Road to Duke
Adrian Darnell Griffin Jr. was born August 25, 2003, in Dallas, Texas. His father Adrian Griffin Sr. played ten NBA seasons after going undrafted from Seton Hall in 1996 — a journeyman wing who started in the 2006 NBA Finals for the Mavericks. His mother Aubrey Sterling was an All-American track athlete at Seton Hall. His brother Alan played at Illinois and Syracuse. His sister Aubrey played at UConn. Basketball and athletic excellence ran through every branch.
At age two, while other kids played with kiddie hoops, AJ took an NBA regulation basketball, cocked it behind his head, and launched it at a regulation net. The first time it went in, everyone thought it was cute. Then he kept doing it. The whole team stopped to watch. “His strength at that age was unbelievable,” his father said. “He just loved basketball.”
At Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, NY, he played alongside his brother Alan as a freshman, winning the school’s first CHSAA title since 1984. As a sophomore: 20.9/10.9/3.9/3.5 blocks, forming one of the nation’s top backcourts with R.J. Davis. In 7th and 8th grade at Ossining, he played varsity alongside future NBA player Obi Toppin. Five-star recruit, projected top-five pick.
He committed to Duke in November 2019 over Kentucky and Villanova. But in 2020, during COVID lockdowns, AJ gave his life to Christ. “My values started to change. My heart started to change.” The transformation that would eventually lead him away from basketball had already begun.
At Duke
Griffin’s one season at Duke, 2021–22, was Coach K’s final year. He was part of the farewell team that included Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams, Wendell Moore Jr., Trevor Keels, and Jeremy Roach. Griffin started 25 of 39 games, averaging 10.4 points on 49.3 percent from the field and 44.7 percent from three — the fifth-highest three-point percentage in Duke history and second-best by a Duke freshman. He scored 12.6 points per game in ACC play on 48.9 percent shooting.
Duke went 32–7, won the ACC regular-season and tournament championships, and reached the Final Four in Coach K’s final season before falling to North Carolina in one of the most emotionally devastating games in program history. Griffin was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team and earned Honorable Mention All-ACC honors. He declared for the 2022 NBA Draft.
After Duke
The Atlanta Hawks selected Griffin with the 16th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft — part of a record-setting draft that saw five Duke players selected. His rookie season was promising: 72 games, 8.9 points per game, 39 percent from three in 20 minutes per contest. He hit game-winning alley-oops in consecutive November and December games against Toronto and Chicago — the Toronto game-winner coming with his father, then a Raptors assistant coach, on the opposing bench. The image of the father watching his son hit a game-winner against his own team became one of the season’s iconic moments.
His father’s career took its own dramatic turn: Adrian Griffin Sr. was named head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks in May 2023, then fired just 34 games into the season despite a 30–13 record, replaced by Doc Rivers. AJ’s second NBA season was limited — just 20 games with the Hawks before being traded to the Houston Rockets in June 2024 for the 43rd pick in the draft.
Then, on September 29, 2024, AJ Griffin shocked the basketball world. At twenty-one years old, with a guaranteed NBA contract and a career that had barely begun, he announced his retirement. I gave up basketball to follow Jesus, he said in a video posted to social media. He explained that he wanted to pursue full-time Christian ministry. You can have all the riches in the world, but the only thing that truly matters is your relationship with Jesus. He’s the only one who can completely satisfy you. He’s the only one who can give you a purpose.
He traced the decision back to 2020, when he gave his life to Christ during the pandemic. Basketball had been his reason for living — the son of an NBA player, the brother of college athletes, the kid who shot on regulation hoops at age two. But faith had given him something basketball could not. The decision was met with surprise, respect, and in some corners, disbelief. No first-round pick had ever voluntarily retired this young.
Where Is He Now
AJ Griffin is pursuing full-time Christian ministry. He is twenty-one years old. He earned approximately $8 million in his two NBA seasons. He plans to share the Gospel through social media and in-person ministry work. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey, he wrote. As I step out of one season of my life, I’m excited to step into a new one with my Lord and Savior.
AJ Griffin was born into an NBA family — father a ten-year player and head coach, mother an All-American, brother at Illinois and Syracuse, sister at UConn. He shot on regulation hoops at age two while NBA players stopped to watch. He played varsity as a seventh-grader alongside Obi Toppin. He committed to Duke and was part of Coach K’s final season, hitting threes at a rate that ranks among the best in Duke history. He was drafted 16th overall and hit game-winning alley-oops as a rookie with his father coaching on the opposing bench. He had every reason to keep playing. The money, the fame, the bloodline, the talent — all of it pointed toward a long NBA career. And then, at twenty-one, he walked away. Not because of injury. Not because of failure. Because he found something he wanted more than basketball. The Brotherhood includes players who gave everything to the game. AJ Griffin is the first who gave the game back to give everything to something else. He found me, Griffin said, smiling. It was the best decision of my life.