Was Blake Griffin ever a top-10 player?

[Doctor MJ]

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
...

I have to object to the grouping of guys.

Melo's issue isn't that he wasn't an alpha, it was that he wasn't good enough to be the best alpha in the NBA and he never found a way to be useful as anything else.

Butler also isn't good enough to be the best alpha in the NBA, but he's got the game to be a super-valuable beta, he just has an explosive temper.

Howard was absolutely good enough to lead a team to a title based on his main strength - defense - the real issue with him is that he got stupid ideas in his head ("I want to score back to the basket" said the man playing in an era where that's a stupid way to score) and then he got hurt and never adapted.

If Blake is my best player I don't expect to win a title, but it's not because he's horribly flawed. There are just always a few guys on the planet better than him.

[Def Leppard]

Yes

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[macNcheese3]

I don’t think Blake was ever top 10. There’s always been 10 better players than him. He’s never really been a game changer in my opinion. A highlight film but nothing more. He’s improved his jump shoot big time though and range.

[Hoopstar23]

in 2015 especially in the playoffs he was one for sure

[50CalClips]

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
...

I have to object to the grouping of guys.

Melo's issue isn't that he wasn't an alpha, it was that he wasn't good enough to be the best alpha in the NBA and he never found a way to be useful as anything else.

Butler also isn't good enough to be the best alpha in the NBA, but he's got the game to be a super-valuable beta, he just has an explosive temper.

Howard was absolutely good enough to lead a team to a title based on his main strength - defense - the real issue with him is that he got stupid ideas in his head ("I want to score back to the basket" said the man playing in an era where that's a stupid way to score) and then he got hurt and never adapted.

If Blake is my best player I don't expect to win a title, but it's not because he's horribly flawed. There are just always a few guys on the planet better than him.

What I was trying to emphasis is that even among the most productive, most highly-paid players, there are players who are not necessarily *Will their Team to Win* type of players -- they're "Fool's Gold".

- Carmelo might be Alpha, and is a "max contract" caliber player... but he's "Fools' Gold"
- Blake is probably not Alpha, but is a "max" player... but is "Fools' Gold"
- Chauncey Billups was Alpha, was not a "max" player... but was a true Leader

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