After sitting out his first year in the NBA due to injury, Blake Griffin finally set foot on the court for the Clippers this season and a third of the way through is the early favorite for rookie of the year behind his great production and endless array of spectacular plays. Leading the NBA in dunks and probably having seven or eight of the top ten highlight reel plays in the league thus far, Griffin has proven himself nothing short of a truly elite athlete, quite possibly being the best at the power forward position in the entire league.
While it's still early in his development, he's already done a great job applying these athletic tools in a variety of areas on both ends of the floor.While it's still only 30 games into a 21-year-old's career, a few things have already been made abundantly clear about Blake Griffin's ability to perform in the NBA, where he ranks among the very best elite athletes in the league, if not being the single-most athletic player at his position. While he's mostly gotten attention for his highlight reel dunks from casual fans thus far, looking closer reveals a versatile game with developing skill sets in all areas, while his year-to-year improvement since his freshman season in college suggests a great work ethic and learning curve. How those things apply to his game from here on out will shape whether Griffin is able to become one of the NBA's truly elite players in addition to elite athletes, but he's obviously off to a great start, and it will be interesting (and certainly exciting) to watch him develop further.
Joseph Treutlein, Draft Express
The article breaks down his post-up offense, finishing abilities, face-up offense, perimeter scoring and defense/rebounding by comparing him as a prospect coming into the league to his play during the 1st 30 games of his career. It's kind of lengthy, but definitely a good read.