Getty Brooklyn's Kevin Durant high-fives Blake Griffin during the second half against the Phoenix Suns at Barclays Center on April 25, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
Blake Griffin went from Detroit to Brooklyn and, essentially immediately, began proving his doubters wrong.
The 2009 No. 1 overall pick could still dunk. He could still be a force to be reckoned with down low. He still had a lot left.
Griffin, during a recent appearance on “The Old Man and The Three” podcast with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter, said he knew as much even when he was struggling with the Pistons. After he was bought out by Detroit and signed by the Nets, he finally had a chance to show it.
“It bothered me a little bit,” the 32-year-old Griffin said, “because the stat was he hasn’t dunked in four-hundred-something days.”
But that was only part of the story.
“Everyone’s like ‘he hasn’t dunked in over a year,’ (and) I’m like I haven’t played in over a year,” he told Redick and Alter. “But I played those 19 games with the Pistons and didn’t dunk. That just pissed me off because you guys know the stat, you’re just choosing to be like ‘let’s do days instead of games.’”
Shortly after his arrival in Brooklyn, it was clear Griffin was still very well capable of dunking.
BlAkE gRiFfIn DoEsNt DuNk AnYmOrE
Blake Griffin had 0 dunks across 20 games and 626 minutes with the Detroit Pistons
He had 26 dunks across 38 games and 978 minutes with the Brooklyn Nets
Per Basketball Reference
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Griffin Weighs in on Durant
In Brooklyn, Griffin, a six-time All-Star in his own right, isn’t even one of the top three stars on the Nets. That distinction belongs to Brooklyn’s big three of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.
The team’s brightest star, Durant, is a mesmerizing talent – even according to his teammates.
“Honestly he does stuff all the time where you’re just like … what? Why would he just? The stuff that’s most impressive to me,” Griffin said of Durant, “is the dribble dribble pull-up midrange with a hand in his face and just hit it. He’s just so unaffected by any defender. I have never seen a player be less affected by somebody than Kevin Durant.”
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Durant Has Influence on Nets Roster
Durant is such a prized commodity, in fact, that his influence on the Nets extends beyond just what he does on the court.
As arguably the best player in the world, Durant’s thoughts on roster construction hold significant weight. The opinions of Irving and Harden also matter. Nets GM Sean Marks explained as much during a media session last month.
“Those three are incredibly talented without a doubt,” Marks said, per NBA.com. “We’re very fortunate to have those guys on the roster and also participating in — and we talk about this a lot — participating in the roster build. There’s no surprises for them. They knew what we were doing as we go through the first three, four, five days of free agency. And it’s not just those guys. We involve a lot of the players in these decisions because with their up-close and personal playing against these guys, who am I to tell them who can’t play and who’s better? I’ve gotta take their opinions and I enjoy those conversations, honest conversations. We don’t always agree, but at the same time, I think it’s great to have those conversations.”
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