Former First-Round Pick Says He’s Leaving NBA ‘to Follow Jesus’ and Become a Minister

Mar. 15, 2025

AJ Griffin.Photo:Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty

Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty

A former first-round NBA draft pick is leaving basketball to become a minister.

AJ Griffin.Kevin C. Cox/Getty

Kevin C. Cox/Getty

Griffin used his seven-minute video to explain his decision and what led to it.

“This decision may seem crazy or abnormal to the world but I’m not here to please man but only my Father in Heaven,” he wrote in the video’s description.

Griffin, who entered the NBA Draft after a standout freshman season at Duke University in 2021, says he “gave [his] life to Christ in 2020” and “truly accepted” religion during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He found me,” Griffin smiled as he explained what happened next. “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.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Griffin, the son of former NBA coach and playerAdrian Griffin, said basketball was his whole life prior to discovering religion in 2020. “That was the reason why I was living,” Griffin said, and noted that when he found God, he realized his passion was religion.

In recent years, the basketball star has used his social media platforms to read from the Bible, discuss religion and share motivational religious advice.“You can see how I just love spreading the good news of the gospel because I know how much it’s changed my life,” Griffin said in his announcement video, and added, “I want to reach people more through my platforms. I think that sums up my testimony of why I left basketball.”

AJ Griffin.Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty

Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty

Griffin was recently traded from Atlanta to the Houston Rockets, where he struggled during the NBA’s summer league season,according to CBS Sports. TheHouston Chroniclereportedearlier this month that the Rockets bought out Griffin’s contract for $250,000, ending his brief tenure with the team.

Now, it appears, Griffin is moving on from basketball all together.

“Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey,” Griffin wrote in his video’s description. “As I step out of one season of my life, I’m excited to step into a new one with my lord and savior.”

source: people.com