Blake Griffin announces retirement

[stb]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39955194/blake-griffin-announces-retirement-nba-14-years

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I liked having him on the Cs last year, and would've like to have had him here this year, but I understand wanting to spend more time with family.

Thanks, Blake, and good luck!

[ozgod]

Joe shared his favorite Blake story.

Mazzulla was just a few weeks into his stint as interim head coach after replacing Ime Udoka. It was his first time as an NBA head coach. Griffin, a six-time all-star, was drafted higher (No. 1 overall in 2009) than any other player on the roster.

“The best Blake story I think is when we first signed him I was like first time head coach coaching a former No. 1 pick, we’ll see how this goes,” Mazzulla said. “I really didn’t know him that well and I really grew to have a love and respect for him when we decided to kind of go away from him.”

Griffin averaged a career-low 13.9 minutes per game during his season with the Celtics, which turned out to be his last in the NBA, but that didn’t stop Griffin from working on his game and trying to find his way back into the rotation, Mazzulla said.

Griffin was in his 14th NBA season at that point. He and Mazzulla are practically the same age, having been born a few months apart. But he still showed the humbleness to ask the young head coach if there was any way he could still help the team.

“He came in and he pulled me to the side and said ‘hey, what can I do to get back?’ ‘What can I do to get better?'” Mazzulla continued. “For a guy of his stature with his resume and his success, his longevity of a career to come to a first time head coach and ask that said a lot about who he was. I think from that point on it kind of set the temperature of the locker room. That was a moment I’ll never forget.”

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2024/04/16/joe-mazzulla-says-hell-never-forget-this-moment-with-newly-retired-blake-griffin/?p1=hp_featurestack

[BudweiserCeltic]

Blake on the twilight of his career > Blake on the Clippers.

Was nice having him around the Celtics, I had hoped he would've returned here.