Blake Griffin retires after high-flying NBA career that included Rookie of the Year, All-Star honors

Blake Griffin announced his retirement Tuesday after a 14-year career that included six All-Star selections, Rookie of the Year honors and a dunk contest victory.

Griffin said in a social media post that he's “thankful for every single moment” of his career. He was the No. 1 overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers out of Oklahoma in 2009. He missed his first season with a knee injury, but rebounded to earn the Rookie of the Year award in 2011, when he also won the All-Star Game dunk contest.

Alongside Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan, Griffin's high-flying plays rejuvenated the Clippers franchise and earned it the nickname “Lob City.” He was traded to the Detroit Pistons during the 2018 season as his ability to soar dwindled and injuries piled up.

“Blake was a big part of the turnaround here,” said Tyronn Lue, the current Clippers coach who was an assistant on the staff early in Griffin's LA career. “Blake was one of the most dynamic players we’ve seen in this league for a long time as far as athletic-wise. One thing he doesn’t get credit for is his passing ability. He had a great career.”

Griffin was able to reinvent his game in Detroit with a reliable 3-point shot and was selected for his sixth All-Star Game in the 2018-19 season. He averaged 24.5 points and 7.5 rebounds that season.

Griffin, 35, also had stints in Brooklyn and Boston. He did not play in the 2023-24 season.

He averaged 19.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in his career. He finished third in MVP voting behind Kevin Durant and LeBron James in the 2013-14 season.

“I’m thankful for every single moment — not just the good ones: the wins, the awards, the dunks, and the memorable times spent with family, friends, fans, teammates and coaches,” Griffin said in his Instagram post, thanking his family and agent, Sam Goldfeder. “I am equally thankful for the not-so-good moments: the losses, the injuries, the wayyyy too many surgeries, the lessons, the heartbreaks, and it wouldn’t be sports retirement letter without acknowledging the ‘haters.’

"All of these experiences made my 14 years in the league truly unforgettable, and I can’t help but just feel thankful.”

AP Sports Writer Beth Harris in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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FILE - Los Angeles Clippers' rookie forward Blake Griffin receives the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as he is named the 2010-11 NBA Rookie of the Year during a ceremony at the NBA basketball team's training center in Los Angeles, Wednesday, May, 4, 2011. Griffin announced his retirement Tuesday, April 16, 2024, after a 14-year career that included six All-Star selections, Rookie of the Year honors and a dunk contest victory. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, left, is fouled by Phoenix Suns center Alex Len, of Ukraine, as he shoots during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 31, 2016, in Los Angeles. Griffin announced his retirement Tuesday, April 16, 2024, after a 14-year career that included six All-Star selections, Rookie of the Year honors and a dunk contest victory. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, FIle)

FILE - Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, right, goes up for a dunk as Miami Heat forward Chris Andersen, center, defends and forward LeBron James, second from left, and forward Matt Barnes watch during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014, in Los Angeles. Griffin announced his retirement Tuesday, April 16, 2024, after a 14-year career that included six All-Star selections, Rookie of the Year honors and a dunk contest victory. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin, right, reacts after making a dunk against Portland Trail Blazers' Mason Plumlee in the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, on Sunday, April 17, 2016, in Los Angeles. Griffin announced his retirement Tuesday, April 16, 2024, after a 14-year career that included six All-Star selections, Rookie of the Year honors and a dunk contest victory. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin (32) scores past Houston Rockets' Dwight Howard (12) and Trevor Ariza (1) during the second half in Game 5 of the NBA basketball Western Conference semifinals Tuesday, May 12, 2015, in Houston. Griffin announced his retirement Tuesday, April 16, 2024, after a 14-year career that included six All-Star selections, Rookie of the Year honors and a dunk contest victory. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) — A former teacher at New Hampshire’s youth detention center testified Monday that she reported suspicious bruises on at least half a dozen teenage boys in the 1990s, including the former resident who filed a landmark lawsuit against the state.

Brenda Wouters, who taught social studies at the Sununu Youth Services Center for 35 years, was the final witness called by David Meehan, who is seeking to hold the state accountable for physical, sexual and emotional abuse he says he suffered as a teen. Since he went to police in 2017, 11 former state workers have been arrested, and more than 1,100 former residents of the Manchester facility have filed lawsuits alleging six decades of abuse.

Wouters, who retired in 2022, said during the civil trial that she remembered Meehan growing sullen and withdrawn during his three years at what was then called the Youth Development Center. He had a black eye twice, she said. Another time, she asked him to lift up his shirt after she caught a glimpse of bruising and saw a “rainbow” of bruises along his torso.

Other teens showed up to school with marks on their necks and arms, Wouters said. The whites of one boy’s eyes were “beet red,” she said.

“The reddest eyes I’ve ever seen short of watching a Dracula film,” she said.

Wouters also described teens telling her about being forced to fight. Staff pitted stronger kids against more fragile ones.

“Then they would encourage those kids to go ahead and fight with each other almost to the death until whomever was being the loser would then comply with whatever the staff wanted,” she said.

Wouters said when she approached residential staff, they brushed her off. She said she told her boss, and on multiple occasions, called the state Division of Children, Youth and Families, but there was no follow-up that she saw.

Under questioning from the state’s attorney, however, Wouters acknowledged that she never witnessed abuse, nor did she file any written complaints. Shown progress reports from the 1990s, she also acknowledged that Meehan was only in her class during the spring of 1996, a time when he does not allege abuse. But she said she would’ve still interacted with him after that.

Lawyers for the state will begin presenting their side on Tuesday, the trial's 15th day. In opening arguments earlier this month, they argued the state is not liable for the actions of “rogue” employees, and in questioning Meehan’s witnesses, suggested he is lying to get money. The state also contends he waited too long to file his lawsuit. The statute of limitations for such lawsuits is three years from the date of injury, though there are exceptions in cases when victims were not aware of its link to the wrongful party.

After the jury was dismissed for the day Monday, Assistant Attorney General Brandon Chase asked the judge to issue a verdict in the state’s favor based on the statute of limitations argument.

Judge Andrew Schulman denied that request, saying the jury will decide. Though he said it might be a “close call” as to when Meehan realized as an adult he might have a claim against the state, he said it was unreasonable to believe he made that connection while at the facility or soon after. Schulman said when he visited the facility with jurors at the start of the trial, he spent some time in Meehan’s former room, looking out the window.

“It occurred to me while I was there, this is the kid’s eye view,” he said. “You don’t have a very wide view of the world.”

FILE - The Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester, N.H., stands among trees, Jan. 28, 2020. A former teacher at New Hampshire’s youth detention center testified Monday, April 29, 2024, that she reported suspicious bruises on at least half a dozen teenage boys in the 1990s, including the former resident who filed a landmark lawsuit against the state. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)