Blake Griffin spent just one season with the Celtics, playing an important role off the bench in what ended up being the last season of his NBA career. But he left an impression on nearly every Celtics teammate as he was a great locker room presence and bonded with multiple guys on the roster.
Derrick White, on his “White Noise” podcast, revealed a key Griffin moment from their time together during the 2022-23 season. White was in his first full season with the Celtics after getting traded from the Spurs midway through the previous year. He was still on the rise as a role player, so Griffin’s words held some extra weight.
“One thing I’ll remember is we were doing dinner or something and he pulled me aside,” White said. “He was like, ‘I didn’t realize how good you were until I was on a team with you.’ You play someone every now and then. You don’t really know. You’re not watching every game. He’s like, ‘I had no idea.’ I was like, ‘Thanks, Blake.’
“That gave me a lot of confidence. I don’t know if reassurance is the right word or not, but a lot of confidence to keep going, like, Blake believes in me. I’m doing something right. He didn’t have to do that, but he pulled me aside and told me. That was dope.”
Of course, the league knows how good White is after the past few years. He was a key contributor for the Celtics on the way to the 2024 NBA championship. White’s also had massive playoff games on the biggest stage, and his tip-in bucket against the Heat in Game 6 of the 2023 East Finals was one of the iconic plays of his career.
But before all that, there were some playoff struggles for White. He was honest after breaking the Celtics’ single-season 3-point record last year, detailing how the Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals motivated him to become a better shooter. So before White was considered one of the elite role players in today’s game, his journey to get to his current point as a player took some time.
Griffin ended up retiring after his season with the Celtics, ending a 14-year career. Griffin was a high-flying dunker early in his career before developing his game into a point forward by the end of it. He made six All-Star teams and was named All-NBA five times in his career, plus his electrifying dunks were constant highlights in the early 2010s. His friendship with Payton Pritchard is well-documented, and he left an impression on plenty of guys like White, too.
“That year, he kind of kept us all together,” White said. “He could get along with every person. He can be serious. He can joke. He can just do a little bit of everything. It was awesome because this is Blake Griffin. However many All-Stars, All-NBAs. He’s done so much in this league. He was willing to sacrifice. He was willing to take the first bus and do what he needs to do like he was a rookie or a young player.”
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