The Lob City era of the Los Angeles Clippers held immense potential but failed to make it to the finish line. The Hornets four-time NBA All-Star, Chris Paul was traded to the franchise in 2011. He made it with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan who were considered another Miami Big 3 by the fans. Jordan regarding the potential of Blake Griffin said, “He doesn’t get the credit he deserves.”

The now Nuggets big was welcomed by Paul George on his weekly podcast. George asked DJ about the various talented teammates he had played with and what made Blake Griffin stand out. Jordan was impressed by the adaptability of the 35-year-old. At the beginning of his NBA career, he was drafted as the first overall pick in the 2009 class because of his dunking and playmaking abilities.

“When (Griffin) he first came in, he was like a highlight dunker and playmaker. Due to injury, he had to rely on shooting from 15 and 18 feet,” Jordan said, via Podcast P with Paul George. “If Blake was in his prime, he would make $500 million.” Owing to the constant injuries, Griffin’s promising career came to a halt which cost him $241,329,320 million. His overall reported earnings in the NBA per Spotrac was $258,670,680. Apart from adaptability, there was another quality that the 6x NBA All-Star possessed.

“His work ethic was one of the hardest I have ever seen in my life,” said Jordan. Due to his work ethic, he could negate his way through the injuries. His best point-scoring stats came in the 18-19 season with the Pistons. He scored a career-high averaging 24.5 points, and that season was also his best for 3 PT as he scored 2.5-7.0 which was once again a career-high.

Dealing with all the injuries, Griffin could still average 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 765 regular-season games. The stop-start nature of his career did not help, and he narrated a story where he broke down because of the toll on his body and mind.

Blake Griffin navigating the problems

Even though Griffin was taking care of himself in the best possible way, there was a time when he suffered 3 back-to-back injuries in 3 seasons. The hardest one was the 2017 injury during the first round of the playoffs, which broke him mentally. “Why am I doing all this and this is still happening? Like should I just like cut out? Should I just stop caring as much and like and not spend time sleeping in this hyperbaric chamber, when I could be out like playing with my kids?” Griffin said on the Graham Bensinger show in 2021.

Griffin credited his friends for helping him realize the benefits of a therapist. He spoke about the league having a performance therapist that enabled him to not consider a taboo subject. His one friend’s advice about therapy he still remembers. “Going to therapy isn’t about going and telling somebody your problems and them giving you the answers. It’s about going and telling them your problems and then them helping you arrive at the answers,” said Griffin.

Clippers won the first division titles of their franchise history in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons. Moreover, they were giving tremendous performances on the court by defeating their past rivals. NBA fans developed extreme hope for the franchise in the Chris-Griffin era.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.