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| Los Angeles Clippers – No. 32 | |
| Power forward | |
| Born | March 16, 1989 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma[1] |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 251 lb (114 kg) |
| Salary | $4,983,480 |
| High school | Oklahoma Christian School, Edmond, Oklahoma |
| College | Oklahoma (Fr./So.) |
| Draft | 1st overall, 2009 Los Angeles Clippers |
| Pro career | 2009–present |
| Awards | McDonald's All-American (2007) Naismith Award (2009) |
Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association. Griffin was selected first overall in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Blake Griffin played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners. He was named the Associated Press, the John Wooden Award, the Naismith Award and the Sporting News player of the year for the 2008–2009 college basketball season.[2][3]
When combined with Sam Bradford's Heisman Trophy, Oklahoma became the second school to have a top winner in both basketball and football in the same year (Gary Beban won the Heisman Trophy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the USBWA "Player of the Year" award in 1968 for UCLA).[4]
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During his high school tenure he led Oklahoma Christian School (where his father was also his head coach) to four state championships.[5]
For the 2004–2005 season (his sophomore year), he was named to the "Little All-City All-State" team while averaging 13.6 points per game (PPG), and his brother, Taylor, was named "Player of the Year" by The Oklahoman.[6]
As a junior (2005–2006 season), he was named "Player of the Year" by The Oklahoman.[7] In 26 games Griffin averaged 21.7 PPG, 12.5 RPG, and 4.9 assists per game (APG), and blocked 49 shots with 45 steals. He was also named to the Tulsa World "Boys All-State First Team".[8][9]
During 2006–2007 (his senior season) he averaged 26.8 PPG, 15.1 RPG, and 4.9 APG. Griffin was named the Oklahoma "Player of the Year" by both the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman. Additionally, he was Gatorade's "Oklahoma Player of the Year" and named to the 2007 McDonald's All-American and Jordan All-American teams. [5][10] At the McDonald's All-American game in Louisville, Kentucky he won the slam dunk contest.[10]
As a freshman (the 2007–08 season) at Oklahoma, Griffin averaged 14.7 PPG and 9.1 RPG, and led the Sooners to a 23-12 record.[11]
Griffin was named to the Big 12 Conference "First Team" and also the "All Rookie First Team" (the last Sooner to make the conference "All-Rookie" team was Wayman Tisdale in 1983 for the Big Eight Conference).[12]
Griffin finished the 2008-2009 season with a Big 12 Conference record of 30 double-doubles,[13] which was one short of the NCAA record set by David Robinson with 31, set in 1986-1987. He also set a record for the most rebounds in Big 12 Conference history in a single-season, with 504,[13] and won the 2008-2009 Naismith Award for Player of the Year.
On February 14, 2009, a home victory, 95-74, against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Griffin would have one of his best career days to date: 40 points, including 8 of 10 from the free throw line and 16 of 22 from the field (for 72.7%), and 23 rebounds (7 offensive, 16 defensive), in 31 minutes. This marks the first time he has scored 40 or more points, and set career bests for both points and rebounds at OU.[11]
He set a school record with 30 double-doubles for a season by a Sooner (Garfield Heard, 27 games during the 1969–1970 season; and Alvan Adams 26 games during 1973–1974; each had 21).[14][15]
He also became only the third player in the history of the University of Oklahoma men's basketball program to score at least 40 points and get 20 rebounds in a game, after Wayman Tisdale (61 points - 22 rebounds against Texas-San Antonio in 1983) and Alvan Adams (43 points - 25 boards against Iowa State in 1975).[16]
Griffin suffered a sprained Medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee five minutes into the Sooners game against the Kansas Jayhawks, January 14, 2008. Griffin did not return to the game and the Sooners went on to lose, 55-85.[17] He would also miss the following game, a 63-61 win against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on January 19.[11]
Less than two months after injuring his left knee, he injured his right knee in a home victory (64–37) against Texas A&M. The injury this time was torn cartilage, and he had arthroscopic surgery, March 2, 2008. He missed the following game, a March 5 victory of in-state rival Oklahoma State, 68–56, at Stillwater.[18] But was back on the court a week after the injury (March 8) with 14 points and 8 rebounds in 28 minutes versus the Missouri Tigers, a 75–66 win for the Sooners on their home floor.[11]
Griffin received a concussion in a 68–73 loss to the Texas Longhorns in Austin, on February 21, 2009.[19] After a collision with Texas center Dexter Pittman (at the time 6'10", 300lbs), Griffin left the game with about 4 minutes to go in the first half and didn't return.[20] He sat on the bench with a bloody nose and apparently dazed from the impact.[21] It was the Sooners first loss of their conference schedule for the season.[20] After sitting out the next game, a 78–87 loss to Kansas (February 23), Griffin was cleared by the medical staff and returned a week later to get 20 points and 19 rebounds in a 78–63 victory over Texas Tech, February 28, 2009.[22]
On April 7, 2009, Blake Griffin 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 #1 overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA Draft.[23] Griffin played for the Clippers in their 2009 Summer League Team and was one of the stars of the tournament, being named Summer League MVP. However, the day before the 2009–10 NBA season started it was confirmed that Blake Griffin had a stress fracture in his left knee, putting off his NBA debut for several weeks.[24]
On January 13, 2010, after tests revealed that Griffin's knee was not recovering properly, it was reported that Griffin would require surgery to repair the fracture, and will be out for the season.[25]
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Griffin appeared on the cover of NCAA Basketball 10 video game by EA Sports.[32]
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| Los Angeles Clippers – No. 32 | |
| Power forward | |
| Born | March 16, 1989 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma[1] |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 251 lb (114 kg) |
| College | Oklahoma |
| Pro career | 2009–present |
Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American basketball player. He is a power forward for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Griffin played college basketball for two years at the University of Oklahoma, then decided to enter the NBA Draft. In the 2009 NBA Draft, the Clippers chose him with the first pick. However, Griffin broke a kneecap during the preseason and missed the entire 2009-2010 season.[2] He finally played his first regular season NBA game on October 27, 2010. Griffin scored 20 points and had 14 rebounds, although the Clippers lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, 98-88.[3]
   | Griffin dunks to a title - Tulsa World: Griffin dunks to a title |
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