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Apr 16, 2024 1:47 pm

Former No. 1 pick Blake Griffin retires after 14 seasons

Blake Griffin

Former Oklahoma star and No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Blake Griffin retired after 14 seasons on Tuesday.

Griffin announced his retirement on social media, expressing how appreciative he was despite the ups and downs throughout his career.

“I’m thankful for every single moment — not just the good ones: the wins, the awards, the dunks, and the memorable times spent with family, friends, fans, teammates, and coaches,” he wrote.

He continued: “I’m equally thankful for the not-so-good moments: the losses, the injuries, the wayyyy too many surgeries, the lessons, the heartbreaks, and it wouldn’t be [a] sports retirement letter without acknowledging the ‘haters.’ All of these experiences made my 14 years in the league truly unforgettable, and I can’t help but to just feel thankful.”

Griffin, 35, was a six-time All-Star forward who won the 2010-11 Rookie of the Year Award with the Los Angeles Clippers, who selected him first overall in the 2009 draft. Griffin missed the 2009-10 season due to a knee injury.

Griffin also made the first of five straight All-Star appearances in 2010-11 and won the Slam Dunk Contest, leaping over a car for a dunk.

Despite the addition of Chris Paul in 2011-12, the Clippers never got past the Western Conference semifinals during the Griffin era and traded him to the Detroit Pistons during the 2017-18 season. Griffin had signed a five-year, $171 million extension with the Clippers a few months earlier.

After stints with the Pistons and Brooklyn Nets, Griffin played last season for the Boston Celtics but did not play in the NBA this season.

His best season came in 2013-14, when he finished third in MVP voting after averaging 24.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

For his career, Griffin averaged 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 765 games (692 starts). He received second-team All-NBA honors three times and third-team All-NBA twice.

–Field Level Media

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