A.J. Griffin, the No. 16 general decide within the 2022 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks is contemplating stepping away from basketball, in accordance with The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Griffin was traded to the Houston Rockets this offseason in a deal that despatched No. 43 general decide Nikola Durisic to the Hawks. In line with Charania, each Griffin and the Rockets are making ready for his departure from the sport.

Griffin, the son of former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin, was a standout highschool prospect. He was ranked because the No. 12 prospect in his class by 247Sports and attended Duke for a single season. He averaged 10.4 factors per sport as Duke made a run to the Remaining 4 earlier than shedding to North Carolina. He entered the NBA Draft from there and landed in Atlanta.

His rookie season with the Hawks was promising. He averaged 8.9 factors per sport and began 12 instances. He scored a career-high 24 factors twice in his first two months within the NBA, and all six of the video games during which he scored 17 factors or extra got here in November or December of 2022. His efficiency declined from there, although, and he solely performed 20 video games in his second season. In Houston, he would have confronted an uphill battle to earn minutes on a really crowded younger roster.

It’s unclear how lengthy Griffin plans to steer clear of the game. There is not a lot precedent within the NBA for a younger participant taking an prolonged absence not associated to an damage and ultimately returning to a productive profession, however up to now, there has not been reporting on whether or not the events concerned are treating this as a short lived absence or a everlasting retirement. In the meanwhile, a minimum of, it seems to be as if Griffin goes to step away from the game for the foreseeable future.