Blake Griffin

Early life

Griffin was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Tommy Griffin, who is of Afro-Haitian descent, and Gail Griffin, who is white. His father was a basketball center and track standout at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Griffin and his older brother, Taylor Griffin, were home-schooled by their mother from first grade until Taylor was in the tenth grade and Blake was in eighth. Growing up, Griffin was good friends with future NFL quarterback Sam Bradford. Bradford's father owned a gym where Blake and Taylor played basketball. Before deciding to focus on basketball, Griffin also played baseball as a first baseman and football as a wide receiver, safety, and tight end.

High school career

In 2003, Griffin followed his brother to Oklahoma Christian School, where they played under their father, head coach Tommy Griffin. They played together during the 2003–04 and 2004–05 high school seasons, winning two state basketball championships. In his freshman year, the Oklahoma Christian Saints posted a perfect 29–0 season and won the Class 3A boys state championship game at the State Fair Arena against Riverside Indian School, 55–50.

In Griffin's sophomore year, the Saints repeated as Class 3A state champions, defeating Sequoyah-Tahlequah 51–34, where he scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The team finished the season with a 24–2 record, with Griffin averaging 13.6 points per game. He was later named to the Little All-City All-State team in what was his final high school season with his brother. Taylor went on to accept a scholarship to play college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners. During the summer of 2005, Blake was a member of the Athletes First AAU team, where he played against Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson's AAU team, the DC Blue Devils.

During Griffin's junior season, the Oklahoma Christian basketball team was moved down to Class 2A from Class 3A. As he began his third season with the Saints, he was quickly developing as a player, as he led them to a third straight state championship. He scored 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and recorded six blocks in the finals as Oklahoma Christian defeated Washington High School, 57–40. He 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. For his efforts, he was named The Oklahoman Player of the Year and to the Tulsa World Boys All-State First Team. His play attracted the attention of the new basketball head coach for Oklahoma, Jeff Capel, who first heard of him through his brother, Taylor. That spring, Capel saw him play for the first time and was quickly impressed. Capel liked the fact that Griffin had not yet become a household name among recruiters and felt he was exactly the player whom he needed to rebuild the Oklahoma men's basketball program with. Griffin had been considering Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, and Texas, but his brother eventually sold him on joining Oklahoma when he raved about the direction of the Sooners and the chance to play together again for his home state.

Griffin committed to Oklahoma before the start of his senior season. He went on to average 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.9 blocks per game as a senior while leading the team to a 26–3 record. In a game against Oklahoma City Southeast, he finished with 41 points, 28 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Saints advanced through the playoffs, defeating Crescent in the quarterfinals and Foyil in the semifinals to earn a berth in the Class 2A state championship once again. On March 10, 2007, he played his final high school game in the state title game against Pawnee High School. Griffin registered 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks, as the Saints defeated Pawnee 81–50, winning their fourth straight state title. He was named the Class 2A state tournament MVP for the second consecutive year after averaging 26.6 points per game in the tournament. During his four-year run, the Oklahoma Christian Saints posted a 106–6 overall record.

College career

Freshman season (2007–2008)

Griffin was one of the highest rated and most decorated recruits ever at Oklahoma. As a freshman at Oklahoma, he averaged 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds and led the Sooners to a 23–12 record. He ranked ninth in scoring, fourth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage in the Big 12 Conference. In a game against the Kansas Jayhawks, he suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee five minutes into the game. Less than two months after injuring his left knee, he injured his right knee in a home victory against Texas A&M. The injury this time was torn cartilage, and he had arthroscopic surgery on March 2, 2008. He missed the following game, a victory over in-state rival Oklahoma State Cowboys, but was back on the court a week after the injury with 14 points and eight rebounds in a win versus Missouri. Griffin was a first-team all-district pick by the USBWA and NABC, and was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team and to the first-team All-Big 12 selection by league coaches and Associated Press. He became the first Sooner to make the conference All-Rookie team since Wayman Tisdale in 1983 for the Big Eight Conference. He was expected to be a lottery pick in the 2008 NBA draft but decided to return to college to give himself time to mature physically and try to help Oklahoma win the NCAA championship.

Sophomore season (2008–2009)

In Griffin's sophomore season, the Sooners started out the season winning their first 12 games before falling to the Arkansas Razorbacks. In the third game of the season, in a win against the Davidson Wildcats, he scored 25 points and grabbed 21 rebounds. The very next game, he had 35 points and 21 rebounds against Gardner–Webb, becoming the first player in Big 12 history to record back-to-back games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. This earned him three consecutive Big 12 player of the week honors and finished the season with a record-tying six player of the week honors. In a home victory against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, he set career-bests for both points and rebounds with 40 points and 23 rebounds, becoming the only player in Big 12 history and the third player in the history of the University of Oklahoma men's basketball program to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a game, joining Wayman Tisdale (61 points and 22 rebounds in 1983) and Alvan Adams (43 points and 25 rebounds in 1975).

On February 21, Griffin received a concussion in a loss to the Texas Longhorns, when he caught an inadvertent shot to the face from the open hand of Texas center Dexter Pittman. He sat out the second half during the Sooners loss with a bloody nose. It was the Sooners' first loss of their conference schedule for the season. After sitting out the next game, a loss to Kansas Jayhawks, he was cleared by the medical staff and returned a week later to get 20 points and 19 rebounds in a victory over Texas Tech. Oklahoma finished second in the conference with a 13–3 record but fell short in the first game of the Big 12 tournament to Oklahoma State. In the NCAA tournament, Oklahoma was seeded No. 2 in the South Region with a 27–5 record. In a second-round win over the Michigan Wolverines, Griffin scored 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and became just the second player in the 2000s with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in an NCAA tournament game. The Sooners ended up losing to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the South Regional final.

Griffin averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game during the regular season and earned All-American First Team honors. He led the NCAA in rebounding and was also the Big 12 scoring and rebounding leader. Griffin recorded at least 20 points and 15 rebounds 15 times, which is a Big 12 record. He also set school and Big 12 single-season records for most rebounds (504), rebounding average (14.4), and double-doubles (30), and his free throw attempts (324) were the most by a Sooner in a single-season. With 30 double-doubles during the season, he was one short of the NCAA record of 31 set by David Robinson in 1986–1987. His total of 504 rebounds were the most in a season by an NCAA Division I player since Indiana State's Larry Bird had 505 in 1978–79 and his rebounding average of 14.4 was the highest since Wake Forest's Tim Duncan averaged 14.7 in 1996–97.

Professional career

Los Angeles Clippers (2009–2018)

On April 7, 2009, Griffin announced that he would give up his final two years of eligibility and declared for the NBA draft after his sophomore year. A press conference announcing his decision was aired nationally on ESPNews. He was selected as the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA draft. Griffin's college jersey number of 23 was already taken by Marcus Camby, so he swapped the digits and wore No. 32 with the Clippers. Griffin played for the Clippers' Summer League Team and was named Summer League MVP. In their final preseason game, he injured his kneecap as he landed after a dunk. The day before the 2009–10 season started, it was confirmed that Griffin had a stress fracture in his left knee, delaying his NBA debut for seven weeks. After resting the stress fracture for several weeks, tests revealed that his knee was not recovering properly. In January 2010, Griffin had surgery on his broken left kneecap, causing him to miss the remainder of the 2009–10 season.

Since he missed the entire 2009–10 season, Griffin was still considered a rookie during the 2010–11 season. In his NBA debut, against the Portland Trail Blazers, Griffin registered 20 points and 14 rebounds. In a home game against the Golden State Warriors, he set a franchise record for most consecutive double-doubles, with 23. His streak of consecutive double-doubles, which ended at 27 games on January 19 in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, was the longest rookie double-double streak since 1968. On November 11, 2010, Griffin scored a then career-high 44 points against the New York Knicks and on January 17, 2011, against the Indiana Pacers, he scored a career-high 47 points and set a Clippers franchise record for most points by a rookie. He became the first rookie to have two 40+ point games since Allen Iverson during the 1996–97 season.

Griffin was voted to the 2011 NBA All-Star Game by coaches as a reserve on the Western Conference squad, becoming the first rookie to play in the All-Star game since Yao Ming in 2003 and the first rookie voted to the game by coaches since Tim Duncan in 1998. He also participated in the 2011 Rookie Challenge and won the Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star break. On March 23, 2011, in a double-overtime win over the Washington Wizards, Griffin recorded his first career triple-double with 33 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists. He recorded his second triple-double with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in the final game of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Detroit Pistons (2018–2021)

On January 29, 2018, Griffin, along with Willie Reed and Brice Johnson, was traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanović, a future protected first-round draft pick, and a future second-round draft pick. With the Pistons, he returned to his college jersey number of 23, as No. 32 was retired for Rip Hamilton in Detroit. He made his debut for the Pistons three days later, recording 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a 104–102 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Griffin became the first player with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in a debut with the Pistons since Grant Hill (25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists) in 1994. On March 20, 2018, he had a near triple-double with 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in a 115–88 win over the Phoenix Suns. Two days later, he recorded 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 100–96 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets. On March 26, he suffered a bone bruise in his right ankle against the Los Angeles Lakers. He subsequently missed the final eight games of the season.

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

Brooklyn Nets (2021–2022)

On March 8, 2021, Griffin signed with the Brooklyn Nets. On March 21, Griffin made his debut for the Nets, logging two points, two rebounds and a block in a 113–106 win over the Washington Wizards. On May 6, Griffin logged his first double-double as a Net with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a 113–109 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

On August 9, 2021, Griffin re-signed with the Nets on a one-year deal. After starting 17 games early in the season, Nets head coach Steve Nash removed Griffin from the starting lineup and the rotation entirely in favor of LaMarcus Aldridge. On February 6, 2022, Griffin scored a season-high 19 points in a 104–124 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Boston Celtics (2022–2023)

On September 30, 2022, Griffin signed a 1-year deal with the Boston Celtics for the veteran's minimum salary. Due to the Celtics having many retired jerseys, Griffin had difficulty selecting a jersey number; he eventually chose No. 91 in honor of Dennis Rodman.

Retirement

On April 16, 2024, Griffin announced his retirement from professional basketball.

Player profile

Standing at 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 m) and weighing 251 lb (114 kg), Griffin played mostly as a power forward. In his rookie year, he averaged 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game, becoming just the 20th rookie in NBA history to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds a game in the shot clock era. He was an exceptional athlete that was known for highlight dunks from alley-oops, similarly to his former teammate DeAndre Jordan, which were integral to the Clippers during the era dubbed "Lob City".

Rob Mahoney, in a January 2011 post in The New York Times basketball blog, singled out Griffin's playmaking abilities stating, "The overtly dominant aspects of Griffin's play have made him one of the season's greatest delights, but his game clearly stretches beyond the scoring and rebounding columns...his passing aptitude should serve as a reminder of the substance in his game. The dunks are great, but it's his multiple-layered impact that has paved his early road to stardom." Later into his career, Griffin attempted fewer dunks and less physically demanding play due to knee issues. In the 2014–15 season, he developed a jumpshot which yielded his career-high 40 percent from three-point range, continuing to extend his scoring to the perimeter in following seasons. Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash commented on Griffin's transformation, "...He's adapted and become a guy that handles the ball very well. He passes very well, he's making 3s. He's adapted and changed his game."

Career statistics

Awards and honors

NBA

NBA All-Star: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019

All-NBA Second Team: 2012, 2013, 2014

All-NBA Third Team: 2015, 2019

NBA Rookie of the Year: 2011

NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2011

NBA Slam Dunk Champion: 2011

Western Conference Player of the Month: March 2014

Western Conference Rookie of the Month: November 2010, December 2010, January 2011, February 2011, March 2011, April 2011

College

2009 Naismith College Player of the Year

2009 NABC Player of the Year

2009 AP National Player of the Year

2009 AP All-American First Team

2009 John Wooden Award

2009 Adolph Rupp Trophy

2009 Oscar Robertson Trophy

2009 Sports Illustrated Player of the Year

2009 Sporting News Player of the Year

2009 NCAA rebounding leader

Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards

2009 Big 12 Player of the Year

2009 All-Big 12 First Team

2008 All-Big 12 First Team

2008 Big 12 All-Rookie Team

High school

Class 2A State Championship: 2006, 2007

Class 2A Tournament MVP: 2006, 2007

Class 3A State Championship: 2004, 2005

2007 McDonald's All-American

2007 McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Champion

2007 EA Sports All-American Second Team

2007 Parade All-American Third Team

2007 Tulsa World Player of the Year

The Oklahoman Player of the Year: 2006, 2007

2007 Oklahoma Boys All-State First Team

2006 Tulsa World Boys All-State First Team

2005 Little All-City All-State Team

Off the court

Television pursuits

Griffin made his acting debut in 2016 in the Broad City episode "B&B-NYC". Griffin also appeared in the Whitney Cummings comedy The Female Brain; of his performance, critic Christy Lemire wrote, "Griffin especially impresses with his deadpan delivery and timing. He may have a whole 'nother career waiting for him if this whole NBA thing doesn't work out." On October 1, 2020, it was announced that Griffin would host and present Double Cross with Blake Griffin, a hidden camera television series. It premiered on March 19, 2021, on TruTV.

In 2020, Griffin appeared on the 10th episode of season 5 of The Eric Andre Show alongside Stormy Daniels.

In 2025, Griffin, Andrew Luck, and Megan Rapinoe voiced themselves in The Simpsons's "Full Heart, Empty Pool", as a trio of retired athletes competing in Homer Simpson's "noodleball" tournament.

Starting with the 2025–26 season, Griffin is a panelist on NBA on Prime Video's studio coverage, along with host, Taylor Rooks, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Udonis Haslem.

Comedy

Griffin's interest in stand-up comedy developed during his stay in Los Angeles, and after a stint on Funny or Die, he made his comedy debut hosting the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal in July 2016. In December that same year he hosted his own show, Comedy by Blake. He appeared as a roaster in the Comedy Central Roast of Alec Baldwin in 2019.

Endorsements

In 2011, Panini America signed Griffin to an exclusive long-term deal that will feature his autographs and memorabilia in their products. Griffin was on the cover of NCAA Basketball 10 and was also on the cover of NBA 2K13 alongside fellow NBA stars Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose. He has appeared regularly in commercials for Kia Motors, Subway, Vizio, and GameFly.

Legal issues

Griffin was charged with misdemeanor battery as a result of an October 2014 Las Vegas encounter. He allegedly seized a cell phone from its owner, Daniel Schuman, grabbed Schuman's neck twice and slapped him, after he took a picture of a group of Clippers players. The charges were dismissed in March 2015 for lack of evidence.

Philanthropy

In 2010, Griffin started a fundraiser called "Dunking for Dollars", in which he donated $100 to fight childhood obesity for every dunk he made during the season. The Kia sedan that Griffin jumped over to win the Slam Dunk Contest was donated for a charity auction on AutoTrader.com with proceeds benefiting Stand Up to Cancer. Stand Up to Cancer also has a fund-raising site called "Team Blake" in honor of Griffin's close friend Wilson Holloway, who died after a three-year fight with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

On March 13, 2020, Griffin pledged to give $100,000 to the staff of the Little Caesars Arena who were unable to work during the suspension of the 2019–20 NBA season because of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Personal life

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

Griffin has two children with his ex-fiancee, Brynn Cameron, who is the sister of American football player Jordan Cameron.

Filmography