Early Years And High School
Blake Austin Griffin was born to Gail Griffin and Tommy Griffin in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His father, an Afro-Haitian descent, used to play basketball and run track at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He and his brother Taylor were home-schooled until the eighth grade, focusing on multiple sports like baseball, football, and basketball. Notably, he was a football standout at the tight end, safety, and wide receivers positions and was close friends with future NFL QB Sam Bradford.
Blake’s brother was two years older than him. They both entered Oklahoma Christian School to play for his father, thriving in back-to-back seasons and leading their high school team to two state basketball titles. They rode a perfect 29-0 record in 2003 and put the cherry on top of the sundae with a Class 3A boys state title.
His sophomore year was as good as the first one, taking home the Class 3A state championship again and leading the Saints to a 24-2 record. He gathered plenty of state-wide attention and became one of the biggest sensations in college hoops, playing AAU basketball against Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson’s AAU team.
Griffin’s junior campaign saw his team demoted to Class 2A, but the lesser competition didn’t take a toll on his game. He led the team to a 27-1 record and another state championship, earning MVP honors and averaging nearly 22 points, 13 boards, and five dimes per game. Unsurprisingly, Griffin won Player of the Year by The Oklahoman, which granted him plenty of nationwide attention from some of the best college programs, such as UNC, Kansas, Texas, and Duke. However, he eventually decided to follow his brother’s steps and commit to the Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Jeff Capel.
With his college future already settled, Blake went back to school and had an even more impressive season. He averaged 27 points, 15 boards, five assists, and nearly three blocks per contest and his team finished the season with 26 wins and just three losses. He carried his team’s offense in the playoffs and once again led his team to the Class 2A championship with back-to-back MVP honors.
After leading his team to a 106-6 record and four high school state titles over four years (which should be enough for them to change names to ‘Team Blake’), Griffin appeared like a can’t-miss talent in college hoops. He thrived at the McDonald’s All-American game, won the Powerade Jam Fest Slam Dunk contest, and was a consensus top-20 prospect in the nation.
Blake Griffin – College Basketball
Following that impressive high school career, Blake Griffin committed to the Oklahoma Sooner as the highest-rated prospect in program history. He made an immediate impact by leading them to a 23-12 record and nearly averaging a double-double, turning heads right away in the Big 12 and looking poised to make the NBA as a one-and-done prospect.
However, he suffered multiple knee injuries during his freshman year with the Sooners, which eventually hurt his draft stock. Despite still being considered a lottery pick, Griffin decided to come back to college and get healthier and stronger after earning multiple accolades, including the Big 12 All-Rookie Team and First-Team All-Big 12.
Griffin led the Sooners to a 12-0 start in his second season. He had two 21-rebound performances and became the first Big 12 player to get back-to-back 20-point, 20-board games in conference history. Then, later in the season, he had his best game as a college basketball player, scoring 40 points with 23 boards to enter both the Big 12 and Oklahoma record books.
Blake was the most spectacular player in the nation by a long stretch that season. Everybody wanted to watch Blake Griffin play, and he sure lived up to the hype by leading his team to the tournament and stealing all the headlines with a 33-point, 17-board outing vs. the Michigan Wolverines. However, his team couldn’t get past the UNC Tar Heels in the South Regional Finals, putting an end to his spell in college.
Once again, Griffin piled up awards left and right in his second year with the Sooners. He averaged nearly 23 points and 15 rebounds per game, leading the NCAA in rebounding (14.4 RPG) and his conference in both points and rebounds. He also set a Big 12 mark with 15 games scoring 20+ points and grabbing 15+ records and set Oklahoma and Conference records for doubled-doubles (30), rebounds per game (14.4), total rebounds (504), and free-throw attempts (324).
Unsurprisingly, and despite not winning the NCAA championship, Griffin took home every single National Player of the Year award after that historic season. He became the first player in school history to take home the John Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Naismith Awad, Associated Press Player of the Year, and Adolph Rupp Trophy. Needless to say, he was a lock to enter the NBA next season.
Blake Griffin – Entering The NBA
As expected, Griffin declared that he was entering the 2009 NBA Draft and was a virtual lock to become the first-overall pick. The Los Angeles Clippers selected him ahead of players like James Harden, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, and Jrue Holiday, and expected him to lead the franchise past their lifelong struggles.
Griffin signed his rookie deal and got to work right away, dominating with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Summer League squad and earning Summer League MVP honors. Unfortunately, he suffered a stress fracture in his left knee after an emphatic dunk in the final game of the preseason. He wasn’t expected to be out for the year but suffered a couple of setbacks in his recovery, so he was eventually forced to undergo surgery and miss his entire rookie season.
Blake Griffin – The Lob City Los Angeles Clippers
Griffin worked on his body to be ready for the upcoming campaign. He was the centerpiece of the Los Angeles Clippers’ project, and they weren’t going to take any chances. Notably, Griffin made an immediate impact upon his debut, logging 20 points, and 14 boards in his very first game. Then, in just his first season with the team, he set a franchise record for most straight double-doubles (23), a streak that would eventually end at 27. That was the longest streak by a rookie in nearly 45 years.
Griffin scored 44 points vs. the New York Knicks, and then topped his career high with a 47-point explosion vs. the Indiana Pacers, setting a franchise record for the highest-scoring game by a rookie. Also, he became the first debutant with at least two 40+ games since Allen Iverson did it in 1997. Needless to say, his performances granted him his very first All-Star selection, becoming the first rookie to earn that honor since Yao Ming in 2003. Griffin also put on a show in the Slam Dunk Contest, jumping over a Kia sedan to take home the trophy with ease.
The talented power forward ran away with the Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards every single month, joining future teammate Chris Paul as the only first-year player to achieve that milestone. Notably, he didn’t miss a single game that season and led all rookies in points, boards, and double-doubles, becoming the first unanimous Rookie of the Year since 1990 and looking poised to dominate the NBA for years to come.
The next offseason was key for the Clippers’ project. Then-commissioner David Stern vetoed a trade that would’ve sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, so the Clippers swoop in and eventually landed the ‘Point God.’ It was the start of the ‘Lob City’ era, a reference to Paul’s alley-oop passes and Griffin’s poster dunks. Also, it turned the Clippers into a legit contender in the West for the first time since the Buffalo Braves era.
The Clippers finished the season with a 40-26 record and clinched their first playoff berth in six years. They knocked off the Memphis Grizzlies in an exciting first-round series, but couldn’t keep up with Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals. Still, Griffin earned his first All-NBA selection after averaging nearly 21 points and 11 rebounds per contest.
In the offseason, the Clippers and Griffin agreed to a contract extension worth nearly $100 million over five years. He was also selected by Team USA to play in the 2022 Olympics, but he was a late scratch after suffering a knee injury. He worked on his body to stay ready for the season and even though his scoring numbers took a dip, the Clippers finished the year with a franchise-best 56-26 record and their first Pacific Division title ever. Still, they lost to the Grizzlies in the first round of the postseason.
Blake Griffin – Doc Rivers Arrives
Despite big improvements and their first divisional title, the Clippers fired Vinny del Negro to replace him with former NBA champion Doc Rivers. Rivers and Paul made the most of Griffin’s athleticism and helped him average a career-high 24.1 points a game and earning his fourth straight All-Star berth. He also set a franchise mark with 31 straight 20+ point performances and led the team to back-to-back Pacific Division titles.
The Clippers one-upped their franchise record by winning 57 games, earning the third-best mark in the West. Griffin helped the team beat the Golden State Warriors with a 35-point outburst in the first round, but the Oklahoma City Thunder were just too much to handle in the second round. Also, the team was going through some major controversy, after then-owner Donald Sterling was caught firing racial slurs about Magic Johnson. Commissioner Adam Silver banned him for life and forced him to sell the team, with Steve Ballmer stepping in with a record-breaking $2 million bid.
The Clippers were contenders again next season even with Griffin missing six weeks with a staph infection. His rebounding averages hit a career-low at 7.6 boards per game, but he became more of a playmaker with 5.3 dimes per contest. The Clippers made the playoffs again and they beat the San Antonio Spurs in an exciting seven-game first series. Unfortunately, that would be the end of the road, as the James Harden-led Houston Rockets would beat them in seven games in the second round.
Blake Griffin – Struggling With Injuries
That was the last campaign in which Griffin was actually healthy. The Clippers started the season slow and things only got more complicated, as their All-Star power forward would miss an indefinite time with a torn left quadriceps. Then, he missed an additional month and a half due to a hand injury sustained during an argument with a team staff member, an incident for which he was also suspended. He eventually missed more than half of the season before re-aggravating his calf injury in the first round of the playoffs vs. the Blazers. The Clippers went on to lose that series in six games.
Griffin was mostly healthy for next season, making 61 appearances for the 51-win Clippers. The 2016-17 season was also when he reached his 4,000th career rebounds, becoming the second-fastest player to record at least 8,5000 points, 4,000 boards, and 1,500 assists in NBA history (417 games). Later on, in the season, he reached the 9,000 and 10,000 point plateaus, joining Randy Smith as the only player to get that mark in franchise history.
On November 5, 2016, Griffin scored a season-high 28 points in a 116–92 win over the San Antonio Spurs, helping the Clippers start the season 5–1. He helped them improve to a league-best 7–1 with 22 points and 13 rebounds against the Portland Trail Blazers on November 9. With his fifth rebound of the night, Griffin reached 4,000 in 417 career games, the second-fastest player since 1983–84 to reach 8,500 points, 4,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists; Chris Webber did so in 408 games.F On November 11, he helped the Clippers improve to a franchise-best 8–1 with 25 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The following day, in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Griffin joined an exclusive club with 9,000 career points, 4,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists. He became the fastest player to reach that plateau since Larry Bird.
On December 19, 2016, he was ruled out until some point in January after requiring minor surgery on his right knee. He returned to action on January 24, 2017, scoring 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting in a 121–110 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. On February 6, in just his sixth game since minor knee surgery that had him sidelined for 20 games, Griffin recorded his fifth career triple-double, and first of the season, in three quarters, finishing with 26 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high-tying 11 assists in a 118–109 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Two days later, he scored a season-high 32 points in a 119–115 win over the New York Knicks. On February 26, 2017, he set a new season high with 43 points in a 124–121 overtime win over the Charlotte Hornets. On April 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Griffin reached 10,000 career points. He became the second player in franchise history to reach that mark, joining Randy Smith, who scored 10,467 of his club-record 12,735 points when the team was known as the Buffalo Braves.
On April 22, 2017, Griffin was ruled out for the remainder of the 2017 NBA Playoffs with an injury to the plantar plate of his right big toe suffered during the Clippers’ 111–106 win over the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of their Western Conference first round playoff series the night before.
On July 19, 2017, Griffin re-signed with the Clippers to a five-year, $173 million contract. On November 22, 2017, he had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 116–103 win over the Atlanta Hawks, helping the Clippers snap a nine-game losing streak.Three days later, he made a 10-foot jumper with 3.2 seconds remaining and had a season-high 33 points to lead the Clippers to a 97–95 win over the Sacramento Kings. On November 28, 2017, he was ruled out for approximately two months after sustaining an MCL sprain against the Los Angeles Lakers the previous night.
He returned to action earlier than expected on December 29 against the Lakers, scoring a game-high 24 points in a 121–106 win. On January 22, 2018, he had a triple-double with 32 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists in a 126–118 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Griffin notched his seventh career regular season triple-double, and second of the season. It was his third 30-point game of the season, and he was one point shy of his season high.
Blake Griffin – Trade To Detroit Pistons
Just a month after signing a contract extension, the Clippers shockingly traded Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons alongside Brice Johnson and Willie Reed in return for Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, Avery Bradley, a first-round pick, and a second-round pick. He hit the ground running and was a nightly triple-double threat, but was forced to miss the end of the season with a bone bruise in his foot.
Next season and finally healthy, Griffin look poised to have his best season yet. He exploded for a career-high 50 points, including a game-winning freebie to beat the Sixers. It was the first 50+ point game by a Pistons player since Rip Hamilton’s 51 13 years earlier, as well as the seventh-highest scoring performance by a player in Detroit Pistons’ franchise history.
The main event at Little Caesars Arena, Griffin was having one of the best scoring seasons of his career, topping the 20-point plateau in nine games in a row and reaching 12,000 career points. He also set the franchise record for most points in a month (445 in January, topping Isiah Thomas’ 442 from March 1983). Griffin led the Pistons to a 41-41 record and the eighth seed in the East but was forced to miss the first two games of the playoffs with a knee injury. Eventually, the Detroit Pistons were swept in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Blake Griffin underwent knee surgery in the offseason and was sidelined for the season’s first ten games. He went back to the court for 18 games before undergoing a second procedure and missing the remainder of the season. He came back for the 2020-21 campaign, but his scoring average took a massive dip, and didn’t look motivated to play for a rebuilding, ever-struggling team. Eventually, he was bought out of his contract and became an unrestricted free agent.
Blake Griffin – A Fresh Start With The Brooklyn Nets
Following his buyout with the Detroit Pistons, Griffin signed a short-term deal with the Brooklyn Nets, boasting a lineup that already featured Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Notably, he dunked the ball in his first possession with the team after failing to record a dunk in two years, prompting speculation regarding his efforts with the Pistons.
The Brooklyn Nets failed to achieve their goal but decided to bring back Griffin for another season. He started 17 games for them but was eventually demoted to make room for LaMarcus Aldridge, who came back from early retirement. Griffin was ultimately left out of the rotation and failed to score more than 20 points in two seasons in Brooklyn.
Blake Griffin – NBA Future
Griffin’s playing time reached an all-time low under coach Steve Nash. While the athleticism is still there, he’s no longer the high-flying, poster-dunking machine he used to be. Age and injuries have taken a toll on his first step and hops, so he oriented his game more towards the perimeter. That, plus the fact that he’s not much of a defender, makes it tougher for him to find a big role in the future.
The former first-overall pick will soon turn 33 years old, so he’s heading towards the sunset of his career already. Still, there’s a chance a contending team is willing to give him a limited role and a chance to win an NBA championship before retiring, but he’s not likely to sign a lucrative, long-term deal ever again at this point. Maybe, he’ll run it back with the Brooklyn Nets for another season.
Blake Griffin – Award And Accolades
Blake Griffin’s career got off to a Hall of Fame-kind of start. And even though injuries stopped him from keeping that pace up, he still managed to put together quite an interesting resumé.
NBA Carrer:
- 6× NBA All-Star
- 1x NBA Rookie of the Year
- 1x NBA All-Rookie First Team
- 3× All-NBA Second Team
- 2× All-NBA Third Team
- 1x NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion
From his College Basketball days:
- NCAA leader in total rebounds
- Big 12 Player of the Year
- Big 12 All-Rookie Team
- All-Big 12 First Team
- National college player of the year
- NABC Player of the Year
- Naismith College Player of the Year
- Sports Illustrated Player of the Year
- Consensus first-team All-American
- AP All-American First Team
- AP National Player of the Year
- Sporting News Player of the Year
- Adolph Rupp Trophy
- Oscar Robertson Trophy
- John Wooden Award
- Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Awards
- No. 23 retired by Oklahoma Sooners
High School honors:
- McDonald’s All-American
- McDonald’s All-American Slam Dunk Champion
- Third-team Parade All-American
- Tulsa World Player of the Year
- EA Sports All-American Second Team
- Parade All-American Third Team
- 2x The Oklahoman Player of the Year
- Oklahoma Boys All-State First Team
- Little All-City All-State Team
- Tulsa World Boys All-State First Team
- 2x Class 2A State Championship
- 2x Class 2A Tournament MVP
- 2x Class 3A State Championship
What Happened To Blake Griffin And The Clippers?
It was shocking to see the Clippers trade Griffin just one month after signing him to a contract extension. He was clearly hurt and disappointed by the way they handled the trade but claimed he understood that it was all business, not personal. Per his own words, the Clippers just felt like he wasn’t what they needed to pursue a championship:
“I understand for sure through a business point of view, I completely understand. A team wants to go a certain way, they had a plan that they wanted to win a championship very quickly, and they didn’t think that was gonna happen with me there,” Griffin told Graham Bensinger in 2021, while also revealing the front office ghosted him before he found out about the trade on Twitter.
Does Blake Griffin Have A Twin?
No, but he does have an older brother. As we already mentioned, the Griffins had two children. Taylor Griffin also pursued a career as a professional basketball player and played at both forward spots. He also played for the Oklahoma Sooners from 2005 to 2009 and was taken in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft, the same class as his brother.
However, Taylor didn’t find much success in his lone season with the Phoenix Suns and spent most of his time in the D-League with Iowa Energy. He also played for Liège Basket, Dakota Wizards, Santa Cruz Warriors, and Pallacanestro Trapani before retiring in 2016. He won one D-League title and averaged less than two points per game in the NBA.
What’s Blake Griffin’s Vertical?
One of Blake Griffin’s most impressive traits was his vertical leap. He reached a max vertical of 35.5″, which is remarkable for a 6’9”, 250-pound specimen. Someone that big and that strong shouldn’t be able to fly so high.
What’s Blake Griffin’s Net Worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Blake Griffin has a net worth of $110 Million. He’s got endorsements with Panini America, Kia Motors, Vizio, GameFly, and Subway, among others. He was also featured on the covers of both NCAA Basketball 10 and NBA 2K13.
Griffin has netted $254,904,829 in playing salary alone in 13 years in the NBA. After completing a one-year, $2,641,691 contract with the Brooklyn Nets for the 2021-22 season, he’s currently a free agent.
