Blake Griffin

Griffin argues NBA players are the largest athletes yet are given cramped bench seating so teams can sell courtside seats.

“We're the biggest athletes in the world, not necessarily pound for pound, but size, height-wise”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 52:40

Griffin says that as an analyst he tries to criticize players only when it is truly deserved.

“I'm only like, I'll be critical, but only if it's like truly deserved”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 35:03

Griffin says he wants his 12-year-old son to pursue sports seriously only if he truly loves it.

“my hope for him is if he does want to play professionally or even in college, that he really loves it”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 29:33

Griffin laments that social gatherings have become transactional, with people attending to gather content and stories.

“people go to parties to see who they see and to get some content”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 14:21

Griffin argues that hyping young children as top-ranked prospects can damage their psyches, citing a childhood peer who stopped growing.

“people thought he was gonna be, like, the next greatest thing, and, like, I don't know, I think it, like, messes up kids, like, psyche”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 3:58

Griffin says that after nine surgeries, workout and recovery consumed most of his day during an 82-game season.

“working out and recovery, like, was, like, 70% of the day, you know?”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 5:51

Griffin believes there are lines in trash talk, such as never mentioning a player's family.

“You can't take things like you shouldn't say anything about anybody's family”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 47:35

Griffin endorses the 'elevator theory' that fans should not say anything to athletes they wouldn't say face to face.

“don't ever say to somebody during a basketball game or a sporting event that you wouldn't say if you were trapped in an elevator with them”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 29:56

Griffin says he never feared missing a big shot, only thinking about making it.

“It never went through my mind, what if I miss? It was always, what if I make it?”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 20:48

Griffin says high-pressure moments are what he misses most about playing.

“that's the thing I miss the most is the big, like, high-pressure moments”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 20:25

Griffin graciously congratulated Bortles, saying a win for one Blake is a win for all.

“I feel like when one Blake wins, we all win. A rising tide raises all ships”

Pardon My Take: The 2026 Takie Awards Featuring Celebrity Guest Presenters, Blake Griffin, Blake Bortles, Brooks Koepka And More (Jul 24, 2026) · Listen from 2:23:54

Griffin says the reported Chris Paul–Austin Rivers locker-room confrontation was overblown and nothing physical happened.

“And like nothing happened. It was like really blown out of proportion”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 48:21

Griffin says that after a Clippers team psychologist accidentally left him a voicemail meant for the coach, he refused to see sports psychologists again.

“And second of all, I was like, well, fuck that. I'm never seeing another sports psychologist ever again”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 36:25

Griffin recounts coping with a second-round playoff loss to Oklahoma City by binge-watching Game of Thrones for days.

“I think I watched six seasons in literally five days”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 31:11

Griffin says Achilles tears leave visible lasting damage even for NBA players with the best physical therapy.

“Even guys in the NBA who have, like, the best PT guys who have torn their Achilles”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 24:12

Griffin says the Clippers were an undesirable destination for players when he arrived.

“nobody wanted to play for the Clippers when I got there”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 12:53

Griffin explains that traveling enforcement has loosened, with players now allowed a 'zero step' after the dribble.

“can take a dribble, and your first step is called a zero step”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 11:07

Griffin defends intentional fouling of poor free-throw shooters as part of professional sport's logic of exploiting weaknesses.

“professional sports especially is so much like find the weak link yes and it's like exploiting”

Friends Keep Secrets: The Blake Griffin Episode (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 9:00