Blake Griffin

BIOGRAPHY

Blake Austin Griffin was born on March 16, 1989, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Of mixed-race descent, he is the son of Gail Griffin and Tommy Griffin, the latter of Afro-Haitian lineage and a former basketball player and track athlete at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Griffin’s older brother, Taylor Griffin, and he were homeschooled by their mother until Griffin was in eighth grade and Taylor a tenth grader. Griffin additionally maintained a close boyhood friendship with future NFL star, Sam Bradford, whose father owned a gym where the Griffin brothers honed their basketball skills.

Despite demonstrating strong abilities as a baseball first baseman and football wide receiver, safety, and tight end, Griffin’s true calling was basketball. He joined his brother at Oklahoma Christian School in 2003, where they both played under their father who served as the head coach. Throughout his time at the school, Griffin helped his team secure four high school state titles. With his brother’s encouragement, he committed to play college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners before his senior year. As a senior, he played phenomenally, averaging 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 2.9 blocks per game leading his team to a 26–3 record.

At college, playing for the Sooners, Griffin was named a consensus national college player of the year as a sophomore. He decided to enter the 2009 NBA Draft after his sophomore year and was selected first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers. Unfortunately, an injury during the final pre-season game meant he had to miss the entire 2009–10 season.

Following a year-long recovery, Griffin made a triumphant entry into his rookie NBA season, where he was named an All-Star, won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, and was recognized as the NBA Rookie of the Year. Sports Illustrated even named him as one of the NBA’s 15 Greatest Rookies of All Time in 2011. He stayed with the Clippers until January 2018, where he was a six-time NBA All-Star and a five-time All-NBA selection—he then transferred to the Detroit Pistons, remaining there until 2021.

Following his stint with the Pistons, in March 2021, he signed with the Brooklyn Nets before moving to the Boston Celtics in September 2022. It was with the Celtics that he announced his retirement in 2023 concluding a career peppered with successes. In retrospect, Griffin’s legacy in basketball is not only marked by his success on the court but also by his persistence in the face of adversity—overcoming injuries and ceaselessly modifying his play to contribute to team successes.