Because of his outstanding skills, it was expected that he would be a lottery pick for the 2008 NBA draft. During his freshman season, he had an average of 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds. They played together during the 2003––05 high school seasons, winning two state basketball championships. Griffin won four high school state titles at Oklahoma Christian School.Īt Oklahoma, Blake Griffin became one of the most highly rated and decorated recruits. In 2003, Griffin followed his brother to Oklahoma Christian School, where they played under their father, head coach Tommy Griffin. 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. 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. 1 overall in 2009 NBA Draft.Blake Griffin was born on March 16, 1989, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Tommy Griffin and Gail Griffin. He is a power forward in the NBA. He said, in part, “I think you can’t really expect us to win a game when I play that poorly, shoot that badly and have that many turnovers. After a rare off-game Wednesday, during which he shot just 6 of 18 from the field and had four turnovers in a loss to Indiana, Griffin put the hammer down hard on himself. Not surprisingly, because of how hard he does work to improve his game with all the body and soul stuff, Griffin is also his own worst critic. Just literally trying to do everything every day, as opposed to, ‘I’m just going to get some shots up today.’” “Not just concentrating on shooting, but doing a lot of stuff in the post, doing stuff off the dribble, getting into the lane, ball-handling. “As far as my workouts, just mixing it up and doing a lot,” Griffin said. In 14 playoff games, Griffin averaged 25.5 points, 12.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists while averaging a whopping 39.8 minutes. Griffin also totaled 21 assists with Paul on the floor in a pair of first-round games against the Spurs. In one - a 117-101 win at Houston in Game 1 of the conference semifinals - Griffin had 13 assists. Paul missed two of 14 playoff games a season ago. “What he’s doing on the perimeter, you know, playing point forward a lot last year when Chris Paul was out, was just sensational.” “What he did in the playoffs last year and in prior years … he’s not just a dump-it-down-into-the-post and score lobs like maybe his first, second year of his career,” Vogel said. Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel points out this past postseason and how outstanding Griffin was with the ball in his hands. There are few bigs that can do that, but he’s one of them.” His handle has gotten better and all that with his work, but he just has great instincts. And if you can figure out a way of using him, he’ll surprise you with his vision,’” Rivers said. His vision and passing skills are superb.Ĭlippers coach Doc Rivers recalls the story how Tony Brown, a former assistant when Rivers coached the Boston Celtics, first told Rivers of Griffin’s passing skills during a telephone conversation after Rivers took the Clippers job in 2013. They’re not supposed to be able to facilitate the way he does, either. Players who are 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds aren’t supposed to shoot as gracefully as Griffin. “But now that he has those skills to go with his athleticism and his strength … he’s having a heck of a year so far.” His jump shot looks better than it ever has because I know he’s put in a ton of work. “He’s another player that is an All-Star that has taken his game to another level. “Blake’s incredible,” Golden State Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said recently. The way he sometimes glides into it and gracefully goes up to shoot has been a beautiful thing to watch. To say the least, Griffin is owner of a sweet mid-range jumper. As noteworthy as anything, he was shooting a career-best 43 percent from 16 feet and beyond out to the 3-point line, in a season when he is taking 42.5 percent of his shots from that distance - his highest such career percentage.
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