He might have been new to the stage, but Blake Griffin was no average rookie. Rookies have bad nights, do dumb things, disappear in crunch time. Griffin played all 82 games with the savvy and consistency of a seasoned vet, with flashes of brilliance so frequent they amounted to a season-long strobe light. Even his stats drew rave reviews: Griffin led his team in scoring and rebounding, averaged a double-double, won rookie of the month for the Western Conference every month of the season, and was fourth in the league in rebounds.

Quite the debut. Can’t wait to see the next season.

Congratulations, Blake Griffin, for being named NBA Rookie of the Year.