That sound? That’s the audible gasp of 50,000 spectators as Blake Griffin catches the basketball ten feet from the rim and prepares to put it through the hoop. It’s going in—we know that much, but the most fascinating question—how will Blake do it this time? Will he blow by his defender and slam it home, perhaps bank in the elbow jumper? Maybe he’ll throw it to Baron then rise up for an alley-oop. Occasionally, he gets bored of dunking on fools and prefers to throw in a 360 layup. However he does it, one thing is constant: Blake Griffin is a basketball clairvoyant. He’s a master surgeon, only his tool of choice is a blunt axe.
Watching Blake Griffin play basketball happens to be the greatest sports spectacle we have in 2011. How many other athletes elicit that audible “gasp” that Blake does whenever he is involved in a play? No one. Not LeBron, not Durant, not Howard, not Dwyane Wade. Blake already has top 25 dunk compilations on YouTube, and he’s only played 46 games of professional basketball. A buddy of mine recently asked me if I had seen the Blake Griffin dunk. My reply: which one? Blake’s Mozgov throw down will probably go down as the signature play of the 2010-11 season, much like Rondo’s steal and scoop in last year’s postseason or Dwyane Wade’s mid-air-three-from-the–foul-line game winner of the year before. Unless, of course, Griffin and Davis connect for a 95 foot alley-oop—definitely in play.
Yes, he’s exciting, and we know he can dunk, but how good is he as a basketball player? Pretty damn great—actually let me rephrase that—historically great. Blake is averaging 22.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. He knocks down his almost 17 field goal attempts per game at a 51 percent rate. That near 13 rebounds a game average ranks fourth in the NBA. Through the last 30 years, only four rookies have averaged over 12 boards per game, Shaq being the most recent before Blake. So yeah, Griffin is the first rookie in 18 years to average over 12 rebounds a game. At the risk of sounding like your AP Calculus professor, let’s dig into some more advanced statistics. Griffin ranks in the top ten in offensive rebound percentage, defensive rebound percentage, and total rebound percentage (meaning he grabs a crap ton of all available rebounds on the floor).
Offensively, Blake Griffin is equally as gifted. 41 rookies over the past 30 years have led their teams in scoring attempts (a combination of field goal and free throw attempts) and Griffin is on pace to enter that club. Even more astonishing, he scores 1.10 points per attempt, a figure that would place him eighth among that list. He is one of eight forwards in the history of the NBA (and ABA) to average over 22 points per game—along with such names as Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor, and Bernard King.
Getting even more statistically advanced, Blake Griffin projects to finish his rookie season with 9.8 win shares (Win shares are an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player. They were invented by Bill James for baseball, than later adapted for basketball. If you’re curious about how it works, read this: http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/ws.html. P.S: I tried to read it, and then my head exploded. Just a word to the wise…). How good is that number of 9.8 win shares? Really freaking good.
Here’s a list of the greatest win share seasons by rookies of the past thirty years (courteous of the New York Times basketball blog, Off the Dribble).
David Robinson (89-90): 15.1
Michael Jordan (84-85): 14.0
Tim Duncan (97-98): 12.8
Larry Bird (79-80): 11.2
Magic Johnson (79-80): 10.5
Shaquille O’Neal (92-93): 10.4
Chris Paul (05-06): 10.4
Hakeem Olajuwon (84-85): 10.2
Blake Griffin, of course ranks ninth, right behind Hakeem the dream. That’s just about the greatest company one could hope for, with five hall of famers, two soon to be hall of famers, and one guy known as the evolutionary Isaiah.
Do I sound kind of like a fan boy? Wouldn’t doubt it. Am I delusional? A little. Do I realize we’re not even to the all-star break yet? Yes. Would I make out with Richard Simmons for front court seats to a L.A Clippers game? I won’t answer that, but just know I thought about it. Not only is Blake Griffin the most exciting athlete in professional sports, through 46 games he is putting up one of the best rookie seasons of the past thirty years. A true franchise player.
Dipping beyond stats for a moment, Blake Griffin’s greatest accomplishments might be making the Clippers relevant, and causing point guard Baron Davis to care again (about things other than food). Who has wanted to watch the other L.A team play over the past—I don’t know, ten years? Were you that excited to watch Chris Kaman brick a hook shot? Davis has been a good player when he tried, but making him want to try is the difficult part. He’s settled in to his role as facilitator and third banana—content to throw alley-oops to Griffin. Blake is like Baron’s new toy, every game he likes to try a new trick with him. I’m just waiting for that full court alley-oop, its coming any day now…
The Clips have been plagued by a dogmatic and ignorant owner for the last 479 years (rough estimation), but finally they have a reason to hope. A few more role players and half cognizant coach later, we might have the next contender for the Western Conference throne…
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