NBA teams
Sam Alipour, ESPN The Magazine 10y

The Blake Griffin pop quiz

NBA, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat

YOU VOTED HIM to four All-Star Games. You tweet his GIFs, you stalk him on YouTube and, if you're a Warriors fan, you see his March 12 dunk in your nightmares. But how well do you really know Blake Griffin? Test your knowledge by taking our quiz -- watch out for the pump fakes! -- and then read the real answers from Griffin himself. Or don't. Frankly, he doesn't care what you do. He has other things on his mind ... like winning titles. And squashing Justin Bieber rumors.


1. Chris Paul says the No. 1 reason for Blake's career year is his improved confidence. Blake says Paul is _______ .
A "Absolutely right. Confidence is everything."
B "Half right. It's also the product of many reps last summer."
C "Half right. Doc's coaching is the other half."
D "An idiot and almost always wrong."

2. Blake's biggest pet peeve is _______ .
A "Food pics. I get it: You eat. I eat too. Let's move on."
B "Bad drivers. I get mini road rage every time I get behind the wheel in LA."
C "International despots. Stay in your lane, Putin. Stay in your lane."
D "Reporters who ask me what my biggest pet peeve is."

3. Blake has a pregame routine. For example, before the Warriors game, he _______ .
A Packed a meal; drove solo; listened to the Weeknd.
B Drove with his boy, Petey; listened to Drake; ate at Umami Burger.
C Rode with DeAndre Jordan; listened to DeAndre sing; ate at In-N-Out.
D Hitchhiked; listened to Huey Lewis on his Walkman; ate cotton candy.

4. By the time he fell asleep on March 12, Blake had watched video of his tomahawk putback slam ________ times.
A "Zero. How many times did Al Pacino watch The Godfather?"
B "Four or five. Doc kept replaying it for the guys."
C "Once, while lying in bed."
D "I lost count. And I love myself."

5. The former Slam Dunk Contest champ says there's a ________ chance that he'll compete in another dunk competition.
A "100 percent. That's the deal I made with Kia."
B "50 percent. The timing has to be right."
C "10 percent. It's just too tiring."
D "0 percent. I'm busy enough posterizing the Warriors."

6. Once known as a player whom opponents begged to shoot, Blake now has a reliable 15-footer and, as seen during the Warriors game, a stellar bank shot that was inspired by _______ .
A Larry Bird, the renowned marksman and Hall of Famer.
B Tim Duncan, modern-day master of the bank.
C His dad, Tommy, who balled at Northwestern Oklahoma State.
D The Warriors' temporary lack of anything resembling an NBA defense.

7. If Blake had actually witnessed Justin Bieber verbally abusing a Starbucks barista, he says he would have _______ .
A "Stepped in and helped out."
B "Slapped him, but soft and gentle."
C "Gotten Bieber's number and gotten him in a YouTube video."
D "Shook his hand. Baristas are evil."

8. Blake is often the recipient of overly physical play. He thinks it's because _______ .
A "Guys think they can rattle me, I guess."
B "They don't like getting dunked on."
C "I'm a physical player."
D "NBA players are just so darn mean."

9. Blake's favorite new hobby is _______ .
A "Paddleboarding. It's a chance to get away from people."
B "Surfing. It's a chance to get away from people."
C "Paintball. It's a chance to play with pretty colors."
D "Playing with Big Baby's belly rolls."

10. Blake is scared to death of _______ .
A "Skydiving. My worst nightmare."
B "Sharks. They just freak me out."
C "Power forwards. I'm more of a 3."
D "Serge Ibaka. Dude just won't stop hitting me in the nuts."

11. The first time Blake met Michael Jordan, MJ made him _______ .
A Cough.
B An ice cream sundae.
C Kiss his ring.
D Kiss his rear end.

12. On Blake's Mount Rushmore of the NBA are _______ .
A Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson and LeBron James.
B Jordan, Russell, Magic and Larry Bird.
C Jordan, Russell, Magic and Wilt Chamberlain.
D Four really big selfies of Jordan.

13. Blake says he'd need to earn ________ rings in order to walk away from the game happy.
A "Four. A guy as great as Tim Duncan only has that many."
B "Five, like Kobe."
C "Six or seven. MJ is the pinnacle."
D "One, so long as it's a wedding ring. I'm a hopeless romantic."

14. Blake puts the Clippers' chances of winning the NBA title in June at _______ .
A "Very likely."
B "50-50."
C "Unlikely, if we're being real."
D "Zero. Shoulda traded me for Melo."


ANSWER KEY
1. A
"It's confidence, for sure, but last summer was the first time I was completely healthy. The summer before, I went straight to Team USA, got hurt and had surgery."

2. B "Bad drivers. The other day I saw a lady reading a book while driving. I was like, 'What are you doing?!' But I have tinted windows, so she couldn't see me."

3. A "I always drive by myself and listen to preset stations on Sirius, and no rap. Before a game, I prefer R&B and stuff that calms me down, like the Weeknd. I used to eat in the car, but that got dangerous."

4. C "Honestly, just once. When I turned on the TV, they were recapping our game. For that dunk, everything had to be perfect -- the spot, the timing and the bounce."

5. B "The timing has to be right. I have to be healthy going into it, and they have to do away with the new format. Not a fan."

6. C "My dad, all the way. He's been telling me to shoot the bank since I was a kid."

7. A "It was funny to hear that I'd slapped Bieber. I thought it was a joke. Then it blew up. I probably got 50 texts about it."

8. C "I don't go into a situation trying to knock somebody over. It's just the way I play: physical."

9. A "I paddleboarded a few times last summer and plan to do it a lot more. It's a chance to get away and not think about anything."

10. B "If I saw a shark, I'd paddle to shore and find another hobby."

11. A "The most starstruck I've ever been was at the Jordan Brand Classic. He shook my hand and said, 'You're getting bigger, big fella.' Then he smacked my chest so hard, it made me cough. So he literally took my breath away."

12. B "It'd be an unbelievable honor to bump one of them someday."

13. C "Look at Bill Russell's 11 rings; that was a different day."

14. A "If we get everybody healthy? I like our chances."

Illustration by Todd Detwiler

Follow The Mag on Twitter (@ESPNmag) and like us on Facebook.

^ Back to Top ^