Blake Griffin Surpasses LeBron & Kobe as Top NBA Pitchman in New Kia Commercials

Los Angeles Clippers star forward Blake Griffin may not yet be at the NBA's pinnacle in terms of his playing ability, but as far as his abilities as a spokesperson goes, Griffin is as good as it gets.

Griffin has been the pitchman for Kia automobiles for a little while now, and the company recently released two new commercials featuring the defending NBA slam dunk champion. The best word to describe the ads would likely be "interesting," but for whatever reason you can't help but laugh when watching them.

Perhaps it's the fact that Griffin is wearing a red jump suit in an art gallery or the strange expression on his face, but Griffin is something special when it comes to pitching a product. The gold standard in terms of talent in the NBA are Miami Heat forward LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant. While they may have a leg up on Griffin in that regard, Griffin is the far better pitchman.

Consider LeBron's commercial for State Farm insurance. I'm sure pretty much everyone is familiar with the premise of the State Farm commercials as people call up their State Farm agent after an accident and the agent proceeds to provide them with whatever they ask.

In this commercial LeBron's buddy crashed into a mailbox, but he tries to blame LeBron for it. Hijinks then ensue as famed ring announcer Michael Buffer makes an appearance.

I guess the commercial wasn't terrible, but LeBron just seems unnatural. The commercial seems like it was supposed to be funny, but I just don't think that LeBron is a naturally funny person. That is where he and Griffin differ. Griffin didn't even have to do anything in his commercials and was still funny. LeBron, even while trying hard, simply wasn't very entertaining.

How about Kobe? The Black Mamba is featured in a new commercial in which he endorses his new Nike sneakers. In terms of star power the commercial blows Griffin's Kia spots away, as it features Jerry Rice, Kanye West and Hope Solo among other athletes and celebrities.

What Griffin's commercials lack in star power, they more than make up for in personality, though. Kobe's commercial was obviously supposed to be more serious, as he is cast as a self-help guru of some sort, but he isn't believable in that role. Perhaps it's because Kobe recently got divorced, but I'm not sure I want him giving me life advice.

Kobe's commercial clearly had a huge budget and all kinds of bells and whistles, and LeBron's has the State Farm gimmick, but it's fair to say that neither measures up to Griffin's spots. As is often the case in life, simpler is better when it comes to the commercials of three of the NBA's biggest stars.

Griffin's commercials are so much simpler, but they allow him to showcase his quirky personality. Not to mention, Kobe and LeBron are old news in a way. There's no doubt that they are still the two biggest names in basketball, but they've both been around for a long time.

Griffin is the league's newest superstar, as he burst onto the scene last year by winning the Rookie of the Year award. Now, he looks like he is well on his way to his second All-Star appearance in as many seasons at the age of 22. Griffin is averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds this season and is the biggest reason for the Clippers' resurgence.

Thanks to their acquisition of point guard Chris Paul during the offseason, the Clippers are viewed by most as the next big thing in the NBA. The cornerstone of the team is Griffin, so it's no surprise that he is developing into such a popular spokesperson.

Kobe and LeBron are always going to be popular players and they're going to sell products with their presence, but in terms of momentum, Griffin is the hottest player in the league right now. Not only is he a great player, but he has a great personality, so Kobe and LeBron are finally taking a backseat for once.