With the first pick in the 2009 NBA draft, the LA Clippers select Blake Griffin. He missed his entire first season due to injury, which should’ve been foreshadowing to the Clippers, since his Clippers career would go on to be riddled with untimely injuries.
But his rookie season the following year was historic, as he’d go down as one of the greatest rookies of all time. He was a special NBA talent. His explosiveness alone was enough for him to go head to head with the league’s best players. And his budding playmaking skills were a tease of what was to develop in the future.