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Ex-Clippers Star Reveals Wild Truth About Blake Griffin's Major Injury

Former NBA star Blake Griffin missed his entire first season due to injury.

Joey Linn

LA Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) looks as the referee during the fourth quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center.
LA Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) looks as the referee during the fourth quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
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Former LA Clippers star Blake Griffin announced his retirement earlier this year. Spending 13 seasons in the NBA, Griffin made six All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams. Griffin’s rookie season was one of the greatest in recent history.

Averaging 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, the former Oklahoma star put the Clippers on the map. What some forget, is that Griffin’s rookie season began a full year after he was drafted first overall in 2009. Suffering a season-ending knee injury in his first preseason, Griffin was sidelined the entire 2009-10 season.

Speaking on this during an episode of The Draymond Green show, former Clippers guard Baron Davis revealed the wild story of Griffin’s preseason injury.

“I’m laying on the floor watching the game, Blake is sitting in the chair,” Davis said. “They come back in the fourth quarter. Mike Dunleavy goes, ‘Ay let’s go.’ We’re like, ‘Huh?’ He’s like, ‘Let’s go. We gotta get this win.’ … He puts us back in the game. I’m like, ‘Coach, I don’t think this is a good idea.’ Blake Griffin hurts his knee. Bro, that is what happened.”

While he still had a Hall of Fame career, injuries put a ceiling on what could have been an all-time great career for Griffin. One of the most athletic players ever during his early years, Griffin narrowly missed out on his athletic prime combining with his basketball prime.

Still putting together an All-NBA campaign in 2019 well past his peak athletic years, Griffin completed one of the most impressive player transformations ever.  

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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