In June 2019, one of the NBA’s most reliable point guards walked away from a $10 to $12 million annual salary. Darren Collison was 31 years old, healthy, and coming off an 11-point-per-game season. Teams wanted him. The money was ready. He chose something else. “I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and my faith means everything to me,” he wrote in a letter published by ESPN’s The Undefeated. Few retirements in NBA history have stunned the basketball world quite as much. Collison is not alone. Several ex NBA Jehovah Witness players have let their faith reshape, define, or ultimately end their professional careers.
What Are Jehovah’s Witnesses and Why Does Faith Matter in the NBA?
Jehovah’s Witnesses belong to a Christian denomination that formed in the United States during the late 19th century. Members place enormous value on Bible study, door-to-door ministry, and a strict set of doctrines that sets the faith apart from mainstream Christianity. According to EssentiallySports, over 100,000 people followed the faith as of 2022. The religion discourages prioritizing secular ambitions, including professional sports, over spiritual service.
For NBA players, those values create real tension. Team schedules demand total commitment. Travel, training, and competition fill nearly every waking hour from October through June. For a Jehovah’s Witness, that commitment to a basketball franchise directly competes with the faith’s expectation of volunteer ministry and congregation involvement. Some players manage the balance throughout their careers. Others reach a point where they can no longer do both.
According to EssentiallySports, at least ten NBA players across the league’s history have followed or been raised within the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith. Three names stand out above all others: Darren Collison, Danny Granger, and Dewayne Dedmon. Each story differs dramatically from the others. Together, they paint a full picture of what faith actually costs in professional sports.
Darren Collison: The Point Guard Who Chose Ministry Over Millions
Darren Collison was born on August 23, 1987, in Rancho Cucamonga, California. He attended Etiwanda High School before playing four years of college basketball at UCLA. The New Orleans Hornets drafted him 21st overall in the 2009 NBA Draft. According to Bleacher Report, the NBA named him to the All-Rookie First Team in his debut season.
His career spanned a decade and five franchises. He played for the New Orleans Hornets, Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Sacramento Kings before returning to Indiana. According to NBA.com, he averaged 12.5 points and 5.0 assists across 708 regular-season games. He shot 39.4 percent from three-point range across his career and led the entire NBA in three-point percentage at 46.8 percent in the 2017-18 season.
That efficiency made him valuable. According to ESPN, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that teams were ready to offer Collison between $10 million and $12 million per year in the summer of 2019. He was about to become an unrestricted free agent. The market was waiting.
Why Darren Collison Walked Away From His Career Peak
On June 28, 2019, Collison published a retirement letter through ESPN’s The Undefeated. He wrote that basketball had been his life since childhood but that something more important had emerged. “I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and my faith means everything to me,” he wrote. “I receive so much joy from volunteering to help others and participate in a worldwide ministry. The joy I feel is unmatched.”
According to Fox News, Collison expressed that his total focus on basketball had prevented him from serving others the way his faith required. Leaving the sport at 31, during what should have been a peak earning period, represented a genuine sacrifice rather than a convenient exit.
He briefly returned. According to Wikipedia, Collison signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers in December 2021. He appeared in three games during the NBA’s COVID bubble season and then left again. That short return suggested the NBA remained part of his internal conversation. His departure after three games confirmed that ministry had won.
Collison’s total NBA earnings reached approximately $43 million according to ESPN. He now lives in Southern California and participates in local congregation activities. No public speaking engagements or media appearances have followed his retirement. That silence is itself a statement.
| Player | Teams | Career Span | Career Earnings | Faith Connection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Collison | Hornets, Pacers, Mavericks, Clippers, Kings, Lakers | 2009 to 2022 | ~$43 million | Raised JW; cited faith in retirement letter |
| Danny Granger | Pacers, Clippers, Heat | 2005 to 2015 | ~$70.8 million | Raised JW; baptized in 2017 post-retirement |
| Dewayne Dedmon | Multiple teams including Hawks, Heat | 2013 to 2024 | ~$53 million | Raised by JW mother; began playing at age 18 |
Danny Granger: The All-Star Who Found His Faith After the Final Whistle
Danny Granger was born on April 20, 1983, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana, before spending time at Bradley University and then the University of New Mexico. According to Wikipedia, the Indiana Pacers selected him 17th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft.
Granger developed into one of the most complete scorers in Pacers history. According to Basketball Reference, he earned over $70.8 million during his NBA career and signed a five-year, $60 million extension with Indiana in 2009. That same year, he averaged 26 points per game on 45 percent shooting. The NBA named him Most Improved Player and selected him as an All-Star. According to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, he started 425 of his 544 career games with the Pacers and averaged 17.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in Indiana.
His career peak arrived early and held for roughly four years. Then, in the 2012-13 season, a left knee injury limited him to just five games. According to Wikipedia, the Pacers traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers in February 2014. Short stints followed with the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat. He retired in 2015.
How Danny Granger Connected Faith to Performance on the Court
Granger grew up in a Jehovah’s Witness household. His parents raised him within the faith from childhood. Unlike Collison, who cited religion in his retirement statement, Granger spoke about his beliefs during his playing days. In a 2008 interview with the Indianapolis Star, he said: “I have a great sense of serenity as a Jehovah’s Witness, and that peace carries over to the basketball court.”
According to EssentiallySports, Granger actively participated in charitable work and advocated for mental health awareness throughout his career. Faith provided grounding, not just personal comfort. The Witnesses’ emphasis on humility and service shaped how he carried himself in a league that rewards individualism and self-promotion.
One detail separates his story from Collison’s. Granger did not formally complete his baptism as a Jehovah’s Witness during his NBA years. According to EssentiallySports and The SportsRush, he received baptism in 2017, two years after his retirement in 2015. That timing suggests a deliberate choice to formalize a lifelong commitment once professional basketball no longer competed for his time and energy.
According to The SportsRush, his net worth sits at approximately $20 million. He shares his faith with his wife and three children. His post-retirement life has stayed private, consistent with a man who never sought headlines even during his All-Star years.
Dewayne Dedmon: The Center Who Defied His Own Upbringing to Reach the NBA
Dewayne Dedmon’s story differs from both Collison and Granger in one fundamental way. His mother did not want him in the NBA at all. Faith sat at the center of that objection, and the conflict it created shaped one of the most unusual paths to professional basketball the league has ever seen.
Dedmon was born on August 12, 1989, in Lancaster, California. His father, Thomas Dedmon, died by suicide when Dewayne was three years old. His mother, Gail Lewis, raised him alongside two older sisters in Antelope Valley, north of Los Angeles. According to Players Bio, Gail is a devout Jehovah’s Witness who viewed organized sports as incompatible with religious devotion. She reportedly quoted scripture in explaining her position: “You can only serve one master, and if you are already serving God, it’s harder to serve a team, and it’s not fair to be part of something else.”
According to Wikipedia, Dedmon attended Lancaster High School but did not play organized basketball until his senior year, and even then only briefly. His mother’s objections kept him off the court throughout his developmental years. He grew to 6 feet 10 inches without any formal coaching. The faith came first.
How Dewayne Dedmon Started His Basketball Career at Age 18
After Dedmon turned 18, he made a decision his mother could not legally prevent. He told her about his desire to play basketball and began pursuing the sport as an adult. According to Alchetron, he enrolled at Antelope Valley College in 2009. His first season there produced averages of 6.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He later transferred to USC, where he averaged 6.7 points, 7 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game in his senior year, earning a spot on the All-Pac-12 Defensive Team according to Sportskeeda.
Nobody drafted him. According to Wikipedia, Dedmon went undrafted in 2013 and signed with the Golden State Warriors. Their G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, gave him his first professional experience. From there, the career built slowly.
He played for ten different NBA organizations across more than a decade. His most productive seasons came with the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat. According to Basketball Reference, he averaged 6.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game across his NBA career and earned approximately $53 million in professional contracts. His nickname in the league was “The Mechanic,” a label that fit a player valued more for reliable efficiency than spectacular moments.
Dedmon married Kayla Dedmon on August 21, 2019, according to Sportskeeda. The couple has two children together. He has not publicly described his own religious practice in detail, but the faith his mother instilled forms the backdrop to his entire personal story.
Other Ex NBA Jehovah Witness Players Worth Knowing
The confirmed trio of Collison, Granger, and Dedmon represents the most documented cases, but they are not the only names in this conversation.
Dave Meyers walked away from the NBA in 1980 after a career with the Milwaukee Bucks. According to Sportsvirals, he chose to concentrate fully on his spiritual life as a Jehovah’s Witness after just five seasons. Meyers had played college basketball at UCLA under coach John Wooden and was selected 8th overall in the 1975 NBA Draft. His decision to leave the game for religious reasons predates Collison’s famous exit by nearly four decades.
Michael Adams played as a point guard in the NBA from 1985 to 1996. According to Draftschedule, he was a Jehovah’s Witness whose faith shaped his personal conduct throughout his career. Mark Jackson, now better known as a television analyst and former coach, has also been cited in multiple sources as a Jehovah’s Witness during his playing years, though the specifics of his practice during his NBA career are less thoroughly documented.
According to EssentiallySports, Detlef Schrempf, the German-American forward who played for the Pacers and Trail Blazers among others, began attending Jehovah’s Witnesses meetings in the 1990s and pursued committed religious practice from that point forward. None of these cases match the public profile of Collison’s retirement, but together they confirm that the faith has reached across multiple generations of NBA rosters.
What Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe and Why It Creates Unique Pressure for Athletes
Understanding the faith itself helps explain the tension these players navigate. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jehovah is the one true God and that the end of the current world order is approaching. Members study the Bible regularly, conduct door-to-door ministry, and attend congregation meetings multiple times per week. According to Technology.org, the faith strongly emphasizes evangelism and adherence to specific doctrines that separate it from mainstream Christianity.
Several of those doctrines create direct friction with professional sports culture. Witnesses decline to salute flags or sing national anthems, which stadium protocol requires. They do not celebrate birthdays or holidays, which NBA team culture builds around. Blood transfusions, which a serious injury might require, run against core beliefs. Most fundamentally, the faith asks members to put spiritual service above secular ambition.
For a professional athlete operating under a team contract, those requirements are not easy to satisfy. Collison’s retirement statement reflected exactly that impossibility. He had built a career on total commitment to basketball. His faith asked for total commitment to something else. He chose the faith.
The Lasting Impact of These Stories on Sports and Religion
Collison’s 2019 announcement generated national conversation about faith, identity, and the limits of money as motivation. Granger’s quieter story, playing a decade at All-Star level with faith as personal grounding rather than public statement, offered a different model. Dedmon’s trajectory, from a teenager forbidden to play to a professional earning $53 million, showed what happens when religious upbringing and personal ambition diverge.
These stories matter beyond basketball. They challenge the assumption that elite athletes exist primarily as products of their physical gifts and competitive drive. Faith shapes decisions in professional sports more often and more deeply than sports media typically covers. The ex NBA Jehovah Witness player is not a curiosity. These men represent a thread of genuine religious commitment running through one of the world’s most commercially driven entertainment industries.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many ex NBA players are Jehovah’s Witnesses?
According to EssentiallySports, at least ten NBA players across the league’s history have followed or been raised within the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith. The three most documented cases are Darren Collison, Danny Granger, and Dewayne Dedmon.
Why did Darren Collison retire from the NBA?
Darren Collison retired in June 2019 to focus on his faith and family as a Jehovah’s Witness. He told ESPN’s The Undefeated that ministry and volunteering brought him more joy than basketball. He was 31 years old and reportedly had offers of $10 to $12 million per year in free agency at the time.
Did Darren Collison ever return to the NBA?
Yes. Collison signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers in December 2021 and played three games. He did not continue after the contract expired and has not returned to the NBA since.
Was Danny Granger a Jehovah’s Witness during his NBA career?
Danny Granger grew up in a Jehovah’s Witness household and practiced the faith throughout his career. According to EssentiallySports, he was not formally baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness until 2017, two years after his retirement from professional basketball in 2015.
Why did Dewayne Dedmon start playing basketball so late?
Dedmon’s mother, Gail Lewis, is a devout Jehovah’s Witness who forbade him from playing organized basketball. According to Wikipedia, he did not begin playing seriously until he turned 18 and could make the decision himself. He started without formal coaching and went undrafted before working his way into the NBA.
What do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe about professional sports?
Jehovah’s Witnesses place high value on congregation meetings, Bible study, and door-to-door ministry. According to Technology.org, the faith strongly discourages prioritizing secular ambitions over spiritual devotion. Playing for a professional team creates direct scheduling conflicts with those religious obligations.
Who was the first NBA player to leave the league for Jehovah’s Witness faith?
Dave Meyers, a forward drafted 8th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1975, left the NBA in 1980 to concentrate on his spiritual life as a Jehovah’s Witness, according to Sportsvirals. His departure predates Darren Collison’s retirement by nearly four decades.
How much did Darren Collison earn during his NBA career?
According to ESPN, Darren Collison earned approximately $43 million during his NBA career across ten seasons and five teams.
Did Danny Granger win a championship?
No. According to Basketball Reference, Danny Granger did not win an NBA championship during his career. His most successful period came between 2008 and 2012 with the Indiana Pacers, where he earned All-Star and Most Improved Player recognition in 2009.
Are there any current active NBA players who are Jehovah’s Witnesses?
As of 2026, no active NBA player has publicly confirmed practicing the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith. According to EssentiallySports, the three most recent confirmed cases, Collison, Granger, and Dedmon, are all retired or no longer active at the NBA level.
Rea about Genesis Harlo Anthony