Image via Complex Original
Last Monday, Blake Griffin was named the Western Conference’s Player of the Week. Good things happen to guys who average 25.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in three straight victories. It marked just the second time in Griffin’s career that he’s earned the award. He should expect a few more.
After all, Griffin is just 24 and seems to be complementing his once-in-a-generation athleticism with a reliable jumper. For a guy with so much room to grow, it’s hard to believe that Griffin came onto the scene 10 years ago at the Oklahoma Christian School.
While Griffin may be developing his jumper, he’ll always be known best for his ability to turn two points into a poster. So in honor of his 10 years on the hardwood, we searched for Griffin’s top 10 dunks from the past decade.
Picking Griffin’s top 10 career dunks is kind of like choosing Victoria’s Secret’s 10 hottest models or Shakespeare’s 10 best sonnets: you can’t really go wrong, but you’re also guaranteed to leave out some worthy candidates. So with that cowardly disclaimer out of the way, here are the 10 best dunks of Blake Griffin’s career so far.
10. The Original Lob City
Look familiar? No, that’s not Chris Paul with the assist, but Blake Griffin has been catching lobs since high school. This particular oop came in the middle of an all-star game back in Oklahoma—Griffin’s home state. But Griffin, ranked No. 23 in the country by Rivals in 2007, soon had a chance to show out on an even bigger stage…
9. McDonald's All-American Dunk Contest
The off-the-backboard windmill to top Michael Beasley and Austin Freeman in the final round of the 2007 McDonald’s All-American dunk contest was a fitting end to Griffin’s high school career. After all, Blake hadn’t done much besides win in his four years at Oklahoma Christian. Playing for his old man, Griffin went four-for-four in state titles. He won the first two sharing the frontcourt with his older brother, Taylor, but the final two he earned on his own. As a senior, Griffin averaged an absurd 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 2.9 blocks per game.
8. 1,000 Career Points at Oklahoma
As Griffin kept stuffing the stat sheet at Oklahoma Christian, the forward started getting looks from powerhouses Duke, UNC, and Kansas. But Griffin opted to follow his older brother to the University of Oklahoma—a program that hadn’t made it out the Sweet Sixteen since 2003.
Blake’s transition to the college game was smooth. In his freshman season he averaged 14.7 points per game. But he exploded as a sophomore. With Griffin leading the charge, the Sooners jumped out to a 22-1 start. That’s when Colorado came to town. Griffin had a busy night. With 8:38 to go in the first half, Griffin became just the fourth sophomore in Oklahoma history to reach 1,000 points. And he did it in style, too, converting an alley-oop from Willie Warren in transition.
But that wasn’t even close to being Griffin’s top dunk that evening. That came with 10:42 in the second half when Griffin drove down the center of the lane, planted his feet, and took off for an and-one finish that put the Sooners up by double-digits for the first time that night. Griffin finished with 26 and 12 rebounds, giving him 20 double-doubles.
7. Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State
In the weeks following their win against Colorado, the Sooners stumbled, falling twice in a three-game span. But when Oklahoma State visited on March 7—exactly one month after Blake reached 1,000 points—Griffin got Oklahoma back on track.
Playing in front of 12,483 fans at the Lloyd Noble Center, Griffin went for 33 points to lead the Sooners to an 82-78 win. Perhaps more impressive than his scoring total, though, was his efficiency: Blake hit 12 of his 15 attempts from the floor. I guess it’s hard to miss when you’re stuffing the ball through the rim—like Blake did three different times against the Cowboys. You pick which was most impressive.
6. Sweet Sixteen Head Smacking
If only he had done it sooner—then, maybe, Syracuse would have had a shot. But by the time Blake Griffin smacked his head on the side of the backboard on this dunk, the game was already well out of reach for the third-seeded Orange. Griffin posted 30 points and 14 boards in the Sweet Sixteen matchup to lead the Sooners past Jonny Flynn and Syracuse.
Oklahoma fell to North Carolina in Elite Eight. Still, Griffin outperformed Tyler Hansbrough, scoring 23 to Hansbrough’s 8. In four tournament games, Griffin averaged 25.8 points and 16.5 rebounds. He was rewarded with some hardware: the sophomore was named the Naismith College Player of the Year and earned the Wooden Award. A few weeks later, the Clippers picked him No. 1 overall.
5. First NBA Basket
You really thought Blake Griffin was going to come into the league quietly? Nah, Blake made sure people noticed his debut by catching a one-handed oop in transition for his first NBA bucket. He finished the game with 20 points and 14 boards. It was a statement: Blake wasn’t wasting any more time. After missing the entire 2009-10 season with a broken left kneecap, the No. 1 overall pick came back and got right to work. He took home all six Rookie of the Month awards and finished the season averaging more than 20 and 10. The last guy to do that? Elton Brand back in 2000.
4. The "Dunk" on Mozgov
Timofey Mozgov doesn’t deserve it. One second, the 7-1 Russian was just trying to play some help defense, the next he was fated to a lifetime as “that dude whose face is in Blake Griffin’s crotch for one of the most incredible dunks of all time.” This one was so vicious David Stern almost had to call in Gorbachev and Reagan for peace talks.
3. The Spinning Slam
Scene look familiar? Yeah, that’s because this spin-to-tomahawk slam came just a quarter after Blake’s “dunk” on Mozgov. The timing of this one makes it even more impressive. After the Knicks led by as many as 11 early in the fourth quarter, Blake’s transition slam pulled the Clippers within five with 5:48 to go. Griffin finished with 11 points in the final quarter, but it wasn’t enough to take L.A. all the way back, and New York came out on top, 124-115. Griffin finished with 44 points, giving him the first 40-point game of his career.
2. Pau Gets Posterized
When the Clippers nabbed Griffin with the No. 1 overall pick back in 2009, there was no doubt which franchise was on top in the City of Angels. After all, the Lakers won the title in ’09 and then defended it in 2010. But the balance of power started to shift the year Blake made his Staples Center debut. The Lakers still posted the best winning percentage in L.A. in each of Blake’s first two seasons, but the franchises were moving in different directions.
The matchup on April 4, 2012 was indicative of that change. The Lakers earned a 113-108 victory, but not before Griffin threw down two dunks on Pau Gasol. Also, make sure you check out Andrew Bynum’s face at the end of the clip.
1. Blake Griffin vs. Kendrick Perkins
“I didn’t know what happened,” Kendrick Perkins said after Blake Griffin turned him into a poster. I hear you, Perk—I still don’t really get it, either. Griffin jumps, makes contact with the 6-10, 270-pound Oklahoma City center…then somehow keeps rising. Maybe it’s better not to ask questions.