AJ Griffin Is Stepping Away From Basketball

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Houston Rockets bought out AJ Griffin’s contract after it was learned that he was stepping away from basketball.

Previous reports speculated that Griffin might leave the NBA for undisclosed personal/family reasons. Griffin was an active member during the Summer League, but as training camp grew closer, he decided to end communications and leave basketball.

With the 21-year-old being bought out of his contract, Houston is retaining $3.9 million for the upcoming 2024-25 season. While the organization has the extra spot now, its intentions are undecided.

The former 16th overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Rockets earlier this offseason. In the 92 games Griffin played, he averaged 7.5 points off 44.7% from the field in 17.1 minutes.