Good news for Celtics fans hoping to get a Blake Griffin jersey. Griffin met with Celtics reporters on Monday for the first time and among other things revealed what number he’ll wear in Boston – and it’s a unique one.
Griffin told reporters he’ll wear No. 91 for the Celtics this year. It’ll be the first time in Celtics history a player wears No. 91, and just the 10th time a player wears a number in the 90s.
Blake Griffin on joining Boston … pic.twitter.com/W3ixDmAPHr
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) October 3, 2022Griffin will also be just the fifth player in NBA history to wear No. 91. Dennis Rodman was the first player to wear it, doing so with the Chicago Bulls in the late 90s. In 2005 Metta Sandiford-Artest, then Ron Artest and later Metta World Peace, wore it with the Indiana Pacers. In recent years, its been worn by Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Deividas Sirvydis.
Griffin had previously worn the numbers 23, 32, and 2 in his career. All three are retired by the Celtics – 23 for Frank Ramsey, 32 for Kevin McHale, and 2 for Red Auerbach.
In addition to revealing his jersey number, Griffin also gave some background into his signing, including how quickly it happened. “My plan was kind of to wait until after training camp,” he told reporters. “This is the kind of opportunity you couldn’t pass up.”
“Boston is always one of those places as an NBA player where guys are like ‘it’d be a cool experience playing there,'” Griffin continued.
While his role remains uncertain, Griffin said he feels healthy and ready to contribute. “I didn’t come here demanding a certain type of role,” he noted. “Just to fill the gaps and to help this team win a championship.”
Griffin said that while he and the team are still working out a plan for him for the immediate future, he is open to playing in preseason games. The Celtics’ next preseason game is Wednesday, at home against the Toronto Raptors. Coverage of that game can be heard on 98.5 The Sports Hub and the Celtics Radio Network starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Blake Griffin’s career stats
Season Age Tm G GS MP FG% 3P% 2P% FT% TRB AST STL BLK PTS 2010-11 21 LAC 82 82 38.0 .506 .292 .510 .642 12.1 3.8 0.8 0.5 22.5 2011-12 22 LAC 66 66 36.2 .549 .125 .556 .521 10.9 3.2 0.8 0.7 20.7 2012-13 23 LAC 80 80 32.5 .538 .179 .548 .660 8.3 3.7 1.2 0.6 18.0 2013-14 24 LAC 80 80 35.8 .528 .273 .537 .715 9.5 3.9 1.2 0.6 24.1 2014-15 25 LAC 67 67 35.2 .502 .400 .504 .728 7.6 5.3 0.9 0.5 21.9 2015-16 26 LAC 35 35 33.4 .499 .333 .504 .727 8.4 4.9 0.8 0.5 21.4 2016-17 27 LAC 61 61 34.0 .493 .336 .514 .760 8.1 4.9 0.9 0.4 21.6 2017-18 28 TOT 58 58 34.0 .438 .345 .482 .785 7.4 5.8 0.7 0.3 21.4 2017-18 28 LAC 33 33 34.5 .441 .342 .488 .785 7.9 5.4 0.9 0.3 22.6 2017-18 28 DET 25 25 33.2 .433 .348 .473 .784 6.6 6.2 0.4 0.4 19.8 2018-19 29 DET 75 75 35.0 .462 .362 .525 .753 7.5 5.4 0.7 0.4 24.5 2019-20 30 DET 18 18 28.4 .352 .243 .439 .776 4.7 3.3 0.4 0.4 15.5 2020-21 31 TOT 46 30 25.8 .423 .341 .505 .744 4.9 3.0 0.7 0.3 11.0 2020-21 31 DET 20 20 31.3 .365 .315 .429 .710 5.2 3.9 0.7 0.1 12.3 2020-21 31 BRK 26 10 21.5 .492 .383 .574 .782 4.7 2.4 0.7 0.5 10.0 2021-22 32 BRK 56 24 17.1 .425 .262 .565 .724 4.1 1.9 0.5 0.3 6.4 Career 724 676 32.9 .493 .327 .521 .696 8.2 4.1 0.8 0.5 19.8 8 seasons LAC 504 504 35.1 .512 .316 .524 .680 9.3 4.2 1.0 0.5 21.6 4 seasons DET 138 138 33.3 .434 .339 .498 .756 6.7 5.0 0.6 0.3 20.7 2 seasons BRK 82 34 18.5 .450 .305 .569 .748 4.3 2.0 0.5 0.3 7.5 Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].
