3x Blake Of The Year Winner Blake Griffin Has Called It A Career, Which Means It's Time To Debate His Hall Of Fame Chances

Jonathan Bachman. Getty Images.

Now that 3x Blake Of The Year winner is officially hanging it up, it feels right that we start this blog appreciating just how special of a player Blake Griffin was during his time in the NBA. 

When we talk about "must watch players", to me that is the very definition of what Blake Griffin was during his prime. To understand what it was like to witness the shit he would do on the basketball court on a nightly basis, you kinda had to be there. While looking back at the highlights is awesome, they really don't do him justice when talking about what a jaw-dropping type of player he was. Shit, even his first year as a Piston was awesome, and how many players can we say that about?

A special player who undoubtedly had a kick-ass career, but now that it's officially over we can move onto what happens next.

Is Blake Griffin a Hall Of Famer?

As I've done after each one of these players from my era has announced their retirement, let's examine his case before coming to our conclusion. Here's how Blake Griffin's resume looks

- 6x All Star

- 5x All NBA

- 3x Blake Of The Year Winner

- 1x Rooke of The Year

- 1x All Rookie Team

- 1x Slam Dunk Winner

- 179th all time in scoring (14,513)

- 193rd all time in rebounds (6,109)

Here's what Griffin's Similarity Score looks like based on Basketball Reference Data

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and as you can see there are a handful of HOFers on there (George McGinnis, Billy Cunningham, Lou Hudson, James Worthy, Harry Gallatin). I think we can also safely assume that given his resume, Paul George will be a HOFer as well. So in that aspect, Griffin's career does line up (in terms of win shares) to guys who have similar accomplishments and got the nod.

What makes the debate interesting is Blake doesn't have the ring total of say, James Worthy, he doesn't have the All NBA Defensive team nods like another ringless star in Paul George (4x), he doesn't have an MVP like McGinnis (or the ABA titles), he's not a member of the Top 75 team like others on this list (Cunningham, McGinnis, Worthy), so perhaps your gut tells you right away the answer is "NO".

I'm just not so sure it's that set in stone. You have guys like Hudson who made just 1 A=ll NBA team and was a 6x All Star and he's in, but that took place in the 60s. As it stands today, Basketball Reference gives Griffin a 54.8% chance of getting in, so while it's certainly not a lock he gets in, it's also not a lock he doesn't. There have been plenty of guys get the nod into the HOF with those types of percentages

- Yao Ming (52.5%)

- Mo Cheeks (54.6%)

- Jim Pollard (55.2%)

- Dennis Johnson (54.6%)

- Lou Hudson (47.8%)

- Sidney Moncrief (46.3%)

- Ben Wallace (45.3%)

- Paul Westphal (44.36%)

- Chris Mullin (41.4%)

- Reggie Miller (31.1%)

- Chris Webber (12.9%)

the list goes on and on. So when you look at it this way, it feels like Griffin has a decent shot. My guess is he falls somewhere in the Chris Webber/Shawn Marion group. Webber got in after 8 years of being on the ballot, and Shawm Marion is currently fighting to get in despite having a 75.5% chance via Basketball Reference. While that certainly isn't gospel, as a big man with some individual success who didn't win a title, I don't think it's a stretch to have Blake in that Wallace/Webber/Marion group. Guys who aren't first ballot HOFer, but eventually find their way in (I think Marion eventually gets the nod).

When you take a look at who got the nod this year, you could make the case that Griffin is just like Chauncey Billups, only without the title. A Hall Of Very Good player for a while, who ultimately found his way into the real HOF. To me, Blake is right on that border of Hall Of Very Good vs Hall Of Fame, and I think if we eventually see Marion get in (4x All Star, 2x All NBA, 1x champ), then that opens up the door for someone like Blake. I don't think it should be held against him that CP3 kept getting hurt which killed their title chances. In fact, had Blake not had to deal with his own injury bullshit, this probably isn't even a debate.

So my final verdict? Yes, Blake Griffin will eventually get the nod for the HOF. 

It won't be the first ballot, it probably won't be the second ballot, but history tells us players with his resume oftentimes do eventually find their way in. When you talk about that era of the NBA, you can't not mention Blake Griffin, and to me that means something. 

We may have only seen him play 765 games in the NBA, but they were a "loud" 765 if that makes any sense.