How should Blake Griffin be remembered in Detroit?

You remember the scene. If you weren’t inside downtown Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena in 2019, when the Milwaukee Bucks laid the finishing touches of a first-round sweep on the Pistons’ floor, the pure admiration and appreciation were felt through your television screen. I’m sure that you, like the thousands in attendance, stood up clapping.

With minutes left in Game 4, and Detroit waving the white flag, head coach Dwane Casey called for a substitute to spell Blake Griffin. As Griffin walked toward the bench, each step that he took was met with more emphatic claps and louder applause. Every soul rose from their seat. Griffin was exhausted. Battered. His head faced down toward the court. His left leg was held together by nylon and stitching. Griffin, a multi-time All-Star and All-NBA selection, had given everything he could to Detroit. That moment was the people’s way of paying him back.

Griffin will no longer sport a Pistons uniform. On Monday, sources confirmed to The Athletic that Detroit’s decision-makers and Griffin agreed that he would be out of the lineup until the franchise could figure out how to best move him on to another situation. The Pistons are in the midst of a rebuild. They’re going through a youth movement.  Griffin, 31, is looking for that elusive NBA title.

The last few calendar years of Griffin’s tenure will likely determine how he’ll be remembered. He was absent, as lower-body injuries forced him to miss most of last season. When Griffin was present, like he was for most of this season, he was a shell of the player he once was. All of the injuries that Griffin suffered during his time with the Clippers caught up with him in Detroit. For those who were skeptical of the 2018 trade that brought Griffin to the Pistons, in an attempt to push for the playoffs, your worst nightmares came to fruition.

This isn’t how Griffin should be remembered, though. For all that went wrong, he’s not to blame. When Detroit traded for Griffin, it wasn’t in the position to support him. His last big injury, which came during the 2018-19 season, happened because he single-handedly carried the Pistons to just their second playoff appearance in a decade. When you look back at it, Griffin gave the last of what he had to the City of Detroit.

In that first-round playoff series against the Bucks, Griffin missed the first two games because of “left knee soreness.” It was later revealed that he would need surgery, which he received after the season. Griffin returned for the final two games, with his team having no shot to upset Milwaukee because he wanted to.

That playoff series capped what was arguably the best individual season of Griffin’s career. He completed among the greatest transformations any NBA player ever has. For years, Griffin was known as a powerful, rim-twisting, acrobatic player. During that lone season in Detroit, Griffin was that, plus a shooter, plus a playmaker. He was one of the best 15 players in the world, earning third-team All-NBA honors. Griffin averaged a career-best 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists. It was a statistical season that hasn’t been seen around these parts since Grant Hill rocked the teal. Griffin, for 75 games, was must-see television.

Griffin never completely recovered from that campaign. The first surgery didn’t work, so he needed another. That caused him to miss the first few weeks of the 2019-20 season. Eventually, Griffin came back and was nowhere near the player he was a year prior. He shut it down again to get surgery. This season was supposed to be where Griffin showed that he still has something left to give. He had nearly a year to rehab before the start of the 2020-21 season. It was more than enough time for a player of his physical stature and conditioning to come back. He’d returned from worse injuries in a shorter amount of time. However, it’s been clear from the start of this season that Griffin was no longer going to be the player he once was. He struggled with lift inside and behind the perimeter. His 3-ball stopped falling at an acceptable clip, given his high volume. It looked like a chore for him to get up and down the floor. Father Time worked his magic in front of everyone.

Griffin leaving Detroit, in some capacity, always felt inevitable. The franchise is pushing toward youth, and Griffin being out of the lineup opens more clear and defined roles for youngsters Sekou Doumbouya and Saddiq Bey, who was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday. It allows Griffin, a man with nearly every individual accolade imaginable, to find a new home that may help him claim the ultimate team prize. It always felt like a mutual agreement between the two sides was coming, but given Griffin’s contract, no one exactly knew when.

If Griffin ends up in the Hall of Fame — and I think he will — he’ll be remembered as a Clipper. However, in Detroit, I think it’s safe to say the people saw him as one of them. Griffin arrived in the Motor City with a “Hollywood” label. There were the commercials, the comedy and the high-flying antics. They disguised the fact that he’s a Midwesterner from Oklahoma. When Griffin was on the floor for the Pistons, he truly embodied the grit that the city loves to see from its athletes. He played through injuries and pain. He dove for loose balls. He got in opponents’ faces. When there was very little to be thankful for in regards to basketball in Detroit, Griffin swooped in and gave the best version of himself to a franchise that didn’t always deserve it.

Griffin gave everything he could to Detroit when he was able to. That shouldn’t be forgotten.