I just found out Blake Griffin is retiring, and it made me cry.

Blake Griffin retiring hits different. When he burst onto the scene as a rookie in the 2011 dunk contest, the NBA was in its best era for All-Star weekend…and I was in my peak of loving basketball. This was a time before I found romantic love, before I found self-love, and I felt like basketball was all I had. In every dunk contest I’ve watched since then, I’ve compared it to Griffin’s rookie appearance, and nothing has stacked up. And yet, I haven’t followed his career (minus an errant tweet every now and again), since then. So why am I so emotional?

Somehow, this feels like a period on my youth that started when basketball became a job for me. Griffin’s retirement announcement struck a chord, evoking a sense of nostalgia and gratitude for the moments I shared with the sport of basketball. Griffin’s career symbolizes more than just athletic achievement—it represents a bygone era, a time of innocence and simplicity. A time before I became me.

So, thanks Blake Griffin. I hear it’s been a wonderful career.