 PPG and 4th in the league in rebounding at 12.4 RPG. His Points/Rebounds/Assists averages are behind only Lebron and Kevin Love, and ahead of Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant and Amare Stoudemire.
It will be very interesting to see where Griffin's career takes him. At the moment I think the potential is just about endless. Clippers' front office has already made it clear that they intend to make him a Clipper for life, which obviously excites the fan base, but could potentially alienate Griffin. He comes along at a very interesting time in LA when Kobe's reign is beginning to fade, and a potential shift in basketball power could come along in the city. If the Lakers ride out Kobe's career and fade into oblivion as his old tired legs lead them down an aging path, it is conceivable that Griffin - given a decent team - could ignite the front-running city into a blaze of Clipper glory. No city likes something new and flashy quite like LA does. Plus, all the bloods could finally wear their red clippers gear with pride!
No matter what transpires over the next few years, I think we can agree that Griffin will be an exciting player to keep tabs on. Even if his game never gets much better and he just provides us with years of ridiculous dunk highlights I think fans would be happy. At just 21 years old, though, Griffin indeed has some time to become an all-time great. Clippers fans and basketball fans in general will be excited every time he steps out on the hardwood. Just do us all a favor, and next time go over the roof like a real man.
