Blue Devil Country

Recent Duke Basketball One-And-Done Gets Dealt to Houston

Duke basketball product AJ Griffin will look to reboot his pro career with the Rockets.

Matt Giles

Duke basketball forwards Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin
Duke basketball forwards Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
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Not counting Atlanta Hawks co-owner Grant Hill, that franchise is now down to only three former Duke basketball players in head coach Quin Snyder, assistant Antonio Lang, and up-and-comer forward Jalen Johnson.

As of Thursday, 2021-22 Blue Devil one-and-done wing and Final Four participant AJ Griffin is heading to the Houston Rockets, a young franchise suddenly on the upswing after nearly matching its combined 2021-22 and 2022-23 win totals with its 41-41 record this past season.

The Hawks sent the 20-year-old Griffin, whom they drafted No. 16 overall in 2022 after he shot 44.7 percent beyond the arc as a high-volume 3-point weapon for Mike Krzyzewski's final group of Blue Devils, to the Rockets as part of a three-team trade.

Due in part to injuries, AJ Griffin saw action in only 20 games for the 2023-24 Hawks, averaging 2.4 points in 8.6 minutes per contest in what was Quin Snyder's first full season orchestrating the show in Atlanta.

However, as a rookie in 2022-23, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Griffin, a former five-star recruit out of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, N.Y., fared considerably better in his 79 appearances. As one of the youngest talents in the league that year, he posted 8.9 points and 2.1 rebounds across 19.5 minutes per outing.

He's now the Houston Rockets' only active NBA Blue Devil.

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Matt Giles

MATT GILES

Matt Giles is the editor and publisher of FanNation's Blue Devil Country and All Tar Heels, covering the Duke Blue Devils and UNC Tar Heels on SI.com.

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