Blake Griffin (Unanimously) Named 2010-11 Rookie of the Year

[mkwest]

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin will be named the NBA's Rookie of the Year Wednesday, according to multiple league sources not authorized to speak publicly on the announcement.

The high-flying rookie from Oklahoma had one of the best rookie season's in NBA history. He averaged 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists, became the first rookie to play in the All-Star game since Yao Ming in 2003 and won the Slam Dunk championship.

He was so dominant, the Rookie of the Year award was a virtual lock for the last two months of the season.

"If someone doesn't vote for Blake, they haven't watched a lot of basketball," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said before the team's season finale against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 13.

Ramona Shelburne, ESPN Los Angeles

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I was wondering when the announcement would be made. I thought Rookie of the Year is usually announced before MVP. Oh well, we all knew that Blake would be Rookie of the Year.

[areg789]

Congrats to him and I cant wait to see what he has worked on in the offseason to show in his games next year. Well, well deserved

[mkwest]

I was wondering when the announcement would be made. I thought Rookie of the Year is usually announced before MVP. Oh well, we all knew that Blake would be Rookie of the Year.

He was in New York last week, so they may have been the hold up. All of the other award winners were at home when they were announced.

[SportsFan215]

Congrats Blake! Well-deserved. It was only a matter of time until this announcement was made.

[mattfish]

Congratulations!! Now the question is, was it unanimous?

[Knightspeed]

Unanimous it was!

[thanumba2clippersfan]

It is official Blake Griffin is now the 2010-2011 NBA Rookie of the Year!!!!!!!

Congratulations!! Now the question is, was it unanimous?

I thought there might be a person or two that would give someone else a first place vote. It didn't happen and he received all 118 first place votes.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

After witnessing game one of the Blake Griffin experience, we all kind of knew that we were in for something special. Griffin dropped a 20-14-4 line on the Blazers in that season opener, and his first bucket was the biggest foreshadow of them all – a sky-high dunk off an alley-oop. The debut may have been delayed, but it didn’t disappoint.

Griffin continued to dazzle during the rest of his rookie campaign. In his first full month in the NBA, he averaged 20.9 points and 11.7 rebounds – numbers most rookies don’t even dream of putting up. The Rookie of the Year race would play out more like a sprint than a marathon, as it wouldn’t even last into 2011. Some of the other rookies were having nice years, sure, but no one was waging a full blown assault on the league like Griffin did. It got to the point where comparing Griffin to his fellow rookies was almost belittling him, as he was already among the leaders for all players in points and rebounds.

By putting up consistently fantastic efforts for 82 straight games, Blake Griffin has more than earned the distinction of being named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year.

While that title comes as more of a formality than anything at this point, Griffin’s greatness this season needs to be placed in proper context. You can’t accurately describe his brilliance by comparing him solely to this year’s crop of rookies. To really understand just how dominant Griffin was this season, you have to broaden the scope.

For more click on the link
http://www.nba.com/clippers/features/foster_110504.html

[mkwest]

Blake Griffin is just getting started

"Honestly, it's one of those things where maybe I don't really want it to soak in," Griffin said. "I know what [the award] means, and I'm thankful for it. I'm very appreciative.

"But I've got to stay hungry. I've got a lot to prove still."

"There's still so much room for him, and that's what's so scary," Clippers general manager Neil Olshey said. "When he gets to the point where he can make 16- or 17-footers at 60 percent, he'll be unguardable.

"I think even if you break down his game this year, you already see improvement in certain areas like free throw shooting and his assist totals. And honestly, I really think that Blake's biggest growth will come as we get better. A lot of the things that have made the game tougher for him were based on the roster he played with."

All the Clippers need to do is watch the way he works and listen to him speak.

"I like the way things have gone, but things have to keep going in that direction; they have to keep escalating," Griffin said.

"You can't just make one or two changes and then just kind of let things go. It's a two-sided relationship. You've got to put in as much as we put in. As long as that's happening, this is a great place to be."

Ramona Shelburne, ESPN Los Angeles

[mkwest]

Full Rookie of the Year Presser

Blake Griffin Interview with Beau Estes

Griffin Collects ROY Iron A Year Late

Tommy Griffin said their initial conversation centered on what was in store for his son beyond the injury and not about sulking about whatever opportunity might have been lost.

“I told him God has a plan, so don’t look at it as a setback, just look at it as an opportunity for God to work his magic,” the elder Griffin said. “When we first started the conversation he was already pretty down, but he’s pretty level-headed for a guy that was 21 years old. He listened to what I said and I told him I strongly believe it. So I asked him what he thought and he thought about it for a while, maybe two or three seconds, and said he believed it, too. And that point the conversation was over.”

He even captured the imagination of former players, guys like Terry Cummings, the Clippers’ last Rookie of the Year award winner back in 1982.

“So many times the players you see are interchangeable,” Cummings said. “But he’s so explosive. And he’s more than just a highlight. The closest thing I can remember to him at that position is Charles Barkley, in terms of having that quick bounce up and off the floor. And once he learns to connect all the parts of his game, he’s going t be virtually unstoppable. This should only be the beginning for him.”

Sekou Smith, NBA.com

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Congrats to Blake for winning unanimously. That's a special honor that was well-deserved, but having all 118 voters not try to be funny (e.g. Chris Paul's rookie campaign) was something could have arose with different people's perception of the word "rookie." I remember watching him in college and just thought that this guy was absolutely incredible. I knew that he would be good, but not this good this soon. We all had to wait an extra year for the Blake Show to begin, but it was well worth the price of admission and lived up to all of its hype and then some.

The thing that I liked most about this season is that Blake (and EJ to an extent) was established as the leader of this team. Teams typically take on the identity, character and personality of its franchise player. That has me excited for the future. Blake has also put pressure on the front office to keep improving the team. That may worry some, but I like it, because they need a fire lit under them. He wants to compete/contend and that is what us as fans want to see and experience. Neil has made some comments about improving the team and I hope that he pulls off the necessary moves.

[Leor_77]

The whole "rookie" argument is going around, and I frankly think it's idiotic. There's not much you can improve upon when you're sitting on your butt injured the entire year. Besides the fact that the precedent was already set for this type of thing.

[vmor]

Congrats, he sure deserves that.
As a longtime Lakers' fan, I started watching Clips' games this year because of him - he's FUN to watch, as you all know!

Who says that white men can't jump (OK, I certainly can't )

[mike3]

Congrats blake, even though it was bound to happen

liking his attitude though, hes still hungry, can't wait to see what we can do next season, i still think... one trade away from making a playoff run