Report: AJ Griffin is ‘seriously considering’ stepping away from basketball

Report: AJ Griffin is ‘seriously considering’ stepping away from basketball

Houston Rockets forward AJ Griffin, set to enter his third NBA season, is “seriously considering” stepping away from the game of basketball, NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported Thursday.

Griffin, 21, was traded to the Houston Rockets on draft night in exchange for the No. 44 pick. Atlanta eventually up one slot–from 44 to 43–with the Miami Heat to select Serbian wing Nikola Djurisic.

The former No. 16 overall pick played in 92 career games with the Hawks. He averaged 7.5 points on 44.7 percent shooting, including 37.2 percent from 3-point range and 89.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Though he only played in 20 games this last season, racking up only 171 total minutes throughout 2023-24. He totaled 48 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, one steal and two blocks, making 18 of his 62 shot attempts (29.0 percent) and 10 of his 39 3-pointers (25.6 percent).

It’s very unfortunate he didn’t get much of an opportunity to build off a good rookie season–followed by getting traded. Should he decide to pursue basketball in the future, I believe there’s still a future for him in the NBA.

At the time of this publishing, the reasons as to why he’s stepping away remain unclear. Regardless, we all hope he’s okay and doing well mentally. Mental health is no joke. Nevertheless, we wish Griffin the best with his future endeavors, and hopefully, he will be able to live the life that makes him the happiest outside of basketball.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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