Was Blake Griffin ever a top-10 player?

OkcSinceSGA · Post #41 » by **OkcSinceSGA** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 8:17 am

Easily in 3 seasons, one of which he was top 5 (year he went 3rd in MVP to prime LeBron and KD). Then he has probably 2 other debatable seasons.

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Drax · Post #42 » by **Drax** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 8:48 am

If not for injuries he still would be regarded as a top 10 player, today. Great skillset in the modern NBA for a big man. Capable and willing passer, inside threat, outside threat, good athlete and a good rebounder.

Illmatic12 · Post #43 » by **Illmatic12** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 2:03 pm

Yes absolutely Blake peaked as a top 10 guy.

I’ve watched Griffin since his freshman year at Oklahoma, he has been a tremendous talent who put time into his craft, should be headed for the HOF when all is said and done.

Forte IV · Post #44 » by **Forte IV** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 2:07 pm

Can we ban everyone who STILL calls him just a dunker? Seriously. If he's just a dunker to you in the year 2019 you don't belong on realgm. Blake has 100% been a top 10 player in the league before. He's a work horse and has changed his game so much over his career.

Prokorov · Post #45 » by **Prokorov** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 3:30 pm

ProcessDoctor wrote:Blake seems to be somewhat of a polarizing player and is flying under the radar as a true difference-maker in Detroit. Watching his old highlights you can see how phenomenal of an athlete he was (and still is). Was there ever a time he was undoubtedly a top 10 player though?

maybe 13-14 and maybe last year.

other then that he hasnt played enough games

Pumpkin17 · Post #46 » by **Pumpkin17** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 6:20 pm

I don't know how one can argue that a top3 in MVP voting is not at least a top10 player.

Like, seriously.

Effigy · Post #47 » by **Effigy** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 6:24 pm

Yeah, he was top ten for sure.

Baski · Post #48 » by **Baski** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 6:29 pm

Definitely. The top 10 is less stable than it appears. Make the list yourself and you'll see that a couple of years you find yourself able to sneak Blake in there.

TheHartBreakKid · Post #49 » by **TheHartBreakKid** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 7:08 pm

He had a few years where he certainly was in the conversation for it:

Off the top

2011( "rookie season")- Solid stats, but I think Lebron, Wade, Kobe, Rose, Dwight, Durant, Dirk were all clearly better, with other players like Gasol, Aldridge, Amare, Bosh etc putting up close stats on way better teams. Verdict: Definitely not. Top 20 player.

2012- Probably his best chance. The only locks better than him here are Lebron, Wade, Kobe, CP3, KD. After that it gets murky. You have Dwight in his last year as a Magic. Melo, Aldridge, Bosh are still there, and a statistically dominant Love. Westbrook is definitely in the conversation now. Dirk is still averaging over 20 points, and Dwill had a very good year as well. Verdict: Definitely in the conversation. In the 8-13 range

2013- Kobe, Lebron, CP3, KD are the locks. Then you have Melo who let the league in scoring, Westbrook, an emerging Harden/Curry, with Wade, Dwill, Aldridge, Love, Laker Dwight, etc in the convo as well, combined with an underwhelming statistical season for Blake.
Verdict: In the convo, but I think he misses the cut here. Top 15 players

2014- The only locks here are KD & Lebron imo. After that, you have many great players all contending for the remaining 7 spots. Blake, CP3, Harden, Curry, Aldridge, PG13, Melo, Love, Cousins. Considering this is blake's best offensive year on a playoff team, I think this year gives him his best chance, and I think he makes it: Verdict. Top 10 player

2015- Curry, Lebron, KD, Harden, Westbrook, CP3. Then you have a long list of players including Kyrie, Love, Klay, Aldridge, Cousins, Wall, emerging Kawhi, and new candidates like AD, Butler, and Lillard. Considering Blake missed 15 games, posted a career low in rebounds, with decreased efficiency, no way he makes it this year imo. Verdict: Top 20 Player
2016- I won't even get into this season considering Blake played only 35 games. Verdict: Does not qualify
2017-2018- I won't even get into these seasons because he's realistically not in the discussion.
2019- Probably his best statistical season. That said, I comfortably take Lebron, Curry, KD, Giannis, Harden, PG13, Kawhi, AD, Embiid, Jokic etc over him.

So yeah, I think Blake was a top 10 player in 2014, and is definitely in the conversation in 2012, and just misses the cut in 2013.

I think at best he had three top 10 seasons.

Post #50 » by **Duke4life831** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 7:14 pm

I dont think Blake should've been top 3 MVP in any of his seasons, I do think there was a time he did get slightly overrated. With that said, ya I had him in my top 10 as a player, hell I think last year he was probably right on the edge of top 15. 2013-2015 playoff run I think he was a top 10 player.

TheFinishSniper · Post #51 » by **TheFinishSniper** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 7:16 pm

When he peaked he was borderline top 10 player. But overall to say he was for sure, nope.

e83pw2oa9hl5f · Post #52 » by **e83pw2oa9hl5f** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 7:43 pm

Forte IV wrote:Can we ban everyone who STILL calls him just a dunker? Seriously. If he's just a dunker to you in the year 2019 you don't belong on realgm. Blake has 100% been a top 10 player in the league before. He's a work horse and has changed his game so much over his career.

I second this ....
Same people come out calling players or teams trash, bums etc. and have outlandish trolling behavior.Thing is they might actually be serious, just a bit of a personality issue. But it takes away from the board in total when about 5 people go on like this. Take the time to make a reasonable statement.

No fan of that team that kept bumping the warriors out, but they were skilled, and I give respect. Not trash, not bums, not one dimensional dunker.

LBJKB24MJ23 · Post #53 » by **LBJKB24MJ23** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 7:48 pm

he's probably one of the best PFs in the game but right now, he's top 15. There's just that many great players in the game today. its not a knock on Blake. I would take Griffin on my team any day.

OkcSinceSGA · Post #54 » by **OkcSinceSGA** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 9:05 pm

TheFinishSniper wrote:When he peaked he was borderline top 10 player. But overall to say he was for sure, nope.

Based on what? Who were 5 players clearly better than him the year he went 3rd in MVP to peak Durant/Lebron that year? 12, 13, 14 and 15 he's top 10 statistically for sure. If you say let's include all of the variables and not just rely on statistics we are looking at 2013 and 2014 FOR SURE top 10. Hell his rookie year, many rankings had him there, although more realistically he was probably in the 12-15 range. So basically Blake is a perennial top 20 player, who was unquestionably top 10 for 2, maybe even 3 years.

OkcSinceSGA · Post #55 » by **OkcSinceSGA** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 9:07 pm

LBJKB24MJ23 wrote:he's probably one of the best PFs in the game but right now, he's top 15. There's just that many great players in the game today. its not a knock on Blake. I would take Griffin on my team any day.

This is true, because the league is a lot more talented right now. The league talent depth wise is probably at an all time high.

dho4ever · Post #56 » by **dho4ever** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 9:13 pm

Joerezz7 wrote:Blake Griffin was always trash. Chris Paul made him look like an all star. All that athleticism and only averaging 7-8 rebounds a game, and it’s not like he was some dominate scorer either. He’s trash. I put him in the same category as Dwight Howard. Overrated bum

He's been playing alongside Deandre and Drummond, which explains the 7-8 rebounds.
As a scorer, he's not terrible. In LA, the offense was pretty split between Blake (who was the leading scorer).. but Chris Paul, Reddick and Jamal all got a good number of touches.

All in all, I don't understand how you evaluate players at all.

OkcSinceSGA · Post #57 » by **OkcSinceSGA** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 9:18 pm

dho4ever wrote:
Joerezz7 wrote:Blake Griffin was always trash. Chris Paul made him look like an all star. All that athleticism and only averaging 7-8 rebounds a game, and it’s not like he was some dominate scorer either. He’s trash. I put him in the same category as Dwight Howard. Overrated bum

He's been playing alongside Deandre and Drummond, which explains the 7-8 rebounds.
As a scorer, he's not terrible. In LA, the offense was pretty split between Blake (who was the leading scorer).. but Chris Paul, Reddick and Jamal all got a good number of touches.

All in all, I don't understand how you evaluate players at all.

Nevermind that Blake was actually elite offensively in about every category. He became elite in the midrange, the post, playmaking/passing, one of best ball handling bigs ever, elite at creating his own shot compared to most bigs. He didn't have a weakness. Hell he even added a 3.

The Real Dalic · Post #58 » by **The Real Dalic** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 9:20 pm

I'd say he was the first couple of years that CP3 was there. Those Clippers teams had all the tools to be champs back then. They got really unlucky with injuries most of the time and the one time they were fairly healthy they choked.

50CalClips · Post #59 » by **50CalClips** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 9:45 pm

Blake was never the guy with the *will to win*, to put a team on his back. At his best, Blake was the "number 2" guy on a Championship Contending-caliber team.

He was a Top 10 player at one point or another, but he was never the "Number 1" guy on any elite team, never a killer.

Fool's Gold "Max" Players:
Blake Griffin
Carmelo Anthony
Jimmy Butler
Dwight Howard
...

OkcSinceSGA · Post #60 » by **OkcSinceSGA** » Wed Sep 4, 2019 9:56 pm

50CalClips wrote:Blake was never the guy with the *will to win*, to put a team on his back. At his best, Blake was the "number 2" guy on a Championship Contending-caliber team.

He was a Top 10 player at one point or another, but he was never the "Number 1" guy on any elite team, never a killer.

Fool's Gold "Max" Players:
Blake Griffin
Carmelo Anthony
Jimmy Butler
Dwight Howard
...

This is false. He is a CAREER 22 ppg player who was a far more dependable go to player than CP3 pretty much every year. At his peak such as 13, 14 seasons and 15 playoffs.. he was a legit #1 guy in every sense of the word. Sounds more like newer fan who didn't watch younger Blake probably. Not to say he wasn't mentally weak or lacking in killer instinct at times, but to say he was "never the number 1 guy" is wrong. The Clippers had a top 5 all time offense, surprisingly up there with the juggernaut dynasty Warriors efficiency/lineup wise.. and Blake was the main horse for getting consistent offense.