Paul George sends message to AJ Griffin to welcome him into the NBA

Former Duke Blue Devil star AJ Griffin already had a dream come true on Thursday night when he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 16 overall selection in the 2022 NBA Draft. Right after he was picked, the ABC crew showed him a special video message from none other than current Los Angeles Clipper Paul George, welcoming him to the league.

“I want to send a special shoutout to the little bro, AJ Griffin,” said George. “Welcome to the league. Man, I know it’s crazy.  I hope you soak it all in and enjoy this moment.  This don’t happen to a lot of people.  Just live it.  We’ll see you soon in the league. I look forward to these iso’s with you on the wing. YEAH!  You in deep waters now. Congrats, man, welcome, love,” the LA Clippers star said.

In joining the Atlanta Hawks, Griffin will join former Virginia Cavaliers’ star De’Andre Hunter.

Heading into the draft, the former Duke freshman was predicted to go well within the first round’s first 30 picks.

He averaged 10.4 points per game last season to help lead Duke to the Final Four in Mike Krzyzewski’s final season before retirement. Versus rival North Carolina in February, the 6-foot-7, 200-pound forward posted a career-high 27 points.

Griffin shot 49.3% from the field and 44% from three-point territory while adding 3.9 boards per game. He was one of five former Blue Devils stars to declare for the draft. Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams, Trevor Keels and Wendell Moore Jr. are also slated to go in the first 40 slots.

Coming out of high school in White Plains, New York, Griffin was a four-star recruit. He signed with Duke as the No. 23 player in the nation from the class of 2021, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

What the scouts are saying about AJ Griffin

“We haven’t really seen consistency from AJ Griffin this season after starting the year banged up, but we have seen some brilliant flashes — and the flashes are pretty great,” CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone wrote ahead of the 2022 NBA Draft. “In a draft that lacks star potential around this range, it’s easy to see how he could climb anywhere from No. 4 to No. 10. The wing is a bulldog defender with a big frame who is hitting nearly half of his 3s as a freshman at Duke. His emergence late in the season has shown he’s capable of creating and there’s still a lot of untapped potential in his game, too.”

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle also contributed to this article.