During his exit interview following the Bucks’ first-round defeat this season, Doc Rivers told reporters Milwaukee needed to find a way to get more athletic. Those athletes could be young or they could be veterans, but the Bucks needed more athletes.
And while A.J. Johnson played just 239 minutes this past season for the Illawarra Hawks as a part of the NBL Next Stars program, there is no doubting his athleticism. Johnson, 19, is the 13th youngest draft-eligible player in the 2024 NBA Draft.
At the 2024 Combine, he posted the eighth-fastest time (10.76 seconds) in the lane agility drill, the seventh-fastest time (2.87 seconds) in the shuttle run and a 38-inch vertical (19th). Along with strong numbers in drills, Johnson also performed well at the five-on-five sessions at the combine.
For Milwaukee, this is a pick based on upside because Johnson averaged only 2.8 points in 8.3 minutes per game across 29 games in Australia last season. He is undoubtedly a quick and explosive athlete, but he will need to add strength to his 6-foot-4 frame (6-foot-8 wingspan) as he only weighed 167 pounds at the combine.
A league source told The Athletic that Johnson impressed Bucks officials at a workout before this year’s combine as well.
With limited draft assets moving forward, it appears as though Milwaukee is taking a big swing on a player with potential to set themselves up for the future instead of focusing on a player they can plug and play to help them out this upcoming season.
