Former Atlanta Hawks first-round pick AJ Griffin has announced that he has decided to retire from basketball, confirming previous reports. The 21-year-old Griffin was waived by the Houston Rockets on September 20 after being traded from the Atlanta Hawks and received a $250,000 contract buyout, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
There was some ambiguity surrounding Griffin, who was drafted No. 16 overall by the Hawks in 2022, and why exactly he decided to take a break from basketball. He recently specified his reasons, however, saying he “gave up basketball to follow Jesus” and is working to become a minister.
“I gave up basketball to follow Jesus,” Griffin said. “And I know that in the eyes of a lot of people, that seems — it seems like a loss in the eyes of the world. But, I just want to let you know that I’m very excited because I can really serve God. , you know, with my full Yes, and I feel like leaving basketball allows me to, you know, go into full-time ministry and really serve the Lord with all my heart, too.. So, I’m just excited see where that takes me.”
Griffin, the son of former Milwaukee Bucks head coach and NBA player Adrian Griffin, was drafted by the Hawks after one season at Duke, and his NBA career got off to a promising start. He immediately proved he could be an effective shooter, averaging nine points on 39% 3-point shooting in 20 minutes per game as a rookie. He scored a career-best 24 points twice and cracked the starting lineup 12 times.
But he only played 20 games last season before being traded to Houston this summer for No. 43 overall pick Nikola Durisic. Griffin wrestled with the Rockets at the Las Vegas Summer League in July, before making the decision to retire from basketball.
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