The NBA represents a microcosm of global diversity, bringing together athletes from varied cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. While professional basketball demands intense commitment and often conflicts with traditional religious practices, several former NBA players have maintained their devotion to the Jehovah’s Witness faith throughout and after their careers.
This article explores the intersection of professional basketball and religious commitment, highlighting former NBA players who are Jehovah’s Witnesses and examining how their faith influenced their careers and life decisions.
Understanding Jehovah’s Witnesses
Before examining specific players, it’s important to understand the Jehovah’s Witness denomination and what distinguishes it from other Christian traditions.
Historical Origins and Organization
Jehovah’s Witnesses emerged as a religious movement in the late 19th century United States. The denomination operates under the guidance of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, which provides doctrinal interpretation and organizational structure for millions of members worldwide.
Core Theological Beliefs
Several distinctive theological positions characterize Jehovah’s Witnesses:
Biblical Authority: Members regard the Bible as the inspired and authoritative word of God, with particular emphasis on the New World Translation, a Bible version produced specifically for their community.
Use of God’s Name: The denomination places significant importance on using “Jehovah” as God’s personal name, believing this practice reflects proper biblical worship and distinguishes authentic faith from other traditions.
Non-Trinitarian Theology: Unlike mainstream Christian denominations, Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the Trinity doctrine. They view God as a single divine entity and understand Jesus Christ as God’s first and greatest creation, rather than as God incarnate.
Eschatology and Afterlife: The faith teaches that 144,000 faithful believers will rule alongside Christ in heaven, while the vast majority of righteous people will enjoy eternal life on a restored, paradisiacal Earth rather than in a traditional concept of heaven.
Distinctive Practices and Lifestyle
Several practices make Jehovah’s Witnesses readily identifiable:
Medical Decisions: Members refuse blood transfusions based on their interpretation of biblical prohibitions against consuming blood. This stance can create significant challenges in medical emergencies and represents one of the faith’s most controversial positions.
Evangelism Commitment: Active door-to-door ministry and distribution of literature like The Watchtower and Awake! magazines constitute core religious obligations. Members view evangelism as a fundamental expression of faith rather than an optional activity.
Political and Military Neutrality: The denomination maintains strict neutrality regarding political affairs and military service. Members typically abstain from voting, holding political office, or serving in armed forces, viewing God’s kingdom as the only legitimate government.
Community Worship: Members gather regularly at Kingdom Halls for worship services, Bible study, and communal instruction, fostering strong community bonds and shared religious identity.
The Challenge of Faith and Professional Sports
Professional athletics and religious devotion can create significant tensions, particularly for Jehovah’s Witnesses. The demands of an NBA career—extensive travel, games on religious meeting days, the celebrity culture surrounding professional sports, and the intense time commitment required—can conflict with religious obligations like regular congregation attendance, evangelism activities, and maintaining separation from worldly influences.
Despite these challenges, several NBA players have successfully navigated this difficult balance, with varying degrees of accommodation between their athletic careers and religious commitments.
Notable Former NBA Players Who Are Jehovah’s Witnesses
Darren Collison: Choosing Faith Over Basketball
Darren Collison’s story represents perhaps the most dramatic example of faith taking precedence over professional basketball success. Selected in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft, Collison established himself as a reliable point guard over a decade-long career.
Throughout his NBA tenure, Collison played for multiple teams, including significant stints with the Indiana Pacers (four seasons) and Sacramento Kings (three seasons). He demonstrated consistent performance as a capable floor general and three-point shooter, making him a valuable asset to every team he joined.
However, in 2019, at just 31 years old and still capable of contributing at the NBA level, Collison made a stunning announcement: he was retiring from professional basketball to focus on his faith and family as a Jehovah’s Witness. This decision shocked the basketball world, as players rarely walk away from lucrative contracts while still in their prime playing years.
Collison’s retirement statement emphasized that his religious faith and family responsibilities had become more important than his basketball career. His decision highlighted the profound commitment that Jehovah’s Witnesses maintain toward their religious practices and the difficult choices that can arise when career success conflicts with spiritual priorities.
There has been periodic speculation about a potential return to the NBA, but Collison has largely maintained his decision to prioritize his religious life over basketball.
Danny Granger: Faith Journey After Basketball
Danny Granger carved out a successful nine-year NBA career, spending the majority of his playing time with the Indiana Pacers. Drafted in 2005, Granger developed into one of the league’s most dangerous scorers, earning an All-Star selection in 2009 and serving as the Pacers’ primary offensive weapon during his prime years.
Granger’s relationship with the Jehovah’s Witness faith reflects a common pattern—being raised within the religious community but making a personal commitment later in life. His parents practiced the faith and raised him within that tradition, exposing him to its teachings and practices throughout his childhood and adolescence.
However, Granger did not undergo baptism as a Jehovah’s Witness until approximately two years after concluding his NBA career in 2015. This timing suggests that the demands of professional basketball may have made full participation in the faith challenging, or that his personal spiritual journey required time to develop before making the formal commitment that baptism represents within the denomination.
Granger’s path illustrates how athletes raised in religious traditions may defer certain commitments until after their playing careers conclude, when they have more time and flexibility to fully embrace the practices and obligations their faith requires.
Dewayne Dedmon: Overcoming Religious Opposition
Dewayne Dedmon’s journey to the NBA presents a unique narrative about navigating parental religious expectations and personal athletic ambitions. His mother, a devout Jehovah’s Witness, initially forbade him from playing basketball, believing the sport would distract from spiritual development and potentially expose him to negative influences inconsistent with their faith.
This opposition created significant obstacles for Dedmon’s basketball development. Many elite players begin organized basketball in childhood, receiving coaching and competitive experience that builds foundational skills. Dedmon’s delayed start placed him at a considerable disadvantage compared to peers who had played throughout their youth.
Despite these challenges, Dedmon persisted in pursuing basketball once he gained the independence to make his own decisions. His path to the NBA proved longer and more difficult than typical, but he eventually carved out a successful professional career as a center, playing for multiple NBA teams.
Dedmon’s story raises complex questions about the intersection of parental religious authority, individual autonomy, and the pursuit of professional athletic careers. While his mother’s intentions stemmed from sincere religious conviction and concern for his spiritual well-being, Dedmon’s success in basketball demonstrated that athletic pursuits and personal faith can coexist, even if his approach differed from his mother’s strict interpretation.
Additional Context and Considerations
Privacy and Personal Faith
It’s important to note that many athletes maintain private religious lives, choosing not to publicly discuss their spiritual beliefs. Therefore, the actual number of current or former NBA players who practice as Jehovah’s Witnesses may be higher than publicly documented cases.
Some players may have been raised in the faith but no longer actively practice, while others may have converted later in life. The fluid nature of personal religious identity means that definitive lists of athletes who are Jehovah’s Witnesses remain difficult to compile comprehensively.
The Broader Picture of Religion in the NBA
The NBA features players from numerous religious backgrounds, including various Christian denominations, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and other faiths. This religious diversity reflects the league’s global reach and the increasingly international nature of professional basketball.
Many players openly express their faith through social media, pre-game rituals, post-game interviews, and charitable work. The league generally respects players’ religious practices, though the demanding schedule can create challenges for observing particular holy days or maintaining regular worship attendance.
Unique Challenges for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Professional Sports
Jehovah’s Witnesses face particular challenges in professional sports environments:
Schedule Conflicts: Games and practices often occur during times designated for religious meetings and evangelism activities, creating difficult choices between professional obligations and religious commitments.
Medical Considerations: The prohibition against blood transfusions can complicate medical treatment for sports injuries, requiring advance planning and coordination with medical staff to ensure acceptable alternatives are available.
Cultural Environment: The celebrity culture, media attention, and sometimes lavish lifestyle associated with professional sports can conflict with the denomination’s emphasis on humility, separation from worldly pursuits, and focus on spiritual rather than material concerns.
Evangelism Obligations: The expectation to engage in regular door-to-door ministry and evangelism can be difficult to fulfill while maintaining the rigorous training schedule and travel demands of professional basketball.
Conclusion: Respecting Personal Faith Journeys
The stories of former NBA players who are Jehovah’s Witnesses illustrate the complex relationship between professional athletic careers and deep religious commitment. Whether choosing faith over continued playing opportunities like Darren Collison, making formal religious commitments after retirement like Danny Granger, or overcoming religious opposition to pursue basketball dreams like Dewayne Dedmon, these athletes demonstrate the diverse ways individuals navigate competing priorities.
Their experiences remind us that professional athletes are multidimensional individuals whose identities extend far beyond their performance on the court. Religious faith represents a fundamental aspect of personal identity for many people, shaping values, influencing decisions, and providing meaning that transcends professional achievement.
In a society that values both religious freedom and individual autonomy, respecting these athletes’ choices to prioritize faith, defer religious commitments during their careers, or find personal balances between competing obligations reflects our broader commitment to acknowledging the complexity of human experience and the legitimacy of diverse spiritual paths.