Blake Griffin All-Star Game Start Well-Deserved As He Shakes Off ‘Overrated’ Tag! Dunk Champion Not 'Retired' From Dunk Contest!

Blake Griffin once said that he will never join the dunk contest again. However, as the pageantry of the event settles, he's thinking of a double take.

This season has been Blake Griffin's breakout year. But unlike most players who have their first All-Star Appearance at their breakout year, Griffin has been there all his career, and has been a starter for three years. Thus, he has been bestowed the "O" word-overrated! He tells Forbes.com:

"It's definitely been a roller coaster. I wasn't really prepared for what happened that first season, how everything just kind of blew up. Then on top of that I wasn't prepared for what was coming next. It was almost like an immediate 180, from all these people saying I can do this, this, this and that. And then, seemingly everybody saying I can't do this, this and that. And to this day it seems to me like all I hear about is what I can't do."

He has improved on all fronts, with an All-Star statline "averaging 24-10, shooting 54% and a career-high 70% at the line."

At the All-star break, he was even compared to the Karl Malone. Malone is an all-time great, and Griffin shares his thoughts on ESPN: "I'm humbled by that. That's a honor. He was one of the best power forwards to ever do it, so obviously I have a lot of work to do to get to where [I can approach] what he accomplished. That's not a bad person to be compared to ... I've watched a lot of tape of him. I've watched mostly [from] his later years after he had really developed and had really become a force scoring the basketball. And the thing I love about him is everyone I've talked to about him talks about his work ethic and how hard he worked. And then on top of that just how he put together a complete game and used his strength to his advantage but also could step out and knock down shots." 

On his controversial 'retirement' from the dunk contest: "I haven't retired officially. It isn't something I'll never, ever do again. But for right now, I try to take my rest when I can. And this year I really wanted that Saturday night rest. So not this year."