Childhood Griffin was born on March 16, 1989, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Tommy, who is an African-American with Haitian descent, and to Gail Griffin who is Caucasian. His father was a basketball center and track standout at NAIA Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Griffin and his older brother, Taylor Griffin, were home-schooled by their mother from first grade until Taylor was in the tenth grade and Blake was in eighth. Growing up, he was good friends with Sam Bradford, who currently plays for the St. Louis Rams and played on the same Athletes First AAU basketball team with Xavier Henry, now with the Los Angeles Lakers. Griffin’s parents owned a trophy company that Bradford’s father would use and Bradford’s father owned a gym where Griffin and his brother Taylor played basketball. He also played baseball as a first baseman and football as a wide receiver, safety and a tight end.
High school In 2003, Griffin followed Taylor to Oklahoma Christian School, where they played under their father, who was the head coach. They played together during the 2003–04 and 2004–05 high school seasons, winning two state basketball championships. In his freshmen year, the Oklahoma Christian Saints posted a perfect 29–0 season and won the Class 3A boys state championship game at the State Fair Arena against Riverside Indian School, 55–50. In his sophomore year, the Saints repeated as Class 3A state champions, defeating Sequoyah-Tahlequah 51–34, where he scored 12 points to go along with nine rebounds. The team finished the season with a 24–2 record, with Griffin averaging 13.6 points per game. He was later named to the Little All-City All-State team in what was his final high school season with his brother. After his sophomore year, his brother accepted a scholarship to play college basketball for the University of Oklahoma Sooners. During the summer of 2005, he was a member of the Athletes First AAU team, where he played against Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson's AAU team, the DC Blue Devils.
Griffin committed to Oklahoma before the start of his senior season and averaged 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.9 blocks per game as a senior while leading the team to a 26–3 record. In a game against Oklahoma City Southeast, he finished with an eye-popping triple-double, 41 points, 28 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Saints advanced through the playoffs, defeating Crescent in the quarterfinals and Foyil in the semifinals to earned a berth in the Class 2A state championship. On March 10, 2007, he played his final high school game in the state title game against Pawnee High School. He registered 22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks, as the Saints defeated Pawnee 81–50, winning their fourth straight state title. He was named the Class 2A state tournament MVP for the second consecutive year after averaging 26.6 points per game in the tournament, winning its three games by an average of 30.3 points. During his four-year run, the Oklahoma Christian Saints posted a 106–6 overall record.
College career
Griffin while playing at Oklahoma Griffin was one of the highest rated and most decorated recruits ever at Oklahoma. As a freshman at Oklahoma, he averaged 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds in 28.4 minutes per game and led the Sooners to a 23–12 record. He ranked ninth in scoring, fourth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage in the Big 12 Conference. In a game against the Kansas Jayhawks, he suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee five minutes into the Sooners game. Less than two months after injuring his left knee, he injured his right knee in a home victory against Texas A&M. The injury this time was torn cartilage, and he had arthroscopic surgery on March 2, 2008. He missed the following game, a victory over in-state rival Oklahoma State Cowboys, but was back on the court a week after the injury with 14 points and 8 rebounds in 28 minutes versus the Missouri Tigers, a win for the Sooners on their home floor. He was a first-team all-district pick by the USBWA and NABC, and was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team and to the first-team All-Big 12 selection by league coaches and Associated Press. He became the first Sooner to make the conference All-Rookie team since Wayman Tisdale in 1983 for the Big Eight Conference. He was expected to be a lottery pick in the 2008 NBA Draft but decided to return to college for a second season to give himself time to mature physically and make Oklahoma a contender for the NCAA championship.
In his sophomore season, the Sooners started out the season winning their first 12 games before falling to the Arkansas Razorbacks. In the third game of the season against the Davidson Wildcats, he scored 25 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, after which he scored 35 points and 21 rebounds against Gardner–Webb, becoming the first player in Big 12 history to record back-to-back games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. This earned him three consecutive Big 12 player of the week honor and finished the season with a record-tying six player of the week honors. In a home victory against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, he set career bests for both points and rebounds with 40 points and 23 rebounds, becoming the only player in Big 12 history and the third player in the history of the University of Oklahoma men's basketball program to score 40 points and get 20 rebounds in the same game, joining Wayman Tisdale (61 points and 22 rebounds in 1983) and Alvan Adams (43 points and 25 rebounds in 1975).
College statistics
College Year GP GS MIN PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3P% Oklahoma 2007–08 33 33 28.4 14.7 9.1 1.8 1.0 .85 .568 .589 .0 Oklahoma 2008–09 35 35 33.3 22.7 14.4 2.3 1.1 1.2 .646 .590 .375 Career 68 68 31.4 18.8 11.8 2.1 1.0 1.05 .618 .589 .300
NBA career Los Angeles Clippers (2009–present)
2009–10: Injured season On April 7, 2009, Griffin announced that he would give up his final two years of eligibility and declared for the NBA Draft after his sophomore year. A press conference announcing his decision was aired nationally on ESPNews. He was selected as the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA Draft. Griffin played for the Clippers' Summer League Team and was named Summer League MVP. In their final preseason game, he injured his kneecap as he landed after a dunk. The day before the 2009–10 season started it was confirmed that Griffin had a stress fracture in his left knee, delaying his NBA debut for seven weeks. After resting the stress fracture for several weeks, tests revealed that his knee was not recovering properly. In January 2010, Griffin had surgery on his broken left kneecap, missing the entire 2009–10 season. In the off season Griffin spent a great deal of time working out with a San Francisco-based trainer.
2010–11: Rookie of the Year and Rookie All-Star Since he missed the entire 2009–10 season, Griffin was still considered a rookie during the 2010–11 season. In his debut for the Clippers against the Portland Trail Blazers, Griffin scored 20 points and registered 14 rebounds.[ He set a franchise record for most consecutive double-doubles with 23 in a home game against the Golden State Warriors. His streak of consecutive double-doubles was the longest rookie double-double streak since 1968, which ended at 27 games on January 19 in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves where he scored 29 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. On January 17, 2011 against the Indiana Pacers, Griffin scored a career-high and set a Clippers record for most points scored by a rookie with 47 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.[ He became the first rookie to have two 40+ games in his rookie season since Allen Iverson during the 1996–97 season.
Griffin was voted to the 2011 NBA All-Star Game by coaches as a reserve on the Western Conference squad, becoming the first rookie to play in the All-Star game since Yao Ming in 2003 and the first rookie voted to the game by coaches since Tim Duncan in 1998. He also participated in the 2011 Rookie Challenge and won the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star break. On March 23, 2011, in a double overtime win over the Washington Wizards, Griffin recorded his first career triple-double, 33 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists. He recorded his second triple-double with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, in the final game of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies.
During the season, he captured all six of the Western Conference T-Mobile Rookie of the Month, the first time a rookie has swept an entire season of Rookie of the Month awards since Chris Paul during the 2005–06 season. He played in all 82 regular season games and became the first rookie to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds since Elton Brand did it in the 1999–00 season. He led all rookies in points, rebounds and double-doubles, earning him the Rookie of the Year award, and was the first unanimous winner for the award since David Robinson in 1990. He was also the only unanimous selection to the All-Rookie First Team. In October 2011 Griffin was rated the 10th best player in the NBA by ESPN and the collective TrueHoop Network.
2011–12 season: First playoff appearance Griffin was voted to play as a starter for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, along with new teammate Chris Paul. He was also selected to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge. Griffin was selected as the #1 pick for Team Shaq, which was a mix of rookies and sophomores. Griffin averaged another double-double, with 20.7 ppg and 10.9 rpg in the season. He and teammate Chris Paul helped the Los Angeles Clippers to a 40-26 record and made the playoffs for the first time since 2006. In the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, Griffin helped the Clippers eliminate the Memphis Grizzlies in seven games. However, the Los Angeles Clippers were quickly swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the next round. Afterwards, Griffin was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the first time in his career.
2012–13 season: First Division Title Before the 2012–13 NBA season, on July 10, 2012, Griffin signed a contract extension reportedly worth $95 million for 5 years. The deal will keep him under contract until the end of 2017–18 season. He was also selected to compete for Team USA in the 2012 London Summer Olympics, but was removed after he injured his knee during a practice. Griffin was once again voted as a starter for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game, with Chris Paul again. On March 6, 2013, Griffin recorded his third triple-double by scoring 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, give out 11 assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. In his third season in the NBA, he averaged 18.0 ppg and 8.3 rpg in 32.5 mpg. This time, he and Chris Paul lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 56-26 record, and not only did they make the playoffs, the Clippers won their first ever Pacific Division title in franchise history as well. However, the Clippers were defeated by the Memphis Grizzlies in six games in the first round. Griffin was once again named to the All-NBA Second Team.
2013–14 season: Second Division Title Griffin was once again voted as a starter in the 2014 NBA All-Star Game and teammate Chris Paul was voted in by the coaches as a reserve. From Jan. 20 to Mar. 26, Blake Griffin recorded 20+ points for a franchise-record 31 straight games. On April 2, 2014, Griffin and Paul led the Los Angeles Clippers to a 112-108 win over the Phoenix Suns to clinch their second franchise division title. The next day, Griffin recorded his fourth career triple-double with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 107-113 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.