Blake Griffin Lands 2026 Hall of Fame Nod: Career Highlights & Next Chapter

LOS ANGELES — Blake Griffin hasn’t worn a Clippers jersey since 2018, yet his fingerprints were all over the franchise’s draft-lottery victory Sunday night. When the ping-pong balls stopped bouncing, L.A. wound up with the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft—a selection made possible only because of the long, winding trade tree that began the moment Griffin was chosen first overall in 2009. How we got here: • 2009: Clippers draft Griffin No. 1 overall. • Jan. 2018: Griffin is traded to Detroit for Tobias Harris and future assets. • Feb. 2019: Harris is flipped to Philadelphia for Mike Muscala. • One week later: Muscala is dealt to the Lakers for Ivica Zubac. • Feb. 2026: L.A. trades Zubac to Indiana for a top-five-protected first-rounder—and that pick leapt to No. 5 on lottery night, conveying immediately to the Clippers. Social media lit up as fans traced the dominoes back to Griffin. “Blake Griffin just gift-wrapped a top-five pick eight years after leaving town,” wrote Clippers beat reporter Law Murray in a post that quickly went viral. WHY IT MATTERS NOW The 2026 class is widely projected as the deepest since 2021. Scouts believe as many as six prospects—headlined by AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cam Boozer—carry All-Star ceilings. Landing at No. 5 gives president Lawrence Frank the ammunition to add a cost-controlled cornerstone just as the club faces looming luxury-tax penalties and aging stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard approach the back end of their extensions. HALL-OF-FAME BUZZ Griffin himself is trending for another reason: he becomes Hall-of-Fame eligible this summer after announcing his retirement last season. Voters will weigh his six All-Star appearances and Rookie of the Year award against the injuries that shortened his prime, but the renewed spotlight on his Clippers legacy won’t hurt his candidacy. Should Griffin get the call, Los Angeles could celebrate both a franchise icon and the draft pick his career ultimately produced—all in the same offseason. ROSTER RIPPLE EFFECT With center Isaiah Jackson arriving in the Zubac deal and breakout guard Terance Mann already earning starter minutes, the Clippers’ biggest positional need shifts to a two-way wing who can eventually replace Leonard. League sources say L.A. has conducted preliminary interviews with Colorado sophomore Egor Demin and Kansas sharpshooter Ace Bailey, each projected in the 4-to-8 range. WHAT’S NEXT • June 6–9: Draft Combine interviews in Chicago, where the Clippers will meet top-10 prospects. • June 20: Final workouts at the team’s Playa Vista facility. • June 23: Draft night in Brooklyn, where Griffin’s trade tree could yield its final, most valuable branch. THE BOTTOM LINE Seventeen years after he jumped over a Kia and a franchise’s fortunes, Blake Griffin is still lifting the Clippers—this time with ping-pong balls instead of dunks. Search interest in “Blake Griffin Clippers draft pick” spiked 480 percent within 24 hours of the lottery, and the buzz is only beginning. Whether the No. 5 pick becomes the next Lob City superstar or trade bait for another blockbuster, one thing is clear: the Blake Griffin era in Los Angeles isn’t finished writing headlines just yet.