Tag: Blake Griffin

Gary Neal places fifth in NBA’s Rookie of Year voting

Spurs guard Gary Neal was fifth in final balloting for the NBA’s 2010-11 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year award.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin was the unanimous choice of the 118 media members who voted for the poll.

Washington guard John Wall was second in voting and Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins was third.

Neal’s strong finish is particularly because he was an undrafted free agent who spent three seasons in Europe after his college career at LaSalle and Towson State. His season was capped by his game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation which helped catapult the Spurs to a Game 5 victory over Memphis in the playoffs last week.

David Robinson (1990) and Tim Duncan (1998) are the only Spurs to previously win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year honors. Griffin is the first unanimous selection since Robinson.

Here’s a look at the final balloting released Wednesday by the NBA.

Griffin lands another deal even as the Clippers keep losing

Blake Griffin is making history this season, becoming the face of the league despite playing for the losing Los Angeles Clippers.

Griffin’s assortment of rim-rattling dunks have made him one of the league’s most popular players in his rookie season, bringing him an exclusive new contract with the Panini trading card team after earlier landing endorsement deals with Subway and Kia.

Griffin told Slam Magazine he’s .

“It’s cool,” Griffin said. “Y’know as a kid I collected a few cards, so to have my own card and see all the stuff they do with it now is real cool.”

This won’t be the old Topps and Donruss trading cards of the past.

“I just saw the Panini HRX today for the first time, it’s unbelievable,” Griffin said. “You basically open up the card and it’s basically a highlight real of yourself. There’s going be an actual video of you signing that actual card on the card, so it’s real cool. It’s going to be sick.”

Imagine Griffin’s mainstream appeal might become will become if the Clippers ever start winning — or if he eventually moves along to a winning franchise.

Can you say Michael Jordan?