Who is AJ Griffin's dad? Former Duke star's father is an ex-NBA player

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Ahead of the 2022 NBA Draft, we take a look at AJ Griffin’s dad Adrian, who is a former NBA player and recent champion.

It’s NBA Draft night and the best young players in the world are about to have their dreams turned into reality.

While a lot of the attention is on former Blue Devil Paolo Banchero, one of his Duke teammates, AJ Griffin, will also be part of the draft.

We find out more about AJ Griffin’s parents including his dad Adrian, who used to play in the NBA.

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AJ Griffin’s parents and siblings

Adrian Darnell ‘AJ’ Griffin Jr was born on 25 August 2003 and plays as a small forward for the Duke Blue Devils. AJ Griffin’s parents are Adrian – more on him in a minute – and Audrey, who used to run track for Seton Hall.

Griffin is 6ft 6in (198cm) and weighs 225lb (102kg) with a 7ft wingspan. AJ Griffin’s siblings are equally athletic. AJ’s older brother Alan played for Illinois and Syracuse before turning pro in the G-League. His sister Aubrey currently plays for the UConn Huskies – one of the top women’s basketball programs.

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AJ Griffin’s dad is a former NBA player

AJ Griffin’s dad, Adrian Griffin, is a former NBA player who played as a shooting guard and small forward from 1999 to 2008. The elder Griffin attended Seton Hall University but wasn’t drafted in the NBA. He initially spent time playing overseas, mostly in Italy, and made his NBA debut as a rookie for the Boston Celtics in 1999.

Adrian finished his career having played nine seasons in the NBA with five teams, including the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls. AJ was born while Adrian was with the Rockets.

Adrian never won an NBA championship as a player but was a starter in the 2006 Finals, which the Mavs lost to the Heat.

Adrian Griffin won a title with the Raptors in 2019

After his playing career ended, AJ’s father went into coaching, joining the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant. Over the next six years, Adrian worked with several NBA teams as an assistant coach, including the Bulls, Magic and Thunder.

In 2018, he joined the Toronto Raptors as lead assistant coach to Nick Nurse. The following year the Raptors, led by Kawhi Leonard, won an NBA championship for the first time in the franchise’s history. They defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games, giving Adrian his first NBA title.

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Where do you think AJ will be drafted? Let us know in the comments below!

Joshua Rogers

Joshua is a senior sports writer with over four years' experience in online writing. He graduated with a BA in Ancient History from The University of Manchester before receiving an MA in Sports Journalism from The University of Central Lancashire. He became a trending writer for a leading social publisher and later spent time covering the 2018 World Cup for The Mirror Online. He then moved to a social marketing agency where he acted as website editor. His specialties on The Focus include F1, tennis, NBA, NFL and combat sports.