A.J. Johnson on going from Illawarra Hawks to Milwaukee Bucks as surprise No. 23 pick in NBA Draft!

A.J. Johnson on going from Illawarra Hawks to Milwaukee Bucks as surprise No. 23 pick in NBA Draft!

the newest Milwaukee Buck and another NBL next star heading to the NBA Aj Johnson Milwaukee Bucks player how does that sound it sounds it sounds great honestly it sounds great now we saw you up in the stands and I knew that you were here but who have you got here with you uh tonight because it was it was great scenes when you were selected yeah no I have my family my all my friends from back home uh that I grew up with my brothers uh friends everything they all came out you know um everybody has been a part of my development so it was really good um having that moment with him and let’s talk about the last 12 months so we were very happy to have you in Australia and you played with the Ila Hawks and it’s an alternate path you didn’t have to go down that way you were going to go to college what how do you look back now at your time in Australia no I loved my time in Australia just um um playing with professionals at an early age and just picking their brains you know um seeing what they do to be um a great professionals and stuff like that I just felt like that was just uh really good for my development on and off the court and I had great guys that I was with so um it made it it made it so much like a lot more fun and some people in the US might not know but you were playing for Justin Tatum the father of Jason Tatum he came in Midway through that season what was that experience like when Justin took over no it was a good experience I feel like he just gave us a lot of freedom um on the court and I feel like that just took um our team to another level so yeah that was great having him now uh one thing we know about you is you are an athlete this is a Milwaukee Bucks team that is probably screaming out for some all athletes what do you think you can bring to this team no I’ll definitely say um athleticism my playmaking ability like just my Elric I feel like I can um do stuff out there that you might not see a lot and I feel like I could just um help any organization uh win now uh teammate of jannis Anto kumbo how does that sound no that sounds it sounds crazy honestly sounds so unreal still so I’m just trying to truly soak it in but no it all sounds so beautiful it sounds right now uh one thing I would say and and I can tell you this I lived in Milwaukee for two NBA Seasons so you’re from California you live on the beautiful beaches of ilir this Milwaukee winter is going to be a little bit different man you’re going to have to pack a couple of hoodies no I’m definitely going to have to adjust to that cold weather I already feel like I get cold a lot and it don’t need to be that cold around me and I’ll still be saying I’m cold so uh yeah I definitely got to get some hoodies puffers whatever I can find for that weather but I’m really excited no we’re very excited for you uh just talk us through though tonight I mentioned the fact you were up in the stands here as you’re watching the pcks come through uh what’s going through your mind are you having contact with your agent or did you know that it was coming or what was the process no it was more of just I was just literally waiting for my name to be called you know I had um ideas of what teams liked me a lot during just like the combine the interviews that I had but um yeah it’s a crazy moment so hard to I’m still trying to like collect it all together but no you’re doing a great job you’re doing a great job working your way through it we’re excited to see you new Walky Buck we appreciate the time that you had in Australia and we’re very happy for you I appreciate you Aj Johnson heading to Milwaukee

A.J. Johnson talks to Kane Pitman about the playmaking ability and athleticism he’s looking to bring to Milwaukee, the excitement he has for joining Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks roster, his time as an NBL Next Star with the Illawarra Hawks in Australia, and his decision to come with his family and friends to sit in the stands for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

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