Blake Griffin: The NBA's Most Overrated Player

What happened to the days of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson? A time when players were willing to give up their own individual statistics, to make those around them better. It was the NBA’s golden age when players cared about winning, and not about appearing on ESPN’s top 10 plays.

You would think a dunk was worth 20 points the way that many of today’s players react after slamming it down.

The misconception is that if a player is routinely appearing on the highlight reels, then he is elite.

The players who are truly elite are the ones who raise the play of those around them. They bring their team to a higher level because they can do a multitude of things on the court.

This brings us to Blake Griffin.

If you polled 100 NBA fans, I bet 90 of them would tell you that Blake Griffin is currently a top 10 player.

Each game, Griffin makes a play or two that will appear on SportsCenter and leave fans everywhere dazzled by his athleticism. It’s not only fans that Griffin amazes with his spectacular dunks—many current players will tweet or talk about Griffin as if they are watching a transcendent player.

Griffin’s dunking ability may be up there with the all time greats, but what else does he really do?

I’ll admit that he’s a very good rebounder. In a season and a half of NBA action, Griffin has averaged just around 12 rebounds per game.

One would think that Griffin’s an elite scorer based on the fact that he’s averaged over 20 points per game in his career thus far. However, most of Griffin’s points come on fast break dunks and alley-oops.

He seems to lack elite offensive skills. He has struggled with an inconsistent jump shot, and has yet to develop a reliable post game.

Griffin’s free throw shooting has also been a concern. He has become a major liability late in games, as he has proven to be unable to hit free throws when it counts.  

Griffin is also a player who doesn’t make those around him better. He is not a great passer and needs the ball in his hands to be effective.

The fact that many are saying that Griffin is the Clippers best player is ridiculous. The addition of Chris Paul transformed the Clippers from a perennial lottery team, to having the third best record in the Western Conference this season.

Paul raises the play of everyone around him due to his passing ability and overall toughness. He is elite at so many facets of the game, and his skill set is on par with the league’s best.

Blake Griffin is an impressive athlete whose dunks have brought excitement to the entire league. However, Griffin will need to improve his overall game if he wants to be considered an elite player.