NBA Player Blake Griffin Retires After 13 Years With Clippers, Pistons, Celtics, Nets

(CTN News) – Veteran forward Blake Griffin announced his retirement from the NBA on Tuesday, after 13 seasons with the league.

Griffin announced his decision on Instagram and expressed his gratitude for a long and successful career. Blake Griffin played only one NBA season with the Boston Celtics in 2022-23, and he did not have a significant role in a deep and talented roster.

It was Griffin’s first season as a starter, and he started 16 games, averaging 4.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 13.9 minutes per game, all of which were career lows for him.

At the age of 35, Griffin entered the NBA as the number one pick in the 2009 NBA draft out of Oklahoma. Despite missing his anticipated debut campaign due to a knee injury, he quickly established himself as one of the NBA’s top players, winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2010-11.

Blake Griffin was named to the NBA All-Star team in each of the first five seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 21.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists a game in that time period.

In addition to his time with the Clippers, Griffin spent parts of three additional seasons with the Detroit Pistons, where he enjoyed some success at first.

During the 2018-19 season, Blake Griffin made his sixth and final selection to the All-Star team. He accumulated 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.5 three-pointers per game, the best statistical season of his career.

Nevertheless, Blake Griffin health began to deteriorate after that point, and he was limited to 18 games in 2019-20 before being released by the Pistons in 2020-21.

During the 2022-23 season, Blake Griffin was a backup for the Brooklyn Nets for parts of two seasons before signing a one-year contract with the C’s.

As a result of playing a limited role last season, Griffin went unsigned during the offseason and was not able to sign with another team for the 2023-24 season.

Griffin enjoyed considerable success overall during his career, averaging 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 765 regular-season games despite his second half of his career primarily due to injuries.

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