Blake Griffin Has Hilarious Response When Asked If He Could Recreate Iconic Dunk

The former Lob City maestro has hung up his sneakers for good.

January 22, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) scores a basket against Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Former six-time All-Star NBA power forward Blake Griffin was once the whiz behind a litany of lethal, emphatic dunks during his all-too-brief reign atop the league while with the Los Angeles Clippers and Detroit Pistons.

After being felled by a variety of lower body injuries, the 6-foot-9 Oklahoma product found himself considerably more ground-bound during the journeyman latter portion of his pro career, when he hopped around from the Pistons to the Brooklyn Nets in 2021-22 and finally the Boston Celtics in 2022-23. Griffin had modified his game to include more midrange and, yes, even long range jumpers to accommodate his health-mandated athletic decline. He finally called it a career in April 2024, after not being able to find an NBA home throughout the 2023-24 regular season.

While in Las Vegas to take in this week's 2024 Emirates NBA Cup finale at T-Mobile Arena, the 35-year-old was asked if he'd be able to recreate his iconic 2011 Slam Dunk Contest-winning flush.

For context, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Griffin redshirted his 2009-10 season with a year-ending stress fracture in his left knee. During his 2010-11 rookie season, the then-rising superstar, one of the rare players to be named an All-Star as a rookie, leapt above the hood of a Kia (who also, perhaps not coincidentally, had an endorsement deal with Griffin) to ice his Dunk Contest title.

"Blake, could you still jump over a Kia?" Brad Parker of The Score inquired.

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In response, Griffin issued a succinct-if-typically hilarious retort.

"Absolutely not," Griffin said. "I would die."

Across a far-too-brief 13-year NBA career (14 if you count 2009-10, which he was paid for though he didn't play a single game), Griffin holds career averages of 19.0 points on .492/.328/.696 shooting splits, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks a night. He suited up in 765 regular season bouts (692 starts), and was a three-time All-NBA honoree in his prime.

As the best or second-best player on some loaded Clippers squads, along 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul, All-NBA center DeAndre Jordan, and sharpshooting guards like Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick, Griffin pushed L.A. to three 56-win-plus seasons and some high playoff seeds. As the core piece on a team, however, he never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs.

During his final NBA season with Boston, Griffin did play (minimally) for an Eastern Conference Finals-bound squad at last.

He has the accolades and averages to at least approach inclusion in Springfield one day, though he may lack the postseason achievements to ultimately get there.

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