Guy who dunks all the time doesn’t want to be known as guy who dunks all the time

It has to be tough to be Blake Griffin. First you get harassed by guys while just idling in a mall in Portland, then people just start throwing cars in front of you on your way to work, and then your old friends start confusing you with a teenage girl, and finally you have the injustice of being known for your one super-natural ability instead of your other merely world-class abilities. Oh, and to make it all worse you have to play for a team owned by a heckling bigot in a town owned by the other team whose home floor we all know you’re really playing on too. So it makes sense that Blake Griffin still may carry a bit of a chip on his high-flying shoulder.

“I’m going to keep working on my game and hopefully in a while people can see I do more than dunk,” he said. “(The attention) is just something you have to take with a grain of salt. When people are talking about you and saying good things you have to remember it’s just what’s popular at the time. I have a lot of work to do. I’m not where I want to be yet.”

In all seriousness, that’s a perfectly reasonable and healthy attitude to have regarding the spotlight (though, as shocking as this is for a Clipper, it doesn’t qualify as “winning”). Sorry, Charlie.

Best of luck to Blake in developing his all-around game to the level of his above-the-rim game. In the meantime, we’ll all be wondering what he’s going to jump over next. A jeep? TWO jeeps? The Statue of Liberty? David Stern’s ego? Stay tuned.

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Clippers and Slam Dunk champion Blake Griffin to visit New Jersey nets at the Rock Friday Night [NY Daily News]