Blake Griffin is highly amused when it comes to the internet's obsession with his thighs.
Blake Griffin is highly amused when it comes to the internet's obsession with his thighs. ET's Deidre Behar recently spoke to the 31-year-old NBA star about his new podcast, The Pursuit of Healthiness, which is available now on Audible. When asked about tweets concerning people's admiration for his thighs, Griffin was a good sport.
"From time to time I see some ... I don't know, maybe it was the chair I was sitting on, I always see that picture from time to time and one time, someone tweeted at me and was like, 'Good morning to everyone but especially good morning to Blake Griffin and his thighs,'" he recalls. "I thought that was hilarious, so yeah, I do appreciate when people have fun like that because it's definitely funny."
Griffin said he hasn't given much thought to being looked at as a sex symbol.
"I appreciate it," he says. "I appreciate anyone that has anything kind to say because in 2020, in this climate, you can hear a lot of negative stuff about yourself but I really appreciate the fans and the people who are genuine about that, but yeah, I just gotta stay focused."
He is currently single, and revealed to ET what he's looking for in a partner.
"Somebody you can trust and that you really, like, genuinely have a good time with," he shares. "I think that catches my eye the most. I guess that you're always kinda looking, but yeah."
He's also learned from his very public past romances, such as his relationship with Kendall Jenner, whom he dated in 2017.
"I think you just take things slow and you really, like, try to get to know somebody," he says about dating in the spotlight. "You know, rushing into something can be great for some people, but sometimes detrimental for others. I think for me, making sure that I really know and trust someone before you get to that level is important, but it's always challenging. I don't think anybody has, like, that perfect formula."
These days, Griffin is focused on his career, family and his two kids with his ex, Brynn Cameron -- 7-year-old son Ford and 3-year-old daughter Finley. Griffin said he isn't pushing his kids to follow in both their parents' basketball footsteps.
"You know, I want [Ford] to play whatever he wants to play, so he's playing a lot of different sports and has interests and all that and it's never something I'll push on him," he stresses. "He sort of loves it on his own and little Fin, we're still waiting. She's a little bit, she's a wild card, but she's great."
"She's just like, first of all, like, so tough ... always trying to keep up with her big brother, and very smart and very ... she already has, like, her opinions even at three," he adds with a laugh. "Like, when she wants to do something she's like, 'Nope, this is what I'm doing, like, Ford you can do whatever else,' but then most of the time she's doing whatever Ford does, but ... she's just so different and so her own person that we're holding off on sports for her for now."
As for his latest podcast venture, Griffin explained how he got started with the idea. The podcast features conversations with notable figures in the world of sports, entertainment and wellness, and he discusses how people can keep their bodies and minds in shape.
"I've always been very interested in health and wellness like, even as a kid," he explains. "My mom was a very, very healthy person, was always reading nutritionists' books. I was a health and exercise science major in college, and when I got to the NBA, I would just always pick the brains of our trainers and doctors. ... This is what I'm interested in and I really love having conversations about it so I was like, if I'm gonna have a podcast, why not really interview people who I, like, really want to find out some information from?"
"And also it's just sort of a daunting world in general," he continues. "Unless you truly understand it, I think there can be a lot of misinformation out there. So, hopefully this sort of bridges that gap a little bit and then it doesn't seem so intimidating for some people who watch or listen to this."
Griffin said no topics were off limits with his celebrity guests, including the important issue of mental health.
"Especially as a man, especially in the sports world, I think feelings and mental health is not something that's really talked about or brought up a lot," he points out. "And I think just by having this conversation, you start to normalize it a bit better but you also are finding ... everybody I talked to I find deals with this stuff and we all deal with it in separate ways. And I think it's just important for people to hear that even people like Michael B. Jordan and Antoni Porowski, or anybody, is dealing with these things. It doesn't matter what line of work, where you come from, your background, your ethnicity, your relation, your gender, you have to deal with these things. And I think that's just important for people to hear."
Griffin is open about himself seeing a therapist.
"I hate to admit this but, like, going into it, I didn't know what to expect because I hadn't talked to a lot of people that had done it," he acknowledges. "And I sorta had this view of it of how you see in the movies, you know, where you, like, lay down on the couch and you really get into it. And I walked away really realizing that it's not so much me going to this person and them telling me the answers that I need, but it's us or myself working towards these answers, you know, on my own, with their guided help, sort of. So then when I realized that -- unfortunately it took me a while to realize that -- ... it sort of changed my mindset about it and I think that's why I enjoy having that conversation now, is because I want people to know, like, if you need help, it's beyond OK to go do that. Seek that out and just try it because I think people would be happier, healthier and maybe be able to help someone in turn."
All 10 episodes of The Pursuit of Healthiness with Griffin are available exclusively on Audible now. For more with the athlete, including his thoughts on NBA players kneeling during the national anthem, watch the video below:
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