The Blake Griffin Episode
Episode of Friends Keep Secrets · June 30, 2026 · 1 h
Retired NBA star Blake Griffin talks with Benny Blanco, Dave Burd and Kristin Batalucco about pressure, injuries, Lob City, locker-room life, trash talk and retirement.
Summary
Retired NBA forward Blake Griffin joined hosts Benny Blanco, Dave Burd and Kristin Batalucco at Burd's home for a loose, comedic conversation. Griffin described growing up as the son of a high school coach, argued that national rankings of young children can damage their psyches, and explained that he prepared for retirement early through a production company and a venture fund with his brother, noting he retired after nine surgeries.
Griffin discussed the mental side of the game: sleep anxiety before games, learning moderation in diet, personal problems intruding at the free-throw line, and missing high-pressure moments most of all, saying he never thought about missing a big shot. He recalled lingering doubts after his rookie year, a playoff loss to Oklahoma City that led him to binge Game of Thrones, and admitted he still regrets the Lob City Clippers never winning more. He recounted a team sports psychologist accidentally leaving him a voicemail meant for the coach, which ended his willingness to see one, though he said he now attends therapy regularly.
The group also covered rule changes such as the zero step, Hack-a-DeAndre Jordan tactics, the toughest opponents including Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, sweating, trash-talk etiquette (Griffin endorsed an 'elevator theory' for fans), the Chris Paul–Austin Rivers locker-room incident, showers, playing time and 'locker room guys.' Blanco told a story about finishing a Kanye West and Kid Cudi album at the last minute, and the episode closed with talk of athlete diets and a voice note from Lil Yachty about quitting soda.
Chapters
- 0:06
Intro and first baller
The hosts welcome Blake Griffin, joking about his height and the basketball he brought in.
- 2:08
Born exceptional?
Griffin describes his basketball upbringing and criticizes rankings of elite fourth graders.
- 5:21
Retirement and routines
Griffin explains his post-retirement ventures, nine surgeries, sleep anxiety and diet moderation.
- 7:36
Pressure, Hack-a-DeAndre and traveling
The group discusses in-game pressure, fouling poor free-throw shooters, and the zero-step traveling rule.
- 12:06
Clippers, Detroit and LA life
Griffin compares Detroit and Los Angeles and reflects on social life and content-driven parties.
- 16:21
Photography and insecurities
Griffin talks film cameras, then his foot insecurities, shyness and love of big shots.
- 22:37
Pickup games, Achilles and tough guys
Griffin says he hasn't played pickup since retiring and discusses injury fears and intimidating players.
- 28:31
Golf, his son and losing
Griffin discusses golf, his son's sports, trash-talking fans, painful playoff losses and Lob City regrets.
- 34:25
Analyst work and the sports psychologist
Griffin describes his TV analysis approach and the sports psychologist voicemail mishap.
- 38:26
Kanye album deadlines
Blanco recounts finishing a Kanye West album hours before its release party.
- 41:52
Toughest opponents and trash talk
Griffin recalls Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, sweaty players, trash-talk lines and the Chris Paul locker-room incident.
- 48:59
Locker rooms, bench life and diets
Talk turns to showers, shoes, playing time, locker room veterans, athlete diets and a Lil Yachty voice note.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Blake Griffin
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”
- Blake Griffin
Griffin says he prepared for retirement early by starting a production company and a venture fund with his brother.
“You know, I started a production company in 2016. Yeah. My brother and I have a VC fund”
- Blake Griffin
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?”
- Blake Griffin
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”
- Blake Griffin
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”
- Blake Griffin
Griffin says the Clippers were an undesirable destination for players when he arrived.
“nobody wanted to play for the Clippers when I got there”
- Blake Griffin
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”
- Blake Griffin
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”
- Blake Griffin
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?”
- Blake Griffin
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”
- Benny Blanco
Blanco suggests Griffin could have been an elite professional football player.
“I think you could have been a Hall of Fame tight end”
- Blake Griffin
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”
Linked moment · 29:56Skip to 29:56 using a listen link in the info box.
Blake GriffinGriffin 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”
- Blake Griffin
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”
- Blake Griffin
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”
- Blake Griffin
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”
- Benny Blanco
Blanco recounts that Kanye West recorded all the vocals for the Kids See Ghosts album overnight on the final day before its release.
“We had no vocals, just scratch vocals. He came back at 3 a.m. He cuts the whole thing”
- Blake Griffin
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”
- Blake Griffin
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”
- 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”
People
In the conversation
- Benny BlancoAmerican record producer and songwriter, co-host of Friends Keep Secrets
- Dave BurdAmerican rapper and comedian known as Lil Dicky, creator of the TV series Dave, co-host of Friends Keep Secrets
- Kristin BataluccoCo-host of Friends Keep Secrets and wife of Dave Burd
- Blake GriffinRetired American NBA power forward, six-time All-Star best known for his years with the Los Angeles Clippers, now a basketball analyst
Discussed
- Chris PaulVeteran guard waived by the Clippers who then retired
- DeAndre JordanNBA center coached by Rivers with the Clippers
- Tim DuncanSpurs legend who nearly signed with Orlando
- Kevin GarnettHall of Fame forward whose Celtics trade is used as a precedent
- Kanye WestMusician cited as an example of someone being de-banked after controversial remarks
- Kid CudiAmerican rapper, Kanye West's partner on Kids See Ghosts
- Lil YachtyAmerican rapper who quit soda, per a voice note Blanco played
- Chris MullinGolden State Warriors Hall of Famer known for an ice-bucket beer ritual
- Austin RiversFormer NBA guard feuding with Draymond Green
- James JohnsonNBA forward and martial artist, drafted with Griffin in 2009
- Charles OakleyFormer NBA enforcer known for his large hands
- Kareem Abdul-JabbarNBA Hall of Fame center who publicly backed Haywood and later played with him on the Lakers
- LaMarcus AldridgeNBA power forward Griffin named as hard to guard
- Dirk NowitzkiFormer Dallas Mavericks star who led the 2011 title run
- Steve NashNBA Hall of Famer and Griffin's fellow analyst
- Udonis HaslemFormer Miami Heat forward and Griffin's fellow analyst
- Taylor RooksSports journalist who hosts Griffin's analyst show
- Andre Drummond76ers backup center
- Jamal CrawfordFormer NBA guard known for eating candy
Topics
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From the publisher
Blake is our first baller we’ve had on the show and an absolute pleasure of a man. Being around a man like this, you can’t help but have questions. Was he born exceptional, or did he become exceptional? Does he miss the thrill of taking a big shot? Could he have gone pro in any of the other sports? Who’s the hardest guy he ever played against, in terms of fear? Did he ever use his sweat to his advantage in a game? Has he seen all of his teammates naked? And why are the locker room showers still built so the whole team can see everything? Why would it still be like this? We investigate all of these questions and more. Thanks for watching us talk to Blake. We respect you! What happens: 0:00 intro 0:25 our first baller 2:10 was blake born exceptional 3:32 the number one fourth grader 4:08 lob city 4:41 does blake have demons 5:21 retiring after 9 surgeries 5:55 sleep anxiety 6:35 pregame rituals 7:35 the biggest thing that would impact a game 8:13 hack-a-deandre jordan 10:42 what's the deal with traveling 11:39 carrying 12:06 detroit blake griffin 12:47 nobody wanted to play for the clippers 13:07 worried about chairs 13:40 young blake in LA 14:21 parties before content 16:21 vibing on photography 17:50 injuring kareem abdul-jabbar 18:22 physical insecurities 18:54 non-physical insecurities 20:17 missing the high pressure moments 20:49 what if i can't do that again 22:37 pickup games 23:37 achilles anxiety 24:19 player beef 24:42 who would you least want to fight 26:46 after a win 27:40 proud giraffe 28:32 golf 28:54 football 29:14 does blake want his son to play 29:41 the elevator theory of trash talk 30:08 losing a big game 31:54 quarterly sad sessions 34:27 competitive as an analyst 35:26 sports psychologist voicemail 36:51 chris mullin ice buckets 37:26 playing hungover 38:14 playing high 38:45 kanye album deadlines 41:43 chuck shoot one at me 41:53 hardest guy to play against 42:38 tim duncan 43:52 falling in love in the stands 44:35 going against KG 45:18 sweaty…
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.