We all knew this was coming. We could see it when he was at that small, Christian high school in Edmond winning four straight state championships. We witnessed him match up against the best collegiate talent in the country as he left us breathless and led the Sooners to the Elite Eight. Those of us in Oklahoma have known for years what the entire world is beginning to understand…Blake Griffin is pretty good.
Kobe and Lebron are the faces of the NBA, but this season, no player is hogging more highlight time than Griffin. The Clippers power forward is good for at least one jaw-dropping dunk per night and as a rookie, he’s already being mentioned among names like Karl Malone and Tim Duncan. Griffin may not be a superstar yet, but that day is coming soon. To those that say Griffin is overrated (you know who you are Skip Bayless), stop for a second to consider the evidence.
Through 41 games, Griffin is putting up 22.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. Wednesday night against Minnesota, he finally snapped a streak of 27 straight games with a double-double. If you want to put Griffin’s numbers in perspective, he’s the only rookie in 25 years to record a double-double streak of 20 or more games. Shaq never achieved those numbers. Neither did Dwight Howard or Tim Duncan. Only eight players in NBA history have averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds in their rookie seasons. If Griffin keeps up his pace, he’ll be in a select club with household names like Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, and David Robinson.