Biography

Biography

BLAKE GRIFFIN’S BIOGRAPHY
Have you been Blaked? If not, and you play in the NBA, it’s only a matter of time. Blake Griffin, the explosive young forward for the Los Angeles Clippers, is a dunking machine who defies gravity ... and comparison. Quick, clever, powerful and intense, he has taken the league by storm and reignited waning interest in pro basketball. Blake has been called a mid-air magician, but his best trick may coax Clipper fans back to the Staples Center. Getting them out of their seats is proving even easier.
BLAKE’S EARLIEST DAYS
Blake Austin Griffin was born March 16, 1989 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His parents, Tommy and Gail, had an older son, Taylor, born three years before Blake and currently playing for the Phoenix Suns. Tommy, a former high school basketball and track star, owned a trophy company and was a hoops coach in Oklahoma City. Gail home-schooled the boys until 2003, when Blake finished eighth grade and Tommy finished the equivalent of his sophomore year in high school. 
The Griffin boys may not have had schoolmates, but they had no shortage of teammates. Both were gifted athletes who competed in youth leagues for football, baseball and basketball. Their greatest battles were in the family driveway. Blake was known as “Little Griffin” by just about everybody, and he didn't like it.
Blake was a typical younger sibling, always looking for a challenge. If Taylor wouldn't play him, he’d find something else to turn into a competition between the two. Blake was always trying to run a little faster or jump a little higher.
One of Blake’s friends was Sam Bradford, who would go on to be the top pick in the 2010 NFL draft. His parents owned a gym, and they got all their trophies from the Griffins. Taylor and Blake spent endless hours playing in the Bradford complex.
The Griffin boys started high school proper in 2003. They enrolled at Oklahoma Christian School in Edmond, a wealthy suburb north of Oklahoma City. Tommy coached the...

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