Filed under: Clippers, Wizards, NBA Awards, NBA Injuries
Tom Petty might have sung "the waiting is the hardest part.'' But that doesn't mean it's too late for Blake Griffin to be "runnin' down a dream.''If the Los Angeles Clippers' power forward is named NBA Rookie of the Year this season, he would join Hall of Famers Jerry Lucas, Larry Bird and David Robinson in a most interesting category. They are the only players to have won the award in a year other than the one immediately after being drafted.
Lucas, the 1963-64 winner, was drafted in 1962 but wasn't active in the NBA for a year because he was going to play for the American Basketball League's Cleveland Pipers until the league folded. Bird, the 1979-80 honoree, was drafted in 1978 but went back to Indiana State for a final season. And Robinson, who hoisted the trophy in 1989-90, was drafted out of Navy in 1987 but had to fulfill two years of military service.
That brings us to Griffin, the top pick in the 2009 draft from Oklahoma. He missed all of last season due to a knee injury, but is back and ready to battle 2010 No. 1 pick John Wall of Washington for rookie honors.
"It'd be an honor to win it,'' Griffin said in an interview with FanHouse. "But I'd gladly give up that trophy to make a playoff run.''
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Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/11/08/blake-griffin-john-wall-nba-rookie-of-the-year/
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