From Reluctant to Rising Star: Inside Blake Griffin’s Rookie Season at Prime Video

The seeds of Blake Griffin’s media career were sown in a pre-operation room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center years before his NBA career ended.

It was January 2020, and Griffin, then with the Pistons, was preparing to undergo his second left knee surgery in less than a year. As he waited to go under the knife, he recognized the person next to him: Rams offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth.

“Not exactly your best moment,” Whitworth told Front Office Sports. “We’re both sitting in our gowns, half-naked, staring at each other like, ‘I know you.’”

They became fast friends. While Griffin rehabbed and returned to play four more seasons with the Pistons, Nets, and Celtics, he watched Whitworth retire and transition to broadcasting on Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football.

Fast-forward to March 2024. The NBA was in the penultimate season of its media-rights deal. Amazon had emerged as a favorite to be part of the next package, and Whitworth had a candidate in mind for his employer. Griffin reminded him of Ryan Fitzpatrick, his TNF broadcast partner, who paired his wittiness with a deep knowledge of the game.

“Blake is one of the most unique guys I’ve ever been around,” Whitworth said. “I was like, ‘This is the basketball version of [Fitzpatrick].’ I would love for Jared to be around this guy.”

Whitworth was referring to Jared Stacy, Amazon’s VP of global live sports production. The three-time All-Pro offensive tackle invited Griffin to join him for a round of golf with the executive. As they played, Stacy gauged Griffin’s interest in going into media. But Amazon didn’t have the rights yet, so he had nothing to offer. And Griffin—who was still a month away from formally announcing his retirement—didn’t seem intrigued, anyway.

“It was pretty much nonexistent on my priority list,” Griffin told FOS of his broadcast pursuits. “I had no interest.”

Two years later, Griffin is the NBA’s breakout media star on NBA on Prime during Amazon’s first season as a media-rights partner, serving as a studio analyst alongside host Taylor Rooks and fellow former players Dirk Nowitzki, Udonis Haslem, and Steve Nash. He is one of the faces of the company’s coverage of the postseason, which includes the play-in tournament and first and second rounds of the playoffs. Those who know the 37-year-old aren’t surprised by his performance. He’s always had the personality, sense of humor, and feel for the game to succeed on air. But getting him on board was not a slam dunk.

Right Man for the Job

Unsurprisingly, Griffin attracted immediate interest for a broadcasting job upon retirement.

Throughout his playing career, he had a stellar reputation with reporters as one of the league’s most quotable stars. The six-time All-Star’s background in stand-up comedy added to his value. Griffin told FOS that shortly after retiring, he received several calls from networks to potentially join them as a studio analyst. But he passed on them all without regret.

“I just didn’t think it was for me,” Griffin says. “I didn’t see myself fitting in with the TNT guys. They’re great, they’re fun, they’re hilarious, it’s a fantastic show. But I’m in a very different generation.”

Since its inception in 1989—the same year Griffin was born—Inside the NBA has been considered basketball’s premier studio show. The four-man team of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal has a reputation for being brutally honest about the game’s players and their viral comedy moments. But to Griffin’s point, the age gap between the cast and the current NBA product continues to grow. The crew’s youngest member, O’Neal, played his final NBA game in 2011, which was Griffin’s rookie season.

Griffin’s concerns with going into the field revolved around the ability—or inability—to be himself. Was there an outlet that would lean in to his career, humor, and personality? Or would he have to be something he’s not?

“I’ve noticed over the years guys retire and go into media, and I’m like, ‘Whoa, that is not the guy I remember or guy I know,’” Griffin said. “And that is something I am very actively trying to avoid. Authenticity, unfortunately, in media today, is not very high on the priority list.”

He also didn’t want to go on television to rip the product or the players—especially if he didn’t find it justifiable—just because his peers were doing so.

“I just thought some of the criticisms and the critiques were a little unfair, and my point of view and general personality is much more optimistic,” Griffin said. “That’s sort of the approach that we want to bring. That’s not to say we can’t be critical when it’s called for. But a guy going 3-for-14 doesn’t mean I need to go on TV and talk about how he sucks. We all had bad shooting nights.” 

Lob City Pipeline

As Griffin continued to watch games on his own, he started to see a void among analysts that he thought he could fill. He could teach the game instead of rip it, crack some jokes, and save the criticism for when it’s warranted.

It didn’t hurt that Griffin had a plethora of former teammates to speak to as he considered getting into broadcasting. The Lob City Clippers never won an NBA title, but they may be the most media-savvy team of the modern age. Nine players from those teams have built successful media careers, including Matt Barnes, Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, and Grant Hill. Chauncey Billups and JJ Redick were successful ESPN analysts before becoming coaches. Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan both appear to have bright futures in the field, should they pursue them.

All of them thought Griffin had the skills to thrive in the industry. But most wondered whether he wanted to.

“I always knew Blake would be great at media; I didn’t know if he wanted to do it,” Rivers told FOS. “Because he’s such a funny guy, I didn’t know if he wanted to be more in movies.”

Griffin said he spent a lot of time talking to Redick about a potential broadcast career and how to remain authentic in the job. He said Redick and Hill “are more my speed” as analysts and less “click-baity,” which is why he’s studied both former teammates’ on-air work.

After their golf outing, Griffin and Stacy kept in touch. In July 2024, Prime Video was announced as part of the league’s new media package. When Stacy met with prospective analysts, he found Griffin much more interested. Both were on the same page about how they wanted to shape the broadcasts: Educate the audience and celebrate the game. Griffin was on board.

“I kind of felt like if he wanted to do this, he would want to do it with us,” Stacy told FOS. “What was appealing to him was having a hand in shaping what the tone and the feel of our NBA programming would be from Day 1.”

After Amazon obtained its NBA rights, Griffin and Whitworth met for dinner at The Bird Streets Club, a members-only restaurant in Los Angeles. During the meal, Griffin informed Whitworth that they would officially be coworkers.

“It was a really cool moment in our friendship,” Whitworth said. “Blake’s not serious that often, but it was his moment of being serious and just saying thank you for believing in me.”

Rookie of the Year

Griffin started to establish himself as a budding media star a week into the 2025–26 season, Amazon’s first as an NBA rights holder.

After Grizzlies star Ja Morant appeared to show a lack of effort in an Oct. 31 loss to the Lakers, Griffin broke down his performance in real time and used his credibility as a former All-Star to hold Morant accountable.

“This is a guy who is insanely talented,” Griffin said of Morant. “For a guy that’s making $40 million and needs to be the leader of this team, I just don’t love it. I don’t know if he was not feeling well, if he’s hurt, but that to me is a very bad sign and something that has to change.”

The clip went viral on social media, and Griffin was praised for being honest without crossing any lines. A month later, he had another test after the Clippers surprisingly sent home Paul midway through his final NBA season. Griffin drew on his personal experiences with Paul and the Clippers to express his disappointment.

He’s also grown comfortable with his own mistakes as a rookie broadcaster. Both Fitzpatrick and Whitworth have told Griffin to lean in to them. The Oklahoma native said he had a broadcast where he couldn’t remember how to pronounce “versatile.” Instead, he kept saying “versatility” but was able to laugh about it.

“Earlier in the season, I would have tried to correct it,” Griffin said. “Their advice was that when things don’t go according to plan, it’s O.K. to acknowledge it. You can’t pretend something didn’t happen.”

Griffin has flashed his sense of humor, too, as evidenced by his stellar impression of Kawhi Leonard’s laugh. From his initial “nonexistent” interest, Griffin now talks about his media career as if he were still playing, hoping he never gets content with his performance.

He’s even enjoyed parts of the job his former teammates were skeptical about. Crawford is another Lob City Media Clipper who pegged Griffin as a future movie star but wondered whether he would enjoy the monotonous parts of being an analyst.

“Breaking down the game all the time, I didn’t think he would do that,” Crawford told FOS.

Yet he’s enjoyed the homework. As a player, he knew scouting reports and player tendencies, but the focus on his own team prevented him from deeply thinking about the others.

“I know more about the entire league now than when I was playing,” Griffin said. “Now I can take a much different perspective.”