He plays like a veteran. Yet he is only in his first season in the league and is aged a mere 21 years young.
Blake Griffin appears to be a flat-out certainty for NBA Rookie of the Year honours this season, assuming of course that the status quo remains for the remainder of the long season ahead. He just is that dominant.
Averaging 20.7ppg and 11.6rpg whilst shooting 53.1% from the field, the only flaws you could point out in his game would be his sub-par free throw shooting (58.1%) and lack of shot-blocking prowess despite amazing athleticism. On a nightly basis he is the focus of opposing defences — and most have yet to find a way to slow him down.
Griffin, the first pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, sees his biggest opposition for ROY honours coming from 2010 number one pick, John Wall. The Wizards guard has been incredibly exciting to date, but unfortunately has been unable to string together as many games as he would like. Wall has played 11 games (to Griffin’s 19) and so far is averaging a very impressive 18.1ppg, 9.0apg and 2.7spg.
Whilst Wall’s statistics might look like a worthy competitor to Griffin’s, it’s the actual on-court presence of the Los Angeles Clippers’ power forward that says it all. With the power and athleticism of a young Karl Malone, he is a certain all-star for many seasons to come.
Of course, the season is still young and much could happen between now and April, so let’s enjoy some highlights of Griffin’s athletic prowess in the meantime.
This reverse two-handed dunk came last night against the league-leading San Antonio Spurs, as he led his team to victory with 31 points and 13 rebounds:
And this highlight reel comes from a week earlier as he put up another impressive line against the Sacramento Kings:
