Blake great but Wilt one of a kind

Originally Published: Feb 19, 2011 12:13 PM CDTEven the most staunch Blake Griffin fans could not have imagined that in his rookie season

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 1:33 pm

By: News 9

Originally Published: Feb 19, 2011 12:13 PM CDT

Even the most staunch Blake Griffin fans could not have imagined that in his rookie season he’d become a YouTube sensation, that former players would compare him to Hall-of-Fame power forward Karl Malone and that he’d become one of the top two draws in the NBA. Take that back. Maybe brother Taylor did. Daddy Tommie. Perhaps Jeff Capel. Not even the genius of Albert Eschbach, the wily veteran espouser of Sooner hoops, did not envision what we are witnessing. Not you. Not me. Not Dickey V. Only LeBron gets more air time than Grif. He’s overtaken some that other guy in LA who’s led his team to back-to-back NBA Championships and who would if he quit today would go down as one of the top ten players in the history of the game. Karnack the Magnificent couldn’t have seen this coming.So, is all the hoopla deserved? Free enterprise says yes. People are putting their money where their mouths are. My wife says yes. She pays for my subscription to NBA League Pass so my boy Carson and I can watch everything from the Celtics play the Heat to the Clippers play the Whoevers. Every second of every game is available. So, no chance to miss a thing. Blake’s joined my DVR short list. The Office, O’Reilly, Thunder and Tiger. Never thought I’d be excited on my midnight drive home to plop down and catch a little Clippers and Wizards. If the Clips are playing, I’m returning text messages till 1:30 a. m. I’d be committed if I’d written that sentence five years ago. But like watching Jordan in the pre-DVR days, I didn’t want to miss a second. You never knew when he’d do something special. What’s more alarming? Texting worldwide, free-of-charge, 24/7? Or DVR’ing the Clips, for wee-hour-of-the morning viewing? No-brainer. The latter. Here is a look at some of Blakes stats and accomplishments so far this year: -23 points/game -12.6 rebounds/game -51% Field Goal Pct -Western Conference Rookie of the Month every month so far -Clippers franchise record for double-doubles with 27 -Clippers franchise record for most points by a rookie in a game -First rookie since Tim Duncan (1998) to be voted into All-Star Game by coaches. -Slam Dunk Contest and Rookie/Sophomore Challenge participant But before we put Blake Griffin on Mount Rushmore, it’s worth noting that there was a fella a few years back who posted rookie numbers that make what Griffin is doing seem normal.The tall drink of water’s name was Wilt. Wilt Chamberlain. Most of his numbers were pretty staggering: -7-foot-1, 275 Big Dipper -37.6 points/game as rookie in 1960 (averaged an NBA record 50.4 his third season) -Scored 50 or more points in 46 of the 80 games in 1962, including the single game record of 100 points in one game -Averaged 44.8 points the next season (scoring average his first four seasons are the four highest averages in league history) -Averaged 39.6 pts/game in winning NBA scoring title first 7 seasons -1967 average 8.6 assists/game & became only center to lead league -Averaged 23 rebounds/game during 14-year career -Averaged 34.4 pts and 24.3 rebounds in the decade of the 60s -Set NBA rebound record with 55 in one game and 45 twice -20,000 dalliances (alleged) -One of three to win three consecutive MVP awards (Larry Bird and Bill Russell) As we sit back and enjoy Griffin at the All-Star festivities, let’s remember. There‘s been only one Wilt.