It’s a no-brainer. The Los Angeles Clippers have selected Blake Griffin with the first overall

pick. Griffin is a power forward playing for the Oklahoma Sooners of the University of Oklahoma He was named the Associated Press, the John Wooden Award, the Naismith Award and the Sporting News player of the year for the 08-09 college basketball season so he has the credentials to back up the hype. He has also averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks for the season. He reminds scouts of a young Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz.

The 2009 NBA Draft was completed on Thursday, June 25 (Friday, June 26 here in the Philippines) at Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theater. It begun at 7 pm EST and was shown on ESPN and BTV.

Here’s the complete list of picks in Round 1.

1. LA Clippers     Blake Griffin     PF
2. Memphis     Hasheem Thabeet     C
3. Oklahoma City    James Harden     SG
4. Sacramento     Tyreke Evans     SG
5. Minnesota     Ricky Rubio     PG
6. Minnesota     Jonny Flynn     PG
7. Golden State     Stephen Curry     PG
8. New York     Jordan Hill     PF
9. Toronto     DeMar DeRozan     SG
10. Milwaukee     Brandon Jennings     PG
11. New Jersey     Terrence Williams     SG
12. Charlotte     Gerald Henderson     SG
13. Indiana     Tyler Hansbrough     PF
14. Phoenix     Earl Clark     SF
15. Detroit     Austin Daye     SF
16. Chicago     James Johnson     PF
17. Philadelphia     Jrue Holiday     PG
18. Minnesota     Ty Lawson     PG
19. Atlanta     Jeff Teague     PG
20. Utah     Eric Maynor     PG
21. New Orleans     Darren Collison     PG
22. Portland     Victor Claver     PF
23. Sacramento     Omri Casspi     SF
24. Dallas     B.J. Mullens     C
25. Oklahoma City     Rodrigue Beaubois     PG
26. Chicago     Taj Gibson     PF
27. Memphis     DeMarre Carroll     PF
28. Minnesota     Wayne Ellington     SG
29. LA Lakers     Toney Douglas     SG
30. Cleveland     Christian Eyenga     SG

Based on what I read, this year’s batch seems to be pretty weak with less than 3 players predicted to have an impact in the NBA for years to come. Even the 1st pick is not a guaranteed franchise player. At best, he might be the next Kenyon Martin.

This weak draft was overshadowed by Shaq’s trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Well, I’m not surprised at all. Shaq has always been hogging the limelight since he was drafted 1st pick overall in the 1992 NBA Draft.

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UPDATE October 28, 2009: It’s game time!

How will this crop of rookies fare?

Follow them and watch the 2009-10 NBA games in live streaming.

UPDATE October 29, 2010: Blake Griffin’s NBA season will be put on hold as Griffin apparently broke his left kneecap during the Clippers’ final exhibition game against New Orleans.

UPDATE April 29, 2010: Tyreke Evans was named today the NBA’s Rookie of the Year.

Please read my related posts:

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Tags: 2009 NBA draft, blake griffin, LA clippers