Eric Londery Griffin (born May 26, 1990) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for Hapoel Eilat of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

. He played college basketball for

Hiwassee College Hiwassee College was a private liberal arts college in Madisonville, Tennessee. Founded in 1849, the college offered associate degrees as well as bachelor's degrees. The majority of its associate degree graduates went on to complete bachelor's ...

, Garden City CC, and

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Baptist university in Buies Creek, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). Southern Baptist ConventionColleges and Universities sbc.net ...

before playing professionally in Italy, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, the United Arab Emirates, Dominican Republic, Israel, Poland, Australia and Greece.

High school and college career

Griffin attended

Maynard Evans High School Maynard Evans High School is a high school located in Orlando, Florida, United States, served by Orange County Public Schools. The school's name is often shortened to "Evans High School" or "E-HIGH", and the mascot for the school are the Trojans. ...

in Orlando, Florida, before transferring to

Boone High School Boone High School is a public high school located in Boone, Iowa, United States. The school's mascot is the Toreadors, and their colors are red and green. It is part of the Boone Community School District. Athletics The Toreadors compete in ...

for his senior year after being cut multiple times from the basketball team at Evans. At Boone, he met head coach and former LSU guard Willie Anderson, who recognized Griffin's freakish athleticism and unrelenting hunger for greatness. Anderson was the first one to give Griffin a chance, and he didn't disappoint. Following a solid first year of organized basketball, Griffin went on to play for Hiwassee Community College in Tennessee, where he averaged 16 points, six rebounds and two blocks per game in 2008–09. But when the small junior college lost its accreditation in 2009, Griffin was forced to move on. He transferred to Garden City Community College in Kansas, and in 2009–10, he played 32 games, averaging 8.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. In 2010, Griffin transferred to

. In his junior season, he scored in double figures 20 times, had five double-digit rebounding nights and set a school single-season Division I era (since 1977–78) record with 61 blocked shots. In 29 games (22 starts), he averaged 13.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.1 blocks in 28.1 minutes per game. In his senior season, Griffin was named to the 2012 All-Big South Conference first team. In his two-year career at Campbell, he finished with the school's highest career field goal percentage (.559) and ranks third on the school's all-time blocks list with 134 rejections. In 31 games, he averaged 15.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.4 blocks in 30.3 minutes per game.

Professional career

2012–13 season

After going undrafted in the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Asso ...

, Griffin joined the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

for the

2012 NBA Summer League The 2012 NBA Summer League was a pro basketball league run by the NBA just after the 2012 NBA Draft. It took place in Orlando, Florida from July 9 to 13 and in Las Vegas, Nevada from July 13 to 22, 2012. Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers) an ...

. On July 27, 2012, he signed with Fileni BPA Jesi of Italy for the 2012–13 season. In 28 games for Fileni, he averaged 17.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.

2013–14 season

In July 2013, Griffin joined the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

for the

2013 NBA Summer League The 2013 NBA Summer League is a pro basketball league run by the NBA just after the 2013 NBA draft. It gives newly drafted players a chance to test their skills against each other, and to give them a feel for professional basketball. All 30 NBA ...

. On September 10, 2013, he signed with the Heat, but was later waived on October 26 after appearing in seven preseason games. In December 2013, Griffin signed with Leones de Ponce of Puerto Rico for the

2014 Americas League The 2014 FIBA Americas League was played between January and March, 2014. It was the 7th edition of the first-tier and most important professional international club basketball competition in the regions of South America, Central America, the C ...

. In February 2014, he signed with

Guaros de Lara Guaros de Lara is a Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass a ...

of Venezuela for the rest of the 2014 LPB season. He left Guaros de Lara the following month after appearing in just six games. He later signed with

Indios de San Francisco de Macorís Indios de San Francisco de Macorís is a professional basketball team based in San Francisco de Macorís, Duarte, Dominican Republic. The team currently plays in the Dominican top division Liga Nacional de Baloncesto. Current roster ...

of the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) is the top men's professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic. Established in 2005, six teams compete annually between September and October. History The league was founded on September 6, 2004 a ...

in May. In 17 games for Indios, he averaged 13.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.

2014–15 season

In July 2014, Griffin joined the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

for the

2014 NBA Summer League The 2014 NBA Summer League consists of two pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA and the Orlando Magic just after the 2014 NBA Draft. Ten teams took part in the week-long summer league at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, from July 5 t ...

. On July 18, he signed with the Mavericks, but was later waived on October 21 after appearing in two preseason games. On November 3, 2014, he was acquired by the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

as an affiliate player of the Mavericks. On February 4, 2015, he was named to the Futures All-Star team for the 2015

NBA D-League All-Star Game The NBA D-League All-Star Game was an annual exhibition basketball game held by the NBA Development League (D-League). The D-League was founded in 2001 as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) and later as the NBA Development League. ...

. In 49 games for Texas in 2014–15, he averaged 19.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.4 blocks per game. On April 15, 2015, Griffin returned to Leones de Ponce, signing with them for the rest of the 2015 BSN season. In 14 games for Leones, he averaged 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.

2015–16 season

In July 2015, Griffin joined the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

for the

Orlando Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

and the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

for the Las Vegas Summer League. He signed with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

on September 28, 2015, but was waived on October 7. On November 10, 2015, Griffin signed with UAE basketball club Al-Nasr Dubai SC. His final game for Al-Nasr came on April 16, 2016.

2016–17 season

On August 18, 2016, Griffin signed with

Hapoel Gilboa Galil Hapoel Gilboa Galil ( he, הפועל גלבוע גליל) is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250 ...

of the

. On April 18, 2017, Griffin participated in the Israeli League All-Star Game and won the

Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

during the same event. Griffin played 33 games for Gilboa Galil and averaged 14.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.8 blocks per game.

2017–18 season

On July 3, 2017, Griffin signed with

Pallacanestro Cantù Pallacanestro Cantù, known for sponsorship reasons as Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Cantù, Lombardy. On the European-wide club competition scene, Cantù is second to Real Madrid – again ...

of the

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

. Prior to joining Cantù, he played for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

's Summer League team in both

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. After impressing during the Summer League, he opted out of his deal with Cantù and signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the Jazz on July 20, 2017. He played 19 games for the Utah's

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

affiliate, the

Salt Lake City Stars The Salt Lake City Stars are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and are affiliated with the Utah Jazz. As of the 2022-23 season, the Stars play in the Maverik Center in West Valley City, U ...

, before being waived by the Jazz on December 21, 2017. He did not appear in a game for the Jazz during his time with them. On January 26, 2018, Griffin returned to Israel for a second stint, signing with Hapoel Eilat for the rest of the season. On February 4, 2018, he made his debut in a 72–84 loss to

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

, recording 13 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. On June 3, 2018, Griffin recorded a season-high 30 points, shooting 10-of-13 from the field, along with 7 rebounds and 2 assists in an 81–87 playoff loss to

Hapoel Holon Hapoel Holon Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל הפועל חולון), known for sponsorship reasons as Hapoel Atsmon Playgrounds Holon (), is a professional basketball club based in Holon, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli ...

2018–19 season

On July 23, 2018, Griffin signed with the Italian club

Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also known for sponsorship reasons as UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. It plays in the LBA as of the 2022-23 season. History 1970s Pallacanestr ...

. On December 13, he parted ways with Reggiana after appearing in six games. On January 1, 2019, Griffin signed with the Polish team Stelmet Zielona Gora for the rest of the season. However, on January 16, 2019, Griffin parted ways with Zielona Góra after appearing in two games. On January 17, 2019, Griffin returned to Israel for a third stint, signing with

Ironi Nahariya Ironi Nahariya Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל עירוני נהריה; ) known for sponsorship reasons as Ironi Rain Nahariya () is a professional basketball club based in city of Nahariya in northern Israel. The team plays in t ...

for the rest of the season. Two days later, he made his debut in a 93–103 loss to

Ironi Nes Ziona Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. (or spelled as Ironi Nes Ziona B.C.) is a professional basketball club based in Ness Ziona, Israel. The team plays its home games at the Lev Hamoshava, which has capacity for 1,200 people. The club plays in the Israeli Bask ...

, recording 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocks off the bench.

2019–20 season

On June 24, 2019, Griffin signed with the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

for the

2019–20 NBL season The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. Teams Nine teams competed in the 2019–20 Season with the addition of South East Melbourne Phoenix. Off-season changes *The ...

. He averaged 14 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. In March 2020, Griffin had a three-game stint in Puerto Rico for Leones de Ponce.

2020–21 season

On September 5, 2020, Griffin signed with

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The c ...

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

. In 25 games, he recorded 17.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.

2021–22 season

On August 23, 2021, Griffin signed a two-year deal with

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...

of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

and the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontin ...

. In 15 league games, he averaged 10 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.5 steals and 1 block, playing around 27 minutes per contest. His contract was terminated on July 1, 2022.

2022–23 season

On August 4, 2022, Griffin signed with Hapoel Eilat of the

, returning to the team for a second stint.

Personal life

Griffin is the son of James Martin and Alma Bracy, and has three siblings: Bacarrai Bracy, Damien King and Adrian King. In June 2016, the State of Florida dropped a two-month-old charge of attempted first degree murder with a firearm against Griffin. Griffin and a friend had been arrested in late April 2016 for an

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

-area shooting that involved 24-year-old Treavor Glover. The Florida State Attorney's Office determined that it was not suitable for prosecution, finding that Griffin was falsely identified (the victim described the man who shot him as being "around 6-foot to 6-2"; Griffin is 6-9) while determining that Griffin had an alibi (his alarm system was on the night of the shooting until the following morning, and a motion detector picked him up as movement in a hallway).

References

External links