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NBA History: 25 best sidekicks of all time

By Hans Themistode

LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Kobe Bryant (L), Shaquille O'Neal (C) and Brian Shaw (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers joke on the bench during the final minutes in game four of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs 27 May 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers beat the Spurs 111-82 to sweep the best-of-seven series 4-0. AFP PHOTO/Mike NELSON (Photo credit should read MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Kobe Bryant (L), Shaquille O'Neal (C) and Brian Shaw (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers joke on the bench during the final minutes in game four of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs 27 May 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers beat the Spurs 111-82 to sweep the best-of-seven series 4-0. AFP PHOTO/Mike NELSON (Photo credit should read MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

Ranking the 25 best NBA sidekicks of all time: 23. Blake Griffin

Scoring the most points on your team doesn’t make you its best player. While playing alongside Chris Paul, Blake Griffin was a rockstar. He routinely made appearances on Sports Center highlight reels and his sole mission in life was to dunk on everyone. And for the most part, he pulled it off.

In six seasons with Paul, Blake averaged over 20 points a game in five of them. He also crashed the glass, averaging over eight boards a night in five of those six years. At one point, Griffin got his averages as high as 24.1 points and 12.1 boards.

Early on, it was all about jumping out of the gym for Griffin but as defenses made it more and more difficult for him in the playoffs, Griffin began adding more to his arsenal. The multiple-time All-Star went from averaging 3.2 assists in 2012 to 5.3 in 2015.

In spite of his terrific numbers, Griffin was never cut out to be the best player on a championship level team but Chris Paul was. The moment the future Hall of Famer landed with the Clippers, they turned into instant title contenders. Griffin, while incredibly talented, wasn’t a go-to guy but he was the perfect player to add to an already established star.