The National Basketball Association is made up of athletes from a variety of racial and religious backgrounds. (NBA). While the majority of players in the league identify as Christians or atheists, a small number of players are Jehovah’s Witnesses. This article will look at the lives of three NBA players who are Jehovah’s Witnesses: Danny Granger, Dewayne Dedmon, and Darren Collison.
Danny Granger
Danny Granger was a gifted small forward who played in the NBA for a career that lasted from 2005 to 2015. He spent the most of his career with the Indiana Pacers and was an All-Star in 2009. Granger was well known for his philanthropic work in Haiti and his advocacy of mental health awareness in addition to his work on the court.
Granger spent his early years attending Kingdom Halls with them because he was raised in a Jehovah’s Witness household. He asserted in an interview with the Indianapolis Star that his faith has given him the strength to manage the pressures of being a professional athlete. The interview was published in 2008.
The seven-foot center Dewayne Dedmon
Dewayne Dedmon has prior NBA experience with the Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings, and Atlanta Hawks, among other groups. He didn’t begin playing high school basketball until his senior year because of limitations placed on him by his mother because of his faith. His Jehovah’s Witness mother forbade him from engaging in sports.
Dedmon, though, was adamant about playing basketball since he loved it and working hard to develop his skills. After he caught the eye of college recruiters, a spot on the USC Trojans men’s basketball team eventually became available for him. After college, he was not selected, but in 2013, he eventually joined the Golden State Warriors.
Dedmon claims that his religious beliefs helped him overcome the obstacles he faced at the start of his basketball career. I can honestly say that my faith has helped me endure a lot of difficulty in my life, he said in an interview with Business Insider. It has assisted me in keeping my cool and my attitude in challenging situations.
Darren Collison
From 2009 until 2019, Darren Collison was a point guard for teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, and Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association. During his career, he averaged 12.5 points and 5 assists a game.
Collison announced his retirement from the NBA in 2019 at the age of 31, citing religious reasons. In an interview with The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears, he stressed the importance of his faith to him and stated that he wanted to focus on his family and charity endeavors.
Like Granger and Dedmon, he was raised in a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In the same interview, he talked about the challenges he faced in juggling his work and faith, but he ultimately believed that his religious beliefs always came first.
Despite the fact that Jehovah’s Witnesses are underrepresented in the NBA, these three players’ careers have been significantly impacted by their religious beliefs. To win the game, these players faced challenges.
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