By Alfredo Echenique Lugo
01 Oct 2024, 16:47 PM EDT
In the 2022 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks chose forward AJ Griffin from Duke University with pick 16 in the first round. Curiously, with just two years in the league, the young player has decided to retire from basketball.
And the now former player explained in a video to the media that his decision is motivated to “follow the path of Jesus.” A task that he wants to do full time, so he will end his career as an NBA player to dedicate himself to it.
“I know in a lot of people’s eyes, that seems like a loss. But I just want you to know that I am super excited because I can really serve God with my complete ‘yes’ and I feel that leaving basketball will allow me to enter the priesthood full time,” commented the young forward.
“I wanted to leave basketball to follow God. This started with me giving my life to Christ in 2020, I accepted him back and he found me. All I can say is “thank you very much,” Griffin added.
In his rookie season, Griffin played 72 games with the Hawks and averaged 8.9 points, 1 assist and 2.1 rebounds per game. While in his second season he barely played 20 games for a total of 2.4 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.
In 2022, Griffin signed a contract with the Atlanta franchise after his good rookie year. The agreement stipulated $17 million dollars for four seasons, however after this sudden retirement the player will not receive much of that money.
The forward had also been traded to the Houston Rockets at the end of last season as part of a 3-team trade in which the Atlanta team received cash consideration, the Miami Heat received Pelle Larsson and the Hawks received Nikola Djurisic. But now he won’t even debut with his new team.
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