Rockets striker AJ Griffin considers retirement at 21

Houston Rockets forward AJ Griffin is seriously considering retiring from basketball, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Thursday.

Griffin, a former first-round pick in 2022, was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Rockets this offseason, and now Charania says teams are “preparing for his departure from the game.”

Griffin was selected No. 16 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft out of Duke University. In his only season with the Blue Devils, Griffin averaged 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 49.3 percent from the field, 44.7 percent from beyond the arc and 79.2 percent from the free throw line. He was named an ACC All-Freshman in his only season at Duke.

Griffin's potential led to him being selected just outside the lottery in 2022, and he immediately played a role in Atlanta in his rookie season. Griffin appeared in 72 games during the 2022-23 season, averaging 8.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 19.5 minutes per game. He sank 46.5 percent of his field goals, 39 percent of his 3-pointers and 89.4 percent of his free throws.

In the 2023-24 season, Griffin found himself in a bit of a rocky situation. Due to injuries and poor play, Griffin only appeared in 20 games at the NBA level. In 8.6 minutes per game, Griffin averaged just 2.4 points per game. His shooting percentage dropped to 29 percent from the field and 25.6 percent from distance.

Rather than spend another season fighting back in Atlanta, the Hawks decided to send Griffin to Houston before the second round of this year's NBA Draft. The Rockets sent the 44th pick in the second round of the draft for the former first-round pick.

Read more: Hawks trade AJ Griffin to Rockets before second round of NBA Draft

In Houston, Griffin was expected to compete for minutes every day as a supporting player on a very talented and deep roster, but that may no longer be the case.

At the time of writing this article, no reason has been given as to why Griffin may decide to retire from basketball. If Griffin does retire from basketball, he will finish his career with an average of 7.5 points in 92 games.

Griffin is the son of former NBA veteran Adrian Griffin, who spent nine seasons as a player in the league and was most recently the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks for 43 games last season before being fired and replaced by Doc Rivers. Griffin served as an assistant coach from 2008-2023.

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