[3] Griffin spent 17 seasons with the Phoenix Suns, beginning with an internship with the team's public relations department in 1993 while he was still a student at Arizona State University.

Being noticed by Jerry Colangelo and then-coach Danny Ainge for his detailed notes for the media, Griffin joined the team's basketball operations side via the video department in 1997.

[7] In the following weeks after being named permanent GM, Griffin brought in Euroleague Champion and Coach of the Year David Blatt as head coach, drafted Andrew Wiggins with the number one pick in the 2014 NBA draft, signed LeBron James back four years after the infamous "Decision", and acquired All-Star forward Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a trade.

On June 19, 2017, both Griffin and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert announced that they would not renew their contract together after no agreement between the two sides could be reached.

[11][12][13] For a Sports Illustrated article released Thursday August 1, 2019, David Griffin expressed in detail his experience working with and building a supporting cast of team members around LeBron James.

He described the ordeal and time in Cleveland doing so as "miserable" and elaborating how "he privately wept the night the Cavaliers won the title, saying he was so obsessed with winning that he "didn't love the game anymore.

In between the Cleveland and New Orleans stints, Griffin appeared frequently on NBA TV and hosted a weekly Sirius XM radio show called ‘Deals and Dunks’ with Pelicans broadcaster Joel Meyers as co-host.

Griffin also enjoys playing piano and was reported to have attempted to win the heart of star forward Zion Williamson with a song, in the NBA Bubble in Orlando.