There is no love lost between Blake Griffin and the Detroit Pistons.
Despite him having hard arguably one of his best seasons as a pro with the franchise, many Pistons fans dislike Griffin over their perception that he didn’t play hard while a member of their team.
On Friday night, when the Pistons took on Griffin’s new squad, the Brooklyn Nets, they made sure to let him know exactly where he stood with them.
Griffin took note.
After the Nets ultimately pulled off a 96-90 victory, he addressed the icy reception he received in a session with the media.
“I heard they booed Andre Drummond last night, what did he do?”
Blake Griffin wasn’t surprised by the boos from Pistons fans tonight, and added “I didn’t really hear it ’til the end” pic.twitter.com/KrRiENhVn6
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) November 6, 2021
“Surprising? No, I mean, I heard they booed Andre Drummond last night,” said Griffin. “What did he do? He just got traded. So no, I assumed that was going to happen. So no, not surprising at all. But I didn’t really hear it until the end.”
One day earlier, Drummond’s Philadelphia 76ers beat Detroit 109-98. Fans did in fact boo him also.
Of course, what Griffin conveniently leaves out in his assessment is that neither he nor Drummond left the Pistons on particularly good terms. Both forced their way out after disappointing stints. It’s not like fans are booing someone who truly and legitimately grinded it out with the franchise through thick and thin.
Now that’s a Halloween costume. https://t.co/xDN5ukIuKB
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 30, 2021
Griffin’s revisionist history always seems to ignore certain key elements. For one, his policy on dunking in Detroit versus Brooklyn. That was straight up egregious. But just as importantly, the numbers backed up what fans called him out for. He stopped going into the paint after his first season with the team. And when fans pointed that out, he got pissy and mocked them for it. That also didn’t endear him to anyone.
It’s okay that Griffin is defensive. Most pro athletes have very fragile egos, so it makes sense. But there is a difference between being defensive and being delusional, and Griffin often lands in the latter camp when he talks about Pistons fans.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.