"This past couple of weeks I've been running around all over the place doing a lot of different things," Blake Griffin said. "I really just want to get down to business and start working because that's what I believe in and that's what I'm about."
Griffin, wearing a sharp purple shirt, smiled widely when his name was called by NBA Commissioner David Stern. He took a long walk up the stairs and a long winding corridor at the WaMu Theater in the Garden here and was greeted by well-wishers and blinding camera flashes, stopping to sign autographs and high-fiving fans.
"It was crazy," he said. "I mean, when he [Stern] came out, I felt my heart starting to beat real fast. Going up there, it was a little overwhelming. Everybody is yelling. Everybody is cheering and stuff, and it was great.
"I'm just glad they didn't boo me."
Griffin did catch some good-natured grief for wearing purple.
"I think he looked clean," said USC's DeMar DeRozan, who went to the Raptors at No. 9. "You'd think he was getting drafted by the Lakers with that purple."
Said Griffin: "It was accidental. I didn't even think about it until right before the draft somebody brought it up to me and said, 'Next time you wear purple, it's going to be $5,000 fine.' So I'll be sure not to make that mistake again."
After all, everyone is entitled to another chance. So much of Thursday felt like that for the Clippers and their prized rookie Griffin, who kept getting asked questions about their problematic history.
"I know what's happened in the past," Griffin said. "Everybody keeps telling me that, but you know, I'm not going to say, 'OK, we haven't had that many winning seasons. Why don't we give up now?' "
Times staff writer Baxter Holmes contributed to this report.
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lisa.dillman@latimes.com
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BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
Reactions from fans gathering at the ESPN Zone across from Staples Center to the selection of Blake Griffin as the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.
Darrell Bailey, a.k.a. Clipper Darrell, who wears a blue-and-red suit and is a mainstay at Clippers home games:
"We've all been down; now we're going to rise up. Don't worry about the past; worry about the future. I don't believe in curses; that's superstition."
On getting Blake Griffin: "I think he can be the face of the franchise."
Heidi Wang, from the South Bay; Clippers season-ticket holder since 1999-2000, who was spending Thursday with her husband and two children:
