Rockets small forward AJ Griffin retires from NBA at age 21

AJ Griffin (YouTube)

There was some surprising news in the National Basketball Association this past week. On Tuesday, Houston Rockets small forward AJ Griffin Jr. of Dallas, Texas all of a sudden retired at the age of 21 according to Dan Bilicki of Canoe Media. It is the reason that this story is eye popping. It is not because of an injury, but because Griffin has a passion in the religion field. He wants to be a full-time minister in the future.

In the offseason, Griffin Jr. was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Houston Rockets. It was part of a three-way trade on June 27, that also involved the Miami Heat.

AJ Griffin Jr. is the son of former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin. In a surprise decision by the Bucks at the midway point of the 2023-24 National Basketball Association season, the Bucks fired Griffin, for Doc Rivers.

Griffin Jr. had spent the last two seasons with the Hawks. In 92 NBA career games, he averaged 7.5 points, and 1.9 rebounds, along with a field goal percentage of .447, three-point percentage of .372, and a free throw percentage of .898. This past season, Griffin Jr. missed 62 games because of personal reasons, a bruised right knee, and a sprained ankle.

Twice Griffin Jr. had a career-high 24 points. He accomplished the feat in a 117-98 Hawks upset win over the Milwaukee Bucks on November 7, 2022, and then in a 117-109 Hawks upset win over the Denver Nuggets on December 2, 2022.

Griffin Jr. was the first round pick, 16th overall, in the 2022 NBA Draft. He played his college basketball at one of the most highly recognizable programs in the United States, Duke University.