NBA: Ranking every team’s best player in 2019-20

Blake Griffin is one of the hardest players to rank against his brethren, as he is difficult to rank in a more historic way. The LA Clippers of “Lob City” were dominant in the regular season, only to lose in the playoffs too early due to injuries to their stars or unlikely outbursts from opposing role players.

Griffin, now with the Detroit Pistons, is a better player than he was then, spacing the floor and directing the offense as a power forward.

In fact Griffin was probably his team’s best passer while on the court a year ago, often its best shooter as well. With a poorly constructed roster around him last year he carried the Pistons to the postseason, although yet again his body failed him.

Why is Griffin not considered a top-10 player in the league? Is it because of the injuries, or the poor talent around him? Give him real spacing and he could still dominate at a high level. Yet he is not an elite rim protector, his athleticism will only wane as he ages and the injuries keep coming.

Griffin deserves a better place to finish out his prime than Detroit, but that is the hand he was dealt.

Looking ahead: This team has a supposed trio of stars, but Reggie Jackson is the league’s most overrated point guard and Andre Drummond perhaps its most overrated All-Star. With limited draft capital from consistently being middle-of-the-pack, the Pistons don’t have another player with star-upside on the roster.

Barring a steep decline from Griffin this is his spot next year as well.