Blake Griffin on the NBA Playoffs, His Career, Kobe Stories & His Love of Standup

TL;DR

Blake Griffin discusses his Amazon Prime broadcasting role, NBA evolution, Clippers memories, and college recruitment while sharing career anecdotes.

Key Points

• 1.Blake is thoroughly enjoying his Amazon Prime broadcasting role. He sits alongside Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Doris Burke, and host Taylor Rooks, focusing on educating fans about basketball's nuances the way players actually see the game.
• 2.The NBA has evolved into a more dynamic, spread-floor game. Every position now shoots threes and handles the ball, creating longer closeouts and more half-court action, though Blake believes it's also contributing to more injuries.
• 3.Blake's top young players to watch are Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Cade Cunningham. He called Wembanyama an 'alien freak of nature,' predicted SGA will win another MVP, and praised Cade's poise in leading Detroit.
• 4.Blake sees Oklahoma City as the clear NBA Finals favorite. He predicts Boston will represent the East, calling Jaylen Brown's year and Brad Stevens winning Executive of the Year key factors despite a supposed rebuilding season.
• 5.Blake's sophomore breakout at Oklahoma followed two months of unconventional training in San Francisco. He and his brother ran sand hills six days a week, training morning basketball and afternoon workouts, producing a clear physical leap.
• 6.Blake was nearly a Kansas or Florida Longhorn instead of a Sooner. His brother Taylor was already at OU, and Blake wanted to go somewhere he'd be appreciated as the guy — advice he still gives young players today, noting NIL has flipped that calculus.
• 7.The infamous DeAndre Jordan chair tweet came from Blake trolling NBA Twitter during a hostage-style free-agency standoff. Blake flew to Houston, spent the night ensuring Mark Cuban couldn't flip DJ back to Dallas, and posted the chair-under-the-door photo while waiting for midnight signing.
• 8.Blake was a wide receiver and safety who quit football sophomore year of high school. A linebacker committed to Tulsa absolutely leveled him on a post route in the playoffs, leaving him staring at the night sky — and he chose basketball.
• 9.Blake and brother Taylor were drafted the same year — first overall and 48th overall respectively. Taylor, always the straight-A student, now manages Blake's investments and co-runs a VC fund with him after retiring from the NBA.
• 10.The title references Kobe stories and standup comedy, but neither topic was substantively addressed in this portion of the transcript. The conversation covered playoffs, broadcasting, NIL, squirrel tweets, and career moments without reaching those subjects.