Pistons' Blake Griffin makes Sports Illustrated's NBA All-Decade Third Team

The Detroit News
Pistons forward Blake Griffin was named to Sports Illustrated's NBA All-Decade Third Team.

Blake Griffin has spent most of this decade with the Los Angeles Clippers, but his production hasn't exactly waned since arriving in Detroit in a January 2018 trade.

In eight-plus seasons in Los Angeles, Griffin averaged 21.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. In less than two in Detroit, he's averaged 23.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists.

Griffin has filled the stat sheets wherever he's been. He also fills a slot on Sports Illustrated's All-Decade Third Team, unveiled Monday.

The start of Griffin’s career coincided with the start of the 2010s, and all he’s done is produce," writes Rohan Nadkarni, who covers the NBA for SI. "Griffin has averaged at least 20 points per game in every year of his career, except for one. He made the All-Star Game as a rookie and then for four straight years after that.

"... Even as he’s battled injuries, Griffin has racked up accolades, making five All-NBA teams and collecting a sixth All-Star nod in 2019 for his work as the Pistons’ lead dog. Griffin may not have some of the accomplishments as the other players on the 2010s Third Team, but he left his mark on this decade in a big way."

Griffin is joined on the team by Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade (who spent most of the decade with the Miami Heat), Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.

Griffin, who SI named last week the 19th-ranked player for the upcoming 2019-20 NBA season, joined the Pistons in a 2018 blockbuster trade with the Clippers that involved five other players and a pair of draft picks. Griffin helped the Pistons return to the postseason last season after back-to-back seasons of failing to qualify, though Detroit was swept in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks with Griffin dealing with a knee injury that required surgery in the offseason.

The revealing of SI's NBA all-decade third team kicks off a week in which the publication says it plans to look back at the past decade in the league.