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Blake Griffin plans to bring a fresh perspective to NBA media coverage this upcoming season.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the former LA Clipper would work alongside Taylor Rooks, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, and others as part of Amazon Prime’s NBA analysts team.
We talked to Griffin about his Amazon Prime gig courtesy of Wayfair, where he’s helping promote their “Chair-ades” contest in which fans can submit videos acting out as their favorite chair for the chance to win a $1,000 gift card from Wayfair.
Throughout the NBA season, fans and players have been critical of the negative coverage of the game from the media. Griffin, who will be an analyst this upcoming season, is not keen on “tearing” players down while critiquing their game.
**Blake Griffin:** “I plan on bringing a different perspective. Just being fresh out of the game, I think having that perspective is important, and also, there are different ways to analyze a game. You can say the Lakers didn’t do this or they didn’t do that. Or you can also say, I don’t think their roster was properly put together for this playoff run. I think you don’t just have to go at Luka or you don’t have to go at LeBron or whoever the best players are, you can give an opinion without tearing a guy down.
“Now, if a guy is not giving effort and just not playing hard, not even trying, I think it’s fair to call that out, but in certain situations, I don’t think that’s going to be my style, really, just to tear guys down. I think looking at the game from a player and a coach perspective and trying to connect that divide between just the average NBA fan and the actual players and coaches, I think is important because this job is tough, and there are a lot of variables, especially when it comes to the playoffs.”
As part of the NBA media, Griffin will have to endure endless debates about Michael Jordan and LeBron James, and the former NBA star was more than happy to share his thoughts on the matter with us.
“We’re judged off of how we win, and I don’t think there’s a player that won better than Michael Jordan..Obviously, Bill Russell won a lot of championships, Robert Horry won a lot of championships, but not… They didn’t win those championships being the best player on this team and winning Finals MVP, being all defense, having the highest points per game in the playoffs, went 6-0 in the finals, and never went to a game seven. I think all those things combined, and also just the impact he had on the game as well. That’s not to say LeBron’s not great. He would be number two on my all-time list, but my pick would be MJ.”
Griffin also spoke to us about his current partnership with Wayfair.
“It’s truly a one-stop shop for everything home, and the fact that they have so many choices to choose from. You can have any style. You can mix styles. You can have your specific style. Mine would be a little bit more muted, neutral colors. I’m not big on the super flashy pieces. I just like having big staples and mix and matching pops of color here and there. So obviously, you can do all that through Wayfair.”