Tonight may just be another night in the NBA, but it’s not for the Los Angeles Clippers, who will likely be celebrating the 24th birthday of their young star, Blake Griffin.
At the ripe age of 24, Griffin has already become the face of the Clippers and has helped restore the once lost franchise into NBA relevancy. At 45-21, the Clippers are flirting with a top-three seed in the Western Conference and one of the leagues best records. Many believe this is because of the wizardry of Chris Paul, but fail to recognize the consistent All-Star production from Griffin that he’s been giving the Clippers since his rookie season.
As a rookie he set a franchise record with 23 consecutive double-doubles, became the first rookie to twice score 40-plus points since Allen Iverson (1996-’97) and became the first rookie All-Star since Yao Ming (2002-’03) and the first rookie All-Star voted on by the coaches since Tim Duncan (1998-’99). Two triple-doubles averages of 22.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game (career 20.8 points 10.7 rebounds) later he was voted Rookie of the Year – the first unanimous winner of the award since David Robinson (1990).
As you may know, Griffin has been known to wow on and off the court. Below are 10 of his best career plays to this point, and of course, a few of his best moments on the TV screen.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ9o7owSUcQ]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5qbXzoA8AI]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knkYM9hOmas]
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Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com.