Blake Griffin quickly became a beloved figure during his short stint with the Boston Celtics. The six-time All-Star played his final NBA season in green in the 2022-23 campaign. Though he only appeared in 41 of a possible 82 regular-season games for the Cs, Griffin impacted the team tremendously.
He epitomized what it means to be a “good vet” in the league, providing immaculate vibes, great leadership, and overall was a tremendous teammate by all accounts.
Celtics guard Derrick White recently shared another tale of Griffin’s greatness during an episode of his “White Noise” podcast.
“One thing I remember is—we were at dinner or something—and he pulled me aside and was like, ‘You—I didn’t realize how good you were until I was on the team with you,’” White recalled. “He’s like, ‘You know, you play someone every now and then, and you don’t really know. You’re not watching every game.’ He’s like, ‘I had no idea.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, thanks, Blake.’ That gave me a lot of confidence—reassurance, I guess. Like, Blake believed in me. I’m doing something right. He didn’t have to do that, but he pulled me aside and told me. So that was dope."
Is there a direct correlation between Griffin’s praise and White’s emergence as a key contributor in Boston?
Not necessarily.
White did, however, really hit his stride during Griffin’s lone Celtics season. The Colorado native was named to his first All-Defensive team, saw his offensive efficiency take a significant leap, and even had one of the great playoff moments in recent memory with his game-winning putback layup in Miami to help Boston keep their season alive.
Blake Griffin was close to joining the 2024 Celtics for one final run at a title
Unfortunately, White’s clutch bucket resulted in the team’s final win of the season, and Griffin’s last of his career.
The 2009 No. 1 overall pick’s one-year deal with Boston expired and he never signed elsewhere that summer, even though White and his teammates were hoping he’d come back for one more run at a championship.
“Blake's unbelievable,” White continued. “That year, he kind of kept us all together. Like, he can get along with every person. He can be serious, he can joke, he can just do a little bit of everything. And it was awesome, ’cause, like—this is Blake Griffin. However many All-Stars, All-NBAs—he's done so much in this league—and he was willing to sacrifice. He was willing to take the first bus and do what he needs to do, like he was a rookie or a young player. And he didn’t have to do that. He just kind of made everything connected. We were able to stay together because of Blake. But yeah, everybody wanted him to come back. I mean, he’s an unbelievable player.”
Griffin had previously confirmed that many of his Celtics teammates and coaches had tried to convince him to play another season, even in the months approaching the 2024 playoffs, but he wouldn’t have felt right not going through the entire year of practices and hard work.
“I kind of left it open, for a while,” he said during an April 2024 appearance on “Pardon My Take.” “I did have sort of a standing offer to go back to Boston. I remember the end of December hit and I called Brad Stevens and I was like, ‘man, I really appreciate it.’ I had communication with him the whole time. I just wasn’t there, man. Something changed and I knew when something changed like that it was time to be done.”
Unfortunately for Blake, he wound up missing out on what was a dominant run to Banner 18.
Though his playing days are over, Celtics fans will still be able to get their Blake Griffin fix next season, as he joins Amazon Prime’s broadcast team in its inaugural season.