LOS ANGELES — Blake Griffin played his entire rookie season like a man making up for lost time.

Now that the Los Angeles Clippers’ dynamic dunker has been named the league’s top rookie in a landslide, he’s already thinking about ways to improve on a delayed NBA debut that was well worth the wait.

Griffin accepted the Rookie of the Year award on Wednesday, becoming the NBA’s first unanimous choice for the award in 21 years.

The No. 1 overall draft pick out of Oklahoma in 2009 missed all of the 2009-10 season after breaking his kneecap in the Clippers’ final preseason game. But Griffin returned with one of the most impressive debut campaigns in a generation. Griffin frequently thought back to that season in limbo while picking up his award during a party at the Clippers’ training complex.