As expected, the Los Angeles Clippers drafted Oklahoma man-beast Blake Griffin with the first overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft tonight.
Long-suffering Clippers fans are hoping that Griffin is the piece that can turn the laughable losers into perennial winners, which is what the franchise mistakenly thought they might have been getting the last time they had the #1 pick in 1998.
Instead, they got Michael Olowokandi. The former University of the Pacific star did anything but shine in the NBA. Olowokandi topped out at 12.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game in the 2002/03 season, and in his injury-riddled nine-season career, he averaged a pretty pedestrian 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game.
The biggest highlights of Olowokandi’s career weren’t actually ones that he made, but instead was on the receiving end of.
When you’re on the giving end of one of the best dunks in NBA history, it’s a pretty nice distinction. But when you’re on the receiving end, well…not so much.
And there was Kobe…
Oh, oh, lest we forget, there was also Chris Bosh…
To quote a favorite phrase from NBA Jam…boomshakalaka (times three)!
Just a hunch, but I think Griffin will provide just a little more resistance to such posterization attempts.
