By Stephanie Martin, Christian News Now
With this season’s All-Star break and trade deadline both in the rearview mirror, NBA teams are now pushing to make the playoffs. Despite the fast pace of basketball and the pressures of pro sports, many NBA players take time to practice and proclaim their Christian faith.
The following individuals—nine players, a team chaplain, and a referee—are winners for sharing about eternal victory through Jesus Christ.
Christian NBA Players Who Glorify God
1. Ja’Kobe Walter
After one season of college hoops, Texas native Ja’Kobe Walter was selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors. Despite a first name that honors basketball greats Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, the 20-year-old guard tries to stay humble and glorify God.
“My parents put me in the church at a young age and have always told me to put God first in anything I do,” Walter told His Huddle before heading to Baylor University. “Faith has always been important for me since the beginning.”
To keep a proper perspective, the athlete thanks God each day for his blessings. “God has given me opportunities that I would’ve never thought I would have,” Walter said.
Last spring, when he declared for the draft, Walter began a social media post by thanking “my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because He makes all things possible. He has walked with me all my life to get me where I am now.”
As a rookie, Walter hasn’t wasted any time getting involved in the community. He recently became an ambassador for a youth sports facility in downtown Toronto.
2. Cam Johnson
Forward Cam Johnson, 28, played four seasons with the Phoenix Suns before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in February 2023. Now he’s in the middle of a career year, trying to help his new team land an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Johnson, who is Catholic, used to wear jersey #23 in honor of Psalm 23, which he recites before games. During a 2021 press conference, Johnson said, “My grandma, she’s a prayer warrior to the fullest extent, and she kind of told my dad to use this Bible verse as a prayer every time you go into a game, into a competition, into an important meeting, whatever it may be. And he instilled that down into me.”
The number 23 also belonged to Michael Jordan, a childhood hero of Cam Jordan Johnson. But the Nets star is clear about prioritizing faith over sports.
During a recent appearance on the “Travis Hearn Podcast,” Johnson told his former chaplain about the value of pregame chapel services.
“It’s like doses of church before every game. Doses of the Word. Doses of faith,” the athlete said. Johnson added that faith not only motivates him but keeps him steady amid stressors.
NBA veteran Jrue Holiday has a long, award-filled NBA resume. But the 34-year-old guard, now with the Boston Celtics, is clear that his “priority” is Christ. In his Instagram bio, Holiday writes, “We must bear resemblance to Christ, when we bear another’s burden.”
During his 16 years in pro basketball, Holiday has boldly shared his belief “in a God that loves me.” He also has relied on God while facing injuries and trials. In 2016, when Holiday’s wife, Lauren, was pregnant with the couple’s first child, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After giving birth, Lauren—a former U.S. women’s soccer player—had surgery to remove the mass, which was benign.
That experience brought the couple closer together and closer to God, according to Jrue.
“I started to reach more towards him,” he said. “A lot of times when something bad happens, that’s where you can start to seek God more.”
Calling God “a miracle worker,” Holiday added that faith involves having peace with “whatever decision [God] makes. Because ultimately, it’s up to him, and it’s not up to us.”
4. Jalen Suggs
Jalen Suggs, picked fifth overall in the 2021 draft by Orlando, is a perennial powerhouse for Magic. Playing college basketball at Gonzaga during the pandemic was challenging, he said, but “my relationship with God got me through it, honestly.” Having the opportunity to play in the NCAA Final Four championship game, Suggs added, “was a good reminder of how good and really great God is.”
Recently, Suggs has missed significant playing time due to injuries. Even during setbacks, he posts Bible verses on social media. In November, he wrote on Instagram, “‘Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.’ Romans 12:12 Enjoying this beautiful life I’ve been given.”
In October, Suggs signed a five–year, $150.5 million contract extension with the Magic.
“So many deserve so much praise and thanks for their sacrifices and help to make today my reality,” he wrote on X at the time. “This is surreal, I’m so thankful to them and God for his unfailing love.”
5. Mike Conley
At 37, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr. is still waiting for his first championship. But he’s won an NBA-record four Sportsmanship Award for character and integrity.
Conley’s Christian beliefs are clearly a big contributor to that. In 2013, he told The Alabama Baptist that faith makes life “much easier” because “you cut out a lot of nonsense.”
The athlete explained, “There are obviously a lot of temptations in the NBA. Being on TV, running into a bunch of people, you are always vulnerable to a lot of things. Being able to block that out and concentrate on your faith and living a good life is important.”
Conley, who grew up in the Baptist Church, said his favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 54:17 — “No act performed against you shall prosper.” The athlete credits his family, including an uncle who is a pastor, for nurturing his strong faith foundation.
“Jesus means the world; Jesus means everything,” said Conley. “It’s what I live for. He is what I do my work for in the community, passing on as much as I can to anybody that needs it.”
6. Luke Kennard
Another Christian in the NBA is 28-year-old Luke Kennard, now with the Memphis Grizzlies. At Duke, where he played college ball for two years, Kennard was teammates with Jayson Tatum, a Boston Celtics standout and fellow Christian.
When Kennard declared for the NBA draft in 2017, he shared gratitude for his blessings and opportunities.
“God has taken me on an unbelievable journey,” the athlete wrote, “and he continues to allow me to live through Him!”
Kennard’s social media bios feature Romans 8:28, a verse he has pinned on X. He has credited his family’s strong support for his athletic pursuits, which began in childhood. Now Kennard is a father himself; last month, he and wife Anna had a baby boy, named Porter.
7. Tyrese Maxey
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, 24, had an All-Star year in 2024, when he was named the Most Improved Player. The Dallas native, who calls himself a “student of the game” of basketball, was a standout high school player in Texas.
As it did for many of his peers, the pandemic interrupted Maxey’s college plans (at Kentucky). But because he was raised in the Christian faith, Maxey knew that God was in charge of his life and career.
In 2022, Tim Martin, his longtime trainer, told The Athletic that Maxey is “very in tune with God” and “knows his purpose.” That’s rare for someone so young, Martin added, noting that “it’s a true testament to his faith and his upbringing.”
Maxey’s family also taught him to put feet to his faith. The basketball player, who’s already won an NBA Sportsmanship Award, is active in the community through his faith-based nonprofit foundation.
8. Immanuel Quickley
Guard Immanuel Quickley, who began his NBA career with the New York Knicks, now plays for the Toronto Raptors. He grew up in a Christian family, often attending multiple worship services per week.
After Quickley’s freshman year at Kentucky, someone at his home church prophesied over his life. That’s when he became more serious about faith, making it his own and doing regular devotions.
“I’m a Christian who happens to play basketball; I wanted to get that out there,” Quickley said in a 2020 interview with The Athletic. “I really wasn’t showing my faith and showing who I was for Jesus.”
In spring 2020, as a first-round pick, Quickley had the words to Romans 8:28 embroidered on the inside of his draft-night suit.
Quickley’s father, Marcellous, was slow to embrace his son’s career, fearing that pro sports would interfere with spiritual pursuits. But Immanuel has been eager to prove otherwise.
“For [my dad] to understand that I can be an upright Christian and still play basketball at the same time is really big,” said Quickley. Now 28, he shares videos on his YouTube channel about “Walking in My Purpose.”
9. Tobias Harris
Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris, 32, has shuffled teams often during his 14-year pro career. But he’s said he always tries to enjoy the “present moment” because it’s “truly an honor” to use his talents on the big stage.
In a 2015 interview with Razz and Jazz Sports, Harris said, “Any person I meet, I try to embrace them and show them love so that they know I’m a Christian. Jesus Christ was a loving man, and as Christians, we have to try to enable our lives after Jesus Christ.”
Speaking to Pastor William McDowell on “Deeper Worship Intensive” in 2021, Harris said he’s determined to “find ways to always bring Christ out in my life,” even after his playing days are over.
The athlete said he aims to help someone and shine the light of Jesus every day because “we really don’t know everyone’s walk of life and what they’ve gone through.” That mindset—as well as an appreciation for all his blessings—has been “super important for my own growth and my own walk,” said Harris.
10. NBA Chaplain Travis Hearn
Travis Hearn, team chaplain for the Phoenix Suns, is senior pastor at Impact Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. In his latest book, “The Fire Is For You,” the former athlete recounts his recovery from a near-death experience.
As ChurchLeaders reported, Hearn, now 49, suffered a brain aneurysm and stroke in 2022.
“Sometimes God’s got to knock you flat on your back in order to get you to look up at him, and that was one of these situations for me,” he said.
During an appearance last month on the “Sports Spectrum” podcast, Hearn spoke about his miraculous recovery and healing. In the middle of his five-day hospital stay, the pastor couldn’t remember his family members’ names. But as medical staff tested his recall, he suddenly blurted, “Count it all joy.” Hearn’s wife, Natalie, explained to nurses that those words are from the Bible.
Looking back, Hearn said it’s “crazy” that he didn’t know what day or year it was, yet God gave him the words of a Scripture verse that totally fit his current context. James 1:2-3 (ESV) says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”
11. NBA Ref Pat Fraher
Christians are also in the NBA officiating ranks, as evidenced by referee Pat Fraher. The 51-year-old Minnesota native has worked more than 1,300 games during 22 NBA seasons. Fraher’s favorite book is “Be a Man,” by Fr. Larry Richards—because it changed his heart and his life.
Although Fraher grew up in a Catholic family that had “season tickets at church,” he didn’t know God personally. After reading Richards’ book in 2017, the ref gave his life to Jesus. In a 2020 “Sports Spectrum” interview, Fraher described how he began relearning his faith and that “when you repent, everything changes.”
The ref marveled at how God has used his career— “the very thing that I put ahead of him”—to call him back to faith. “Instead of taking [my job] away from me, he actually blessed me with it.”
In 2024, Fraher appeared on the “Sports Spectrum” podcast to discuss how his renewed faith has grown and matured. More than ever, the ref is now invested in eternal, not earthly, matters.
First published Feb. 26, 2025
