Former Duke standout AJ Griffin has officially decided to walk away from basketball. The 6-foot-6 forward announced the decision via his YouTube platform overnight on Saturday.
Once rated as a five star prospect, Griffin said he no longer had room in his life to commit to the game, and will instead follow his faith.
“I gave up basketball to follow Jesus, and I know that in a lot of people’s eyes, it seems like a loss in the world’s eyes,” he said in the YouTube video. “I feel like letting go of basketball is allowing me to go into full-time ministry and truly serving the lord with all my heart. I thought that [basketball] was the reason why I was living, but when I came to God, he truly showed me that we’re all made to glorify God. We’re all made with a purpose, a God-given purpose.”
Last week Griffin, 21, agreed to a contract buyout with the Houston Rockets in what was seen as the final formality in ending his basketball career. The No.16 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft had been traded to Houston by Atlanta during the offseason.
Following a solid freshman season at Duke in which he posted 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, Griffin seemed to be on an upward trend as a rookie for the Hawks, averaging 8.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists over 72 games. As a rookie he hit 39 percent of his attempts from the outside.
But his sophomore season was a letdown as injuries and other factors combined to limit Griffin to just 20 appearances. This offseason the player was unexpectedly dealt to Houston and never seemed to be on the same wavelength as his new franchise, which reportedly was not expecting Griffin to simply walk away from the game when they traded for him.
Should he remain out of basketball, Griffin finishes his career with 92 NBA appearances in which he averaged 7.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 44.7% from the field and 37.2% from the three-point range.
As a rookie Griffin signed a four-year, $17.1 million contract with an average salary of $4.28 million per season and $7.2 million guaranteed at signing.
