Atlanta Hawks Star AJ Griffin Quits NBA To Become A Minister

AJ Griffin

Atlanta Hawks Star AJ Griffin Quits NBA To Become A Minister

Looks like AJ Griffin will be changing his profession from professional athlete to minister.

The former first-round NBA draft pick recently announced that he will be retiring from the NBA to pursue a career in ministry full-time. In a roughly 7-minute video shared to his YouTube account, AJ Griffin explained his decision to leave basketball. He said,

“I gave up basketball to follow Jesus. And I know that in a lot of people’s eyes, that seems like – it seems like a loss in the world’s eyes. But I just want to let you guys know that I’m super-excited because I truly get to serve God, you know, with my full ‘yes,’ and 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, with all my time too, as well. So, I’m just excited to see where that leads me.”

AJ Griffin, who was selected by the Atlanta Hawks as the No. 16 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, “gave [his] life to Christ in 2020” and “truly accepted” religion during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AJ shared,

“He found me. I gave my life to Christ and it was the best decision of my life, it truly was. I think my values started to change, my heart started to change.”

As the son of former NBA coach and player Adrian Griffin, the 21-year-old noted that basketball was all he knew before discovering his passion for religion. While AJ appears to be leaving the sport for good, he has reportedly been using his social media platforms for years to spread the word of the gospel.

He added in the video,

“I want to reach people more through my platforms. I think that sums up my testimony of why I left basketball.”

Thoughts on AJ Griffin leaving the NBA? Comment below!