AJ Green embraces back-and-forth nature of rookie NBA season with Bucks

DALLAS — Since leaving Northern Iowa in spring 2022, AJ Green’s time has literally been a blur, but this Cedar Falls native isn’t complaining.

On a two-way contract, the 23-year-old Green divides his time between the Bucks and their NBA G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.

“I love it. It’s a lot of back and forth, a lot of travel, but you get to play,” Green said before a Bucks road win in Dallas in early December. “It’s more games, basically. Everybody wants to play games, so it’s been great to go down there (to the G League) play a lot of minutes, get reps and then come up here (to the NBA) and refine what I’m doing.”

Thus far, he has made 12 appearances for the Bucks and is averaging 3.2 points per game. The ex-Panther has played eight games in the G League, with six starts, and is averaging 20.3 points, five rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Green’s NBA resume has a small sample size, but the hardworking guard already has made quite an impression on his NBA teammates, including George Hill, a 14-year league veteran who has played for eight different teams, including two stints in Milwaukee.

“He’s willing to be a sponge, take in everything that guys are telling him to do. Working really hard, coming in early, leaving late and trying to get better,” Hill said. “But his maturity to take things in and try to learn on the fly is the biggest thing for me.”

Hill is just one of numerous veteran teammates who have welcomed Green with open arms and been quick to offer advice to the rookie about life in the league on and off the court.

“All the vets are great,” Green said. “They’re all great people first of all, so they’re all very helpful. They’ve all been a rookie. They know what it’s like, so they’re trying to make that transition easier.”

His most high-profile teammate, two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, also has been a great source of information for the former UNI standout.

“It makes my job easy with the attention that he draws and the focus on him. He’s such a great player,” Green said. “He’ll find me and other guys for open shots.

“We’ve just got to let it fly and knock it down. He’s a great teammate, a great person, someone I try and learn from by picking things up along the way as much as I can.”

But before he was turning heads in the NBA and the G League, Green helped lead Cedar Falls to a Class 4A state title as a senior in 2018. He then played at UNI for three seasons, earning Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2019 and league player of the year in 2020 and 2022 before forgoing his final year of eligibility to enter the 2022 NBA Draft.

“Yeah, I loved my time at UNI. Got to play the game I love and think it prepared me very well to be here in terms of how coach let me play and the development in my years there,” Green said. “It got me ready to take that next step and try and start this journey.”

After leaving UNI, his next stop was the NBA Summer League, where he averaged seven points and two rebounds per game in five contests for the Bucks, an experience which laid the foundation for him to be well prepared for his first NBA training camp and regular season.

“It was a great experience. It was my first pro experience,” Green said. “Little bit of a different role, just getting used to the speed and everything else with the pro game. I’m happy that I went through it. Learned from it for sure.

“Yeah, I think it helped me get ready and get an idea of what’s to come. I was able to hit the ground running a little bit and know what to expect (from the Bucks and in the G League), what they expect of me. It’s been fun to go up there (to Wisconsin) and play, play with those guys, compete, and do what I do.”

Along with MarJon Beauchamp, Green is one of two rookies on the Bucks’ roster, which means that even with a group of veteran teammates as welcoming as Milwaukee has, he still is subject to various rookie rites of passage. He’s been spared from lugging around the dreaded pink backpack, which was previously a fixture in locker rooms for NBA rookies.

“The whole year, you’ve got rookie duties. Me and Marjon share them. It’s not anything crazy,” he said. “No, (there’s no pink backpack), just stuff you’ve got to do and enjoy. I’m glad I don’t have to do that. If I did, I’d drop it.”

And even though he’s already played nine games with the Bucks, he admits he can’t name a singular “Welcome to the NBA moment” like many rookies can.

“I think every game is kind of a surreal moment. I can’t pick one,” Green said. “Every time you’re out there, it’s something new. It’s just crazy, you take a step back, realize where you are and are really grateful for it and blessed to be there.”

Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer in Frisco, Texas.