Rookie AJ Griffin Continuing Run of Excellence for Atlanta

A prospect who saw his stock slide on draft night 2022, AJ Griffin obviously hasn’t agreed so far in his NBA career thus far.

A potential lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Griffin wound up on the outside looking in, getting drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the 16th overall pick. Now a good chunk of games into his debut season, Griffin is proving he should’ve been apart of the coveted lottery group.

Through 27 games, Griffin is averaging 10.7 points in just 21.5 minutes per game, shooting 46 percent from the field and close to 37 percent from beyond the arc. Even more, he’s tacking on 1.0 steals and 2.3 rebounds per game.

Most recently, Griffin wowed off the bench, scoring 19 points while shooting 8-for-13 overall and 3-for-4 from three, all in just 25 minutes. He also had enough time to grab seven boards, dish out two assists and nab a steal.

Griffin is starting to become a legitimate scoring weapon for the Hawks. And a much-needed one at that with the departure of shooting guard Kevin Huerter.

In his last six games, four of which he started in, Griffin is averaging 14.5 points on 50 percent field goal shooting and 40 percent three-point shooting.

He’s blended in alongside the Hawks star tandem of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray seamlessly, and the sky is the limit for the 19-year-old who shot 45 percent from outside with Duke.

Griffin and the Hawks next take on the struggling Bulls at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21.