So, I was really curious about how many NBA players are Jehovah’s Witnesses. It’s not something you hear about every day, right?
First, I hit up Google to get a general idea. Turns out, there are a few, both current and former players. I found out that Dewayne Dedmon, who’s playing for the Miami Heat right now, is one of them. And then there are two former Indiana Pacers players, Danny Granger and Darren Collison, who are also Jehovah’s Witnesses.
But that wasn’t enough for me, I wanted to dig deeper. I started looking into each of these players individually. Read up on their careers and any interviews where they talked about their faith.
What really got me was Darren Collison’s story. The guy actually retired from the NBA for a few years to focus on his faith and help others through the Jehovah’s Witness community. That’s some serious dedication. There’s also this young player, AJ Griffin, who’s only 21 and decided to quit the NBA to follow Jesus. That was shocking to read.
I also learned that Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Christian group, but they have some different beliefs compared to other Christian denominations. They are considered nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. I’d never heard those words before.
After that, I went on to look for more names and I found that AC Green is also on the list of NBA players who are Jehova’s Witnesses. It looks like Danny Granger played for 11 seasons in the NBA, averaging 16.8 points.
- Dewayne Dedmon (Miami Heat)
- Danny Granger (formerly Indiana Pacers)
- Darren Collison (formerly Indiana Pacers)
- AC Green
- AJ Griffin
It was a pretty interesting deep dive. I didn’t realize there were so many NBA players who were Jehovah’s Witnesses. It’s cool to see how these guys balance their faith with their careers in professional basketball.
