Blake Griffin “geeked out” by Tim Duncan

LOS ANGELES, July 14 (UPI) — In a gushing piece about superstar Tim Duncan, Blake Griffin told a story about his first time facing “The Big Fundamental,” in The Players’ Tribune.

Griffin began the post by talking about the first NBA game he ever attended. He was eight or nine years old at the Alamodome, watching David Robinson and Duncan warm up for the San Antonio Spurs. He sat up in the third level, watching Duncan’s warm-up routine. As Duncan drained hook shots, Griffin sat mesmerized.

Then Griffin, too, became a pro 10 years later. While he was warming up for one of his first NBA preseason games with the Los Angeles Clippers, Griffin stopped his shooting routine and looked down the court.

Again, he was awed by Duncan’s famous warm-up. So awed, in fact, that he was stuck in a trance.

“He was right there, 50 feet away, raining buckets,” Griffin wrote. “Silky smooth. No facial expression. Just totally about his business. Hook shot, hook shot, bank.”

“I genuinely geeked out.”

Griffin’s trance lasted about 30 seconds.

“I had to tell myself, “I’m about to literally line up across from this guy,” Griffin wrote. “I’m about to guard Tim Duncan. This is happening.”

“When you get to the NBA, you’re all about your pride. You have blinders on. You want to prove that nothing fazes you. But everybody has that one “holy [expletive]” moment, when you realize how fortunate you are to be on that floor going up against somebody you grew up idolizing.”

“Thanks for giving me that moment, Tim.”

Griffin, 27, is coming off of a bone marrow procedure to repair a torn quad. He won’t play in the summer Olympics.

Duncan, 40, was waived Monday for salary cap purposes, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.