Catching Up With Blake Griffin

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Oklahoma’s own Blake Griffin is becoming the face of the NBA. Let’s look at his journey from high school in Oklahoma to the bright lights of Los Angeles.

VYPE High School Sports Magazine first launched its Central Oklahoma region in November of 2006. It did not take long for us to realize that in December of 2006, it was a must to put this 6-foot-8 phenom from OCS on the cover of the magazine.

Blake Griffin was a force in high school basketball. Teaming with his brother Taylor to win the 2004 and 2005 Class 3A titles, Griffin then repeated again in 2006 and 2007 in Class 2A. Averaging over 20 ppg and 10 rebounds throughout his entire career, Griffin was unstoppable. He received just about every accolade and award a high school player can receive, and then chose to stay close to home and play with Taylor at the University of Oklahoma.

It was storybook for me,” said Griffin. “Getting a chance to be successful in high school, then play at OU with my brother." 

Griffin led the Sooners to the 2009 Elite Eight as a sophomore and swept all six national player of the year awards in college basketball. Griffin then became the first overall NBA pick in the 2009. After a knee injury, the Oklahoma City native finally got a chance to show his skills in a full season in the 2010-2011 season, winning Rookie of the Year honors.

As the NBA lockout came to a close, the frenzy of the NBA season is starting with Griffin highlighted on the cover of Sports Illustrated in SI’s NBA Preview edition. “It is a pretty cool deal to be featured,” said Griffin. “I always stay grounded, but I am comfortable with the national coverage.”

No better player or person to be highlighted as Griffin has shown his fun-loving side. He is highlighted in a handful of endorsed commercials and after the 2011 Slam Dunk competition that saw him jump over a KIA, Griffin now finds himself starring in some comical spots for the automotive company. Couple that with some witty commercials for Subway, and Griffin is finding himself portrayed as a “pretty funny guy,” said Subway CEO Fred DeLuca in a recent Forbes interview.

“I like to branch out and show the humorous side of things,” said Griffin. “It is what life is all about. Having fun enjoying the game of basketball, and having fun enjoying life.”

From high school great to NBA star, Griffin has stayed humble and remembers how much fun it was to be on the cover of on of VYPE’s first issues. “I remember the photo shoot,” said Griffin. “We had a blast and it is cool to see how much the magazine has grown.”