Is Blake Griffin the most hyped rookie of this century?
Blake Griffin made his NBA debut as a rookie in 2010-11. The runaway ‘rookie of the year’, who made a habit of embarrassing defenders with his posterizing jams nearly every night, is one of the most phenomenal talents ever to grace
the NBA. He has the speed of Dwyane Wade, the guile of LeBron James, the toughness of Kobe Bryant and flair unseen before.
Griffin was all set to make his debut in the 2009-10 season, but it was delayed due to a knee injury, which kept him on the sidelines for the entire season. After Yao Ming in 2003, Griffin is the first player, who was selected
in the All-Star Game as a rookie. He also won the Slam Dunk Contest this season, in which he dunked over a car.
Griffin is more than just a downright scary dunker though. Concomitant to his ability to overwhelm at the rim, the rising star of NBA possesses the guile and the temperament required to blossom at the bigger stage. Since his debut
with the Los Angeles Clippers, he has made different records including a consecutive streak of double-doubles in the rookie year, which ended at 27 games on January 19. He has also made the Clippers more fascinating to watch.
But, the big question that comes to mind is – Is Blake Griffin the most hyped rookie in the recent times? Let us go through a the list of candidates to find the answer.
Tyreke Evans
Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans was named the 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year. Evans was the first rookie who matched LeBron James average of 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game. Evans, James and Kobe Bryant were
the only three NBA players to achieve those figures in that season.
Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls point guard, was the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year. This laurel came along with the fact, that he was also the number one draft pick that very year. Although Rose’s first round scores
were good, but they were never categorized as impressive or created a huge hype for that matter. He averaged 16.8 points per game and serious concerns were raised regarding his jump shot and weak defence.
Kevin Durant
In 2007-08 Kevin Durant
was named Rookie of the Year. His selection however was far from being undisputed though. Durant scored 20.3 points per game that season and had a tough competition from Al Horford, who also averaged 20 points during that stretch. However Durant got 90 out
of the 125 votes as compared to 30 for Al Horford to win the award.
Brandon Roy
In 2006-07, Brandon Roy was named as the Rookie of the Year. Although the young guard was good enough to make the people take notice, he never came close to the stature of a break-out star. One of the very prominent reasons for
that was his one dimensional game that mostly relied on his proclivity of the clutch shot.
Chris Paul
Chris Paul was one of those players who silently propelled his team to a winning habit, without ever getting noticed or being credited for that matter. Upon his arrival at the New Orleans, their
winning ratio increased by 20 games, something that Griffin couldn’t even dream to pull off. Paul may have put up solid numbers in the first, but he did not made his presence felt till his second professional year when he simply blew away. In the very
next year the adept swingman was selected in the All-Star team of the Western Conference.
LeBron James
LeBron James wasn't an All Star as a rookie, but he certainly had more hype than Griffin. As a teenager in 2003-04, James scored with an average of 20.9 points per game wrapped with 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists. Without much support,
James was still able to spearhead the Cleveland Cavaliers into the play-offs. He is still the only player who inked a pact with Nike before actually joining the NBA.
So, when it comes to deciding the most hyped rookie of this century, the choice is very simple. It was certainly LeBron James.
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in the article are the writer’s own personal views and has nothing to do with bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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