Top Five 2014-15 Blake Griffin Dunks

Rowan Kavner

PLAYA VISTA, Calif. - Blake Griffin climbed up to throw down 25 postseason dunks after recording 84 dunks during the regular season.

Limiting those dunks to Griffin’s five best meant eliminating some sensational slams, including an off-the-backboard finish. But none of his dunks could surpass these five.

Here are the top five Griffin dunks of the 2014-15 season, plus one honorable mention.

Honorable Mention: Dec. 8 vs. Suns - If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. A long jumper from Griffin doesn’t go through, but DeAndre Jordan swats the ball back to keep the Clippers’ possession alive. Griffin gets the ball at the top of the key, operates the give-and-go with Matt Barnes and soars above the rest of the Suns as he takes flight for the dunk. Griffin would go on to score a season-high 45 points, winning the game on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime.

This looked eerily similar to the plays that led to nightmares for Aron Baynes and the Spurs in the previous series. Griffin gets the ball in the post on Trevor Ariza, who knows he’s not in a position he wants to be in. Ariza goes for the steal, Griffin counters with a spin move and Jason Terry doesn’t stand much of a chance in trying to stop Griffin from throwing down the one-handed dunk.

Head coach Doc Rivers likes when Griffin faces up his opponents near the key. This was an example why. Tristan Thompson probably thought he had Griffin where he wanted him, but Griffin jukes out Thompson, draws the foul and still manages to loop around the basket for the one-handed reverse slam.

There are plenty of aspects of Griffin’s game that make him special. One of those is what he’s able to do in the open court handling the ball at his size. Griffin runs the floor, leaving Boris Diaw back-pedaling and uncertain whether he should try to foul or draw the charge near the rim. Griffin breaks out the Euro-step and goes right around a flat-footed Diaw for the dunk.

The Lakers didn’t stand much of a chance in this 25-point win by the Clippers, which turned into a highlight show. It’s rare to find J.J. Redick leading the transition break. Here, he not only leads the break, but he draws two Lakers defenders, leaving a wide open lane for Griffin to throw down a devastating windmill dunk.

Aron Baynes played 20 minutes in Game 1 against the Clippers. He played a combined 20 minutes the rest of the series. Griffin unleashed a trio of explosive dunks on Baynes and the Spurs in the opening game of the first-round playoff series, with this spinning dunk the highlight of them all.