Blake Griffin vs. Kevin Love: Which Rising Star Will Have a Greater Career?

The NBA can be a guard-dominant league at times, but there are a collection of young and talented big men that would likely dispute that claim.

Two of those big men, the Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin and the Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love, are already well on the way to cementing fantastic careers for themselves.

Their numbers have been similar and both are attempting to take dormant franchises and quickly reverse their fortunes, but at the end of the day, who will end up having the better career?

Griffin is the more exciting player and could wind up dominating the highlights for the next decade-plus, but Love currently is and will be in the future the better player.

The second-year pro Griffin is the better athlete—freakish by nature. He can do things men his size simply shouldn't be able to do. He took the NBA by storm by averaging more than 22 points, 12 rebounds and three assists during his rookie season, the only player in the NBA to post such numbers.

Griffin is a physical specimen whose game is based on explosiveness and is played above the rim. Very few defenders can match his strength, and at the young age of 22 he should be able to dominate on the block for years to come.

He has enough moves in the post to be able to get to the free-throw line at will, although he's got a long way to go in order to become good in that department. And as good as Griffin is, a solid 22 and 12 guy, he has a long way to go from the defensive end of the floor, too.

While Griffin is and will be a great power forward, Love has the chance to become an elite big man for the next 10 years.

Both guys may not be the best at creating their own shot and both guys need to learn to become dominant defenders as well, but for everything Griffin brings in excitement, Love can bring in across-the-board production.

Offensively, Griffin is the better player in the post, but Love has the more complete offensive game. He can score effectively on the block as well, but can also extend his game beyond the three-point line to keep opposing defenders honest. Love is also a much better passer and ball-handler than Griffin.

On the glass, Griffin is a very good rebounder, but Love is a great rebounder. He also can consistently back that up at both ends of the floor.

Statistically, they are as close to even as it gets. While both are great players, you really can't go wrong with either guy.

The ability of Love to stretch the defense as a shooter and his big edge as a free-throw shooter gives him a leg up up over Griffin. Those are just areas that Griffin will never be good at.

Love also does a lot of the little things that may go unnoticed, like knowing when to pass out of a double team, a lot better.

Of course, ultimately winning could end up being the deciding factor between the two. While the Clippers may have made the necessary moves as a franchise to do that immediately, the Timberwolves aren't very far off either.

Add everything up and it's Love who could be the dominant young big man in the game for the rest of this decade.