By: Amil Delic
What the f* was that? How old is he? Did he just put that dudes head in his crotch? Is he taking passengers on his next flight? These are the questions that come to mind when I see Black Griffin play. Bank Shot! What!?! The man is a mix of Tim Duncan and Vince Carter but stronger. That’s a pretty deadly future hall of fame combination. And yes, *Vince Carter is a future hall of famer.
Critics have been bitching about how Mr. Griffin shouldn’t even be considered for the “Rookie of the Year” award because technically it’s his second year in the league. It’s hard to see eye-to-eye with critics these days especially when they are trying to feed us a load of BS and I’m not talking about Bill Simmons because I love the shit he feeds us. Most NBA columnist who decide to write or speak before doing their research usually get themselves in to trouble with us bloggers who have every day jobs but know our ball. The Blake Griffin rookie of the year talks should end right now. The guy is taking the award home and that was official after week 2 in the NBA regular season. Memo to D Stern; push for Blake to start at the All-Star game in Los Angeles and people might start liking you. But now I’m getting off topic; the point that I’m trying to make is that there were two other NBA players who postponed their road to the NBA to either go back to college or attend the United States Navy by commitment. Both men still came back to the NBA to win the rookie of the year honour and eventually became hall of famers. Any guesses?
Larry Bird (drafted 6th overall in 1978) and the admiral David Robinson (drafted 1987 1st overall) both decided to take a year off before entering the NBA. The Admiral had already made a commitment to the United States Navy and didn’t make his NBA debut till the 1989-1990 season where he won the rookie of the year award with one bicep.
The extra year gave Robinson the freedom to get stronger and work on his game just as Griffin did last year due to his injury. Larry Bird decided to finish off his senior year at Indiana State University (bachelor in physical education) before moving up to the pro game during the 1979-1980 NBA season and taking the league by storm. These are just two marvellous examples of great players developing their game and moving on to the next level to win the rookie of the year award and a number of NBA championship titles.
Now this is where you start to see similarities in potential greatness. All three players had a large impact on the league in their first official season via dedication & loyalty, cultural effects or bring awareness to the game through their great skill sets. The chart below shows how dominant all three really were/are in their perspective rookie seasons:
Player | Rookie Year | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
Larry Bird | 1979-80 | 82 | 82 | 36 | .479 | .406 | .836 | 10.4 | 4.5 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 21.3 |
David Robinson | 1989-90 | 82 | 81 | 36.6 | .531 | .000 | .732 | 12.0 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 24.3 |
Blake Griffin | 2010-11 | 40 | 40 | 37.1 | .525 | .500 | .608 | 12.8 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 22.5 |
Blake Griffin is a shoe in for Rookie of the Year and there is not arguing that Associate Press. Griffin is a soft spoken guy who lets his game do all the talking or that death stare that he tends to give opponents from time to time. He doesn’t ask his coach to fine him so he can learn his lessons and become tougher.
He goes out every night like Robinson & Bird did and leaves it all on the floor. Both Bird and Robinson are part of the 50 Greatest players in NBA history and I think when the NBAs 75th anniversary rolls around, Blake Griffins name will most likely be on that list. Critics can speak all they want but they never said a word when Larry or David won the rookie of the year award and I've got a feel not much will be said when Blake Griffin takes the award back to moms house.
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| BOOM! ROASTED! |
