Blake Griffin: Was the LA Clipper's Rookie Year Best Since Michael Jordan?
Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin quickly made up for his 2009-10 rookie season that never was.
Opening with a 20-point, 14-rebound effort in his debut against the Trail Blazers, Griffin went on to break a number of Clipper and rookie records.
Some fans haven't been this excited since Michael Jordan dropped 28.2 points per game on the competition in his 1984-85 rookie year.
Was Griffin's display the most dominant since Michael?
Here we count down the 10 best rookie seasons since Jordan's.
10. Damon Stoudamire
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Stoudamire was the Raptors' first ever draft pick and didn't disappoint in his rookie year.
He remains the shortest player ever to win the Rookie of the Year honor.
Averaging 19 points and nine assists in a dismal year for the Raptors, Stoudamire was a shining light before missing the last 10 games of the season through injury.
"Mighty Mouse" lasted just three years at Toronto, before spending the majority of his career with Portland.
9. Mitch Richmond
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Mitch Richmond proved to be a red-hot shooting threat from the outset of his NBA career.
Taken fifth overall in the 1988 draft, Richmond averaged 22 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists in his rookie year for the Warriors.
Richmond, Chris Mullin and Tim Hardaway quickly became a potent offense, and Mitch added 20 points a game through his postseason debut in 1988-89.
8. Allen Iverson
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Iverson led the 76ers in points, assists and minutes in his rookie season, after being taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft.
Averaging 23.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists, Iverson was an obvious choice for Rookie of the Year.
He quickly showed glimpses of the type of basketball that would land him NBA Most Valuable Player honors in 2001.
7. Grant Hill
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It's testament to Grant Hill's longevity, that the former Piston is still contributing all these years after being named NBA co-Rookie of the Year in 1995.
Hill averaged 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.77 steals per game in his rookie season, amidst high expectations.
Such was his immediate impact, Hill became the first rookie in all major sports to get the most votes for an All-Star Game.
6. Chris Paul
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Paul could consider himself unlucky to not have been the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year back in 2006.
Only Utah Jazz analyst Ron Boone stood between Paul and the perfect compliment of voters.
Unsurprisingly, Boone gave Deron Williams his vote.
CP3 averaged 16.1 points, 7.8 assists, and 5.1 rebounds through the regular season and was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month every month in the 2005-06 season.
5. LeBron James
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No rookie is likely to ever been subjected to the level of hype LeBron James faced, selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.
The Akron-bred small forward appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated while still a student at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.
James averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds through the 2003-04 season.
He also became the youngest player in history to score 40 or more points, after a mammoth night against the New Jersey Nets.
James received 78 first-place votes to claim the Rookie of the Year Award; Carmelo Anthony was second with 40.
4. Tim Duncan
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Tim Duncan simply blew the league apart in his rookie year.
Starting in all 82 regular-season games, Duncan averaged 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks a night.
He won the NBA Rookie of the Month award every single month that season and the Spurs went from a 20-62 record to the fifth seed in the West.
While veteran Karl Malone got the better of Duncan in the postseason, the Spurs star received plenty of praise from other notable figures, including then-Rocket Charles Barkley.
3. Blake Griffin
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The attention directed at Blake Griffin during the All-Star break was something the league hadn't seen since the hype surrounding Michael Jordan back in 1985.
It was a big weekend for Griffin, claiming the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest and becoming the first rookie All-Star voted to the game since Tim Duncan.
Griffin's regular-season highlights included a career-high 47 points January 17 against the Pacers and a 27-game consecutive double-double streak.
Griffin was an obvious choice for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and was the first unanimous winner since David Robinson.
2. David Robinson
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Robinson had an immediate impact upon arriving in the NBA, leading the Spurs to what was then the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history.
Ironically, Tim Duncan and Robinson would better this in 1997-98 and hold the record until the Celtics' Big-3 claimed a championship in the 2007-08 season.
Robinson averaged 24.3 points, 12 rebounds and a mammoth 3.9 blocks per game in his rookie year.
He maintained these exceptional numbers through the playoffs and was unanimously named the NBA Rookie of the Year.
1. Shaquille O'Neal
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1993 NBA Rookie of the Year Shaquille O'Neal became the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1985.
That's some company.
O'Neal was simply dominant from the outset, averaging 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game for the season.
In fact, those last two figures remain career highs.
So big was Shaq's influence that the Magic went from a 21-win season to the NBA Finals in just two years.
Clippers fans are hoping Griffin's second season brings about the same kind of good fortune.
