Blake Griffin Reveals 'The Stepback' Trailer, Talks NBA Finals Prediction and More in B/R Interview

Once known for his rim-rocking slam dunks that seemed to shake the stratosphere, former NBA star Blake Griffin is taking a lighter approach to his media career.

In addition to entering his second season as an analyst for NBA on Prime Video, Griffin is set to host a new weekly late-night television show, The Stepback with Blake Griffin. The trailer for the new series, which is produced by Griffin and Ryan Kalil's Mortal Media in partnership with Wondery, officially dropped on Tuesday morning ahead of its Oct. 20 premiere on Prime Video and YouTube.

Blending late-night-style comedy with insightful commentary, Griffin plans to explore the biggest topics in sports in front of a live studio audience, tackling matters such as the economics of sports betting, athlete empowerment, officiating controversies, the rise of "hot take" culture and more.

"There's a lot of things in sports, I think, that affect fans a lot and affect how we view sports or what's going on in sports. And I wanted to create a show that sort of spoke to fans on bigger issues in sports, not necessarily the day-to-day," Griffin told Bleacher Report. "... I learned a lot making this show. And the research team for this show did such an incredible job, and our writers' room. And I hope [the viewers] learn something, because I definitely did, and also just are entertained, enjoy it along the way."

While The Stepback will dive into some serious topics, Griffin ensured that he plans to bring a light-hearted approach that shows off his comedic range. The 37-year-old's comedy career dates back to his days in Hollywood playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, and he has done stand-up on multiple occasions and has guest-starred on shows like The Eric Andre Show and The Simpsons.

For Griffin, the chance to pursue comedy fulfills a childhood dream that once took a backseat to his basketball career.

"I always go back to when it started for me, and how I really fell in love with comedy was watching comedy shows with my parents. When I was really young, I remember watching I Love Lucy and just thinking like, 'Oh my gosh, this is amazing.' Just the idea that you can be so silly and goofy and make people laugh, it definitely got the wheels turning at a very young age," he said. "And then watching Saturday Night Live as a kid, In Living Color as a kid, and then starting to watch stand-up with my dad, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, all those guys. And as I got older, I started seeking it out on my own, all the way from Chappelle's Show to [Dave] Chappelle's stand-up to everything in between. I've always just kind of gravitated towards comedy."

The 2025-26 NBA season was Griffin's first year as a full-time member of the media. While he admitted that he was initially intimidated by the lights, cameras and action, he quickly learned that authenticity would be the key to success in his new career. Rather than playing the role of a critical analyst, he maintained his jovial nature as he uplifted his former peers in a positive way.

"I think even before the show started, I was kind of in my head a little bit about, 'OK, you gotta have high energy, you gotta be the TV person.' And I never tried to do that. I always tried to be myself," he said. "... It's more about trying to bring perspective to fans in a way that they maybe haven't thought of before, or maybe a way that you're not able to really see if you're just watching the game. And I think that was sort of my biggest lesson: just be authentic and celebrate. I don't need to bring anybody down. This is a very, very tough profession, and there's very few guys who do it really well. And I think celebrating that was a lot of fun for me."

The NBA landscape shifted significantly before Griffin's second season as an analyst, most notably with future Hall of Famer LeBron James joining the Philadelphia 76ers. While other teams made splashy moves like the Miami Heat acquiring star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Minnesota Timberwolves acquiring star point guard LaMelo Ball, the Sixers landing James completed a banner offseason that also included the acquisition of star guard Jaylen Brown.

"That alone puts them in a dangerous category," Griffin said of Brown's arrival to Philadelphia from the Boston Celtics. "And then you add in a guy like LeBron, who has clearly shown he's willing to adapt his game to different styles. I mean, last year when he came back from injury with the Lakers, he was kind of playing a third-option role, which is an incredible luxury to have one of the best players of all time playing in that role. He's so skilled at so many different things that he's really a key piece. If he just finds that role, whatever they need and does that, they will be good."

It will likely take time for James and Brown to develop chemistry with their new teammates, as will the rest of the new faces in new places. However, Griffin wondered more about who would step up after losing the role players who were shipped away to land the stars.

"Honestly, with some of these teams, it's almost like my biggest questions are not necessarily LaMelo going to the Timberwolves, it's Naz Reid not being there, Julius Randle not being there. So it's like, how are we filling these gaps?" he said. "And the Heat, the same thing, they're going to be incredible. It's just, what do you do when you're not having a great shooting night in the playoffs?"

One title contender that mostly maintained the status quo this offseason was the Detroit Pistons, with whom Griffin played three-plus seasons and earned the last of his six career All-Star appearances. Led by MVP candidate Cade Cunningham, the Pistons finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference last season at 60-22 and appear poised to reach even greater heights this year.

Griffin said he's excited to see Cunningham continue his ascent to superstardom, and he expects the Pistons to put together a deeper playoff run after losing in the conference semifinals last season.

"I thought last year he took a huge step, which is outstanding, because he's been good since he came in. But he got to a point last year where he was completely dictating games. And especially at the point guard position, he's so big and can do so many different things. His handle is so good. He passes really, really well. And then the scoring on top of all that. So, he's obviously a big reason why that team was so good," he said. "But this year, it's another test. Last year, I felt like they were a young team that was just so fun to watch and playing pretty carefree in a way. And now this year will be that next step of like, 'Hey, we had regular season success last year. Now, we'll take it to the next level.' And I think they will."

Still, when it came to his early NBA Finals predictions, Griffin chose the last two NBA champions: the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks, though he added that the San Antonio Spurs would be in the mix.

"I'm gonna give the benefit of the doubt to the Knicks," he said. "I think they reached a place last year where obviously everything was clicking, but also they just have such a great team balance and chemistry with guys who will step up and make big plays. You have Jalen Brunson, who is the unquestioned leader of that team. So I'm really curious to see their bounce-back season. So, let's go Knicks-Thunder. And that's hard to say because I love the Spurs, and I think they're going to be obviously really good again."

As arguably the greatest dunker of his generation, Griffin also weighed in on which player assumed the mantle in today's era, and he named Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.

"Man, I think Ant is just one of those guys where you're just like, you never know what's gonna happen," he said. "And I love good in-game dunkers. Like, there's great dunk contest dunkers, and Ant can do both, but man, his in-game dunk package is so fun to watch because he's so smooth and he can kind of be shifty with it, whereas some guys, like myself, were more just like full speed ahead, downhill, you know what's coming, where he can kind of pop around and then just finish on somebody. So I'd give him the crown right now of best dunker."

Despite his high-flying feats, Edwards said long ago that he would never compete in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend, and he's far from the only superstar who feels that way. Griffin, the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest champion, said he feels the NBA needs to remove all the bells and whistles if it wants to attract the most popular players to the annual showcase again.

"I think you strip it down. The dunk contest is about dunks. So I was having this conversation the other day. When I did the dunk contest, even then, we were in the back warming up. You come out, you line up, you're getting ready for intros. The intros happen. First person goes, second person goes, third person goes. I think I was maybe fourth that year. It had been 35, 45 minutes since I'd even warmed up, you know?" he said.

He continued: "So, because of all the theatrics, and I know there has to be some of it, but I would love to see it look a little bit more like a layup line... I think there's a happy medium between those two, where it's happening faster... and there's a little bit less waiting and set-up and theatrics to it. There's some things that just don't need that, and I think the dunk contest is one of them. So I hope that would entice some of the bigger names to just go do it because it's a little bit more relaxed and fun. But I don't know. You see some great dunks in the layup lines of the All-Star Game, that's what it should feel a little bit more like. You can still do the vote, like the point system and voting and all that, but make it a little less theatrical."

Despite his win 15 years ago, Griffin said he felt he fell victim to the theatrics during his infamous dunk over a Kia, which he revealed as his least favorite dunk from his iconic career.

"Honestly, man, I hate to say this, it's probably the dunk contest dunk. The Kia dunk. The plan was to catch low and do a windmill," he said. "And in the moment, because we've done the whole thing, like I just talked about, the car coming out and they were sort of encouraging us to come up with these [ideas]: 'Hey, what do you want to do? Do you want to bring out this?' So, I had the car idea, and I wanted just to get it done the first try, not have to keep going. So I just took the pass and ended up dunking it, but I think it would have been better and a little bit more of a higher degree of difficulty if I'd gotten the windmill down. But I can't really say it's one that I dislike, I just wish that I could do it again, you know?"