Last week, I talked about another L.A. Clipper by the name of Chris Paul. This week, we focus on All-Star L.A. Clipper Blake Griffin. The Oklahoma product has been outstanding since winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award back in 2011. He’s been to four All-Star games and won the Dunk Contest that year after he jumped over he hood of a car! Recently, the power forward been averaging a career-high 24.2 points per game this year and he’s had his best season at the free-throw line, shooting 70.5 percent. More importantly however, he considers himself an evangelical Christian and a man after God’s heart. His father, Tommy Griffin, is a pastor and had him home schooled until high school. While at home, Griffin was taught the Biblical principles of life and how to build a strong foundation in his faith. He ended up going to Oklahoma Christian High School, playing under his father and won state titles all four years there. Then Blake joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes during his years at the University of Oklahoma. Before he could play a single game in the NBA, Griffin broke his kneecap and had God humble him in a big way.
“I was just excited about the opportunity to play in the NBA,” said Griffin. “I was ready to go, but everything came crashing down, so to speak. But these things happen. That was God’s way of just humbling me.” (Credit: thehollowverse.com)
Griffin’s patience to get back on the court helped him out better than anyone thought. This superstar is now one of the top players in the league and is currently on a team headed for a title. Also, his gravity-defying dunks are unbelievable! Griffin revealed that for every dunk he makes, he donates$100 to fight childhood obesity. By the way, when he dunked over that Kia car in the Dunk Contest, he donated the car with the proceeds benefiting Stand Up to Cancer. No wonder he likes to dunk the ball! All of these great things are going for Griffin, because he has great trust and faith in God.
“I know everything happens for a reason,” Griffin said. “I don’t know what the reason is, but only God knows. I just have to wait and let his plan unveil.” (Credit: christianpost.com)
We can all learn a good lesson from Blake’s story. He had everything going right for him at such a young age. When that knee injury occurred, his dreams were put on hold. Griffin had to first understand that God’s plans are more important than Blake’s plans. After Griffin put his faith into what God was doing for him, the rest is history. We must lean on God when the circumstances are tough and trust Him that He will pull through for us. He always has in the past and He always will in the future.
The Basket Foot 