Blake Griffin played pickup basketball Friday, giving the left knee he injured during Olympic Team training its first real test since arthroscopic surgery July 16.

"Felt good," Griffin reported.

Griffin participated in pickup games at the University of Oklahoma, where he spent two years before entering the 2009 NBA draft.

"I talk to a guy like Grant Hill who still, to this day, goes back to Duke," Griffin said of his Clippers teammate. "They have guys there playing pickup. Talking to a guy like Cole Aldrich, who still goes back to Kansas. When programs have a tradition of guys coming back and still being a part of it, I think it helps the overall vision of the program.

"It helps the current players feel more of a sense of pride, knowing there has been a long line of guys that have come before us."