Three months after his trade from the Atlanta Hawks to the Houston Rockets, young forward AJ Griffin retired from the NBA to focus on a career in ministry, he announced Sunday.

“I gave up basketball to follow Jesus,” Griffin, now 21 years old, said in a video posted to YouTube. “I feel like letting go of basketball is allowing me to go into full-time ministry and truly serving the Lord with all my heart. With all my time, too. ... I could feel like the Lord was calling me to let go of basketball and serve him more.”

For Griffin, a Duke product who was drafted at No. 16 overall in the 2022 first round, the announcement marks the conclusion (at least for now) of an unusual two-plus years in professional basketball.

After an encouraging rookie season (2022-23) in which Griffin averaged 8.9 points (39.0% on 3-pointers) for the Hawks in 19.5 minutes, he played in only 20 games as an NBA sophomore (at just 8.6 minutes per game) while dealing with on-court struggles and off-court tragedy. He missed several weeks for personal reasons.

In June, Houston acquired Griffin from Atlanta at a minimal cost as something of a reclamation project. But he largely struggled with the 2024 summer-league Rockets, and he recently reached a buyout agreement with the Rockets for what was left of his original NBA contract.

Training camps for the 2024-25 season open this Tuesday, Oct. 1, and Griffin’s retirement opens up a roster spot for the Rockets. However, at least for the time being, the team doesn’t appear to have any imminent plans of filling it.

More: Report: Rockets surprised by AJ Griffin’s sudden decision to step away from NBA

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: AJ Griffin retires from Rockets, NBA to pursue career in ministry