Why Blake Griffin Will Never Reach Apex of Superstardom Like Kevin Durant

Los Angeles Clippers superstar Blake Griffin has taken the NBA by storm in the short year-and-a-half he's been in the league.

He's done it in very loud and stylish fashion, creating highlight after highlight with one thunderous dunk after another.

While we're talking thunder though, Griffin and the his Clippers get a look at Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight. While Griffin is a superstar already in his own right, he will get a bird's eye view of Durant and what a real elite superstar looks like.

Griffin may dominate the highlight reels for the next decade or so, but he won't reach the heights of superstardom that Durant will, or even already has.

That doesn't mean Griffin isn't a talent. He's a freak of an athlete and certainly one of the better power forwards in the game today.

It's hard to compare the two because they play entirely different positions and are asked to do different things for their current clubs, but Griffin has a mountain to climb to bring to the Clippers what Durant can bring to the Thunder.

Durant can flat-out do it all with the ball in his hands. He's a lethal scorer with a smooth all-around game.

Griffin, on the other hand, is regulated to being close to the basket. His game is 15 feet and in.

Durant can create for himself, especially late in games. He's become one of the best closers in the NBA today.

Griffin doesn't create in the ways Durant can. Being a post player, the game and the ball have to find their way to him. Durant has the luxury of being able to handle the ball on almost every possession.

Down the stretch, Griffin's not a closer. He's not the go-to guy that's going to get the ball with the game on the line. His poor free-throw shooting practically makes him a liability in close games. Durant is going to close out an opponent more often than not. As good as he is, you don't really want the ball in Griffin's hands with the game on the line.

That's what makes Durant special.

He's led his team to the postseason and won a couple of series. Griffin hasn't yet and if the Clippers do make a postseason run, success will be more attributed to the play of point guard Chris Paul than that of Griffin.

Durant is not only the best player on his team, but one of the best in the NBA. Griffin may not be the best player on his own team.

Griffin is a talented player with a bright future, but only a handful of players in the NBA are elite-type players.

Durant is one. Griffin is not.