Boston Celtics' forward Blake Griffin retires from basketball at 35

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

The Boston Celtics' forward Blake Griffin announced his retirement from basketball on Tuesday at the age of 35.

"I never envisioned myself as the guy who would have a ‘letter to basketball’ retirement announcement … and I’m still not going to be that guy. But as I reflected on my career, the one feeling I kept coming back to and the one thing I wanted to express was thankfulness," Blake said.

"The game of basketball has given me so much in this life, and I wouldn’t change a thing," he added.

Blake was the No. 1 pick of the 2009 draft by the Los Angeles Clippers but he was not able to participate in 2009-10 due to a knee injury.

Griffin was selected as "the 2010-11 Rookie of the Year" with 22.5 ppg, 12.1 rpg and 3.8 apg averages and became the first player to do so unanimously since David Robinson in 1989-90.

Griffin, who ranks as the No. 2 scorer in Clippers’ history with 10,863 points, was included in the NBA All-Star six times (2011–2015, 2019).

He also played for the Detroit Pistons, the Brooklyn Nets and the Boston Celtics.