Los Angeles Clippers: Top 5 Power Forwards of All Time

6 of 6

No. 1: Blake Griffin

You knew this spot belonged to Griffin the minute you decided to view this slideshow. There’s an argument of who was actually better in terms of skill between Griffin and Elton Brand; Brand is responsible for five of the Clippers’s top-15 individual seasons based on win shares, including two top five spots; Griffin is responsible for three (the others are Paul (4x), DeAndre Jordan (2x), and Danny Manning).

The minute Griffin stepped on a NBA court in 2010 — a year later than expected after the 2009 number one overall pick was sidelined the entire season because of a broken kneecap — he began living up to the hype, namely the ability to recruit a crowd blood-thirsty over his knack for creating awe-inspiring highlights; the most vivid memory of course, is the one where Blake Griffin turned then-New York Knicks center Timofey Mozgov into a verb a la NFL wide receiver Randy Moss (“You got Moss’d” = “He just got Mozgov’d”).

All that’s missing with Griffin’s brilliance, as with the other four members of this list, is playoff success — no Griffin team has succeeded past the second round in the NBA playoffs

Then as the Clippers improved as a team, thanks mostly due to the Chris Paul trade, Griffin began to round out his abilities, from “all he does is dunk” to one of the more versatile players in the NBA, defeating opponents by way of mid-range attempts, low-post game, elite playmaking, dominant rebounding, and any other facet of offense you can think of — nothing shows Griffin’s brilliance more than his work in the 2015 playoffs, where he averaged 25.5 points on 51% shooting, 12.7 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block, numbers the NBA hasn’t seen in a playoff setting since the great Oscar Robertson was in the league — if you’ve forgotten, Robertson is a point guard.

More from Clipperholics

All that’s missing with Griffin’s brilliance, as with the other four members of this list, is playoff success — no Griffin team has succeeded past the second round in the NBA playoffs, with their closest attempt coming this past playoffs when the Clippers blew a 3-1 lead and lost to the Houston Rockets. But with the Clippers’ surrounding cast improving, there’s a chance Griffin can lead the group to unchartered waters and possibly a championship; that much is in the air, but with his talent there’s no denying the chance is there.

With only five seasons under his best, Griffin ranks ninth in minutes played (13321), seventh in rebounds (3633), fifth in assists (1484), fifth in points (8052), and third in Player Efficiency Rating (22.8). If the rest of Griffin’s journey is healthy, there’s no doubt he’ll be number one in majority areas, and that’s why he’s the best.

Next: Los Angeles Clippers: Top 5 Small Forwards of All Time