AJ Green (born September 27, 1999) is an American

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 the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Northern Iowa Panthers The Northern Iowa Panthers are the athletic teams of the University of Northern Iowa. The university is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes in NCAA Division I (Division I FCS in football). History The school's mascot is t ...

Early life and high school career

Green attended Holmes Junior High School, where he first decided he wanted to play college basketball. He played for

Cedar Falls High School Cedar Falls High School is a high school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It is a part of Cedar Falls Community School District. The school principal is Jason Wedgebury. The associate principals are Rafael Benítez and Lindsay Spears. All three are ...

on the basketball team as well as the Iowa Barnstormers in AAU play. As a senior, he averaged 26 points per game and became Cedar Falls' all-time leading scorer. He led the team to a state championship.

Recruiting

Green was a consensus four-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

and was considered the No. 78 player in the 2018 class by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. On August 11, 2017, he committed to play college basketball for

Northern Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, where his father was a member of the coaching staff. Green became the highest-rated player to ever commit to Northern Iowa and the program's first four-star recruit. He chose the Panthers over offers from

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, among other major programs.

College career

As a freshman, Green averaged 15 points per game. However, he struggled with turnovers, with 77 assists to 94 turnovers. Green was named

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Northern Iowa player to receive the honor since

Seth Tuttle Seth Tuttle (born September 5, 1992) is an American former basketball player and current assistant coach for the Northern Iowa Panthers. He had an All-American college career at Northern Iowa (UNI). Tuttle was considered one of the top college ...

in 2012, as well as Third Team All-MVC. On January 4, 2020, Green scored a career-high 35 points in a 69–64 win over

Bradley Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...

. He had 34 points on February 8, in a 83–73 win over

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

. On February 12, Green scored 27 points in a 71–63 win over

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

and surpassed the 1,000-point threshold. At the conclusion of the regular season, Green was named MVC Player of the Year. He averaged 19.7 points and 3.0 assists per game as a sophomore. Following the season, Green declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

. However, on July 30, 2020, he withdrew from the draft and decided to return to Northern Iowa for his junior season. On December 13, 2020, Panthers head coach

Ben Jacobson Ben Scott Jacobson (born December 16, 1970) is an American basketball coach. He is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Northern Iowa, a position he has held since 2006. He served as an assistant at North Dakota, North Dakota Sta ...

announced that Green would undergo hip surgery and miss the remainder of the 2020–21 season. He only appeared in 3 games, averaging 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. The following season, Green returned and averaged 18.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, culminating in his second selection as MVC Player of the Year. On April 20, 2022, Green entered the

transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool launched on October 15, 2018, to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member ...

while also declaring for the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

and maintaining his college eligibility. However, on June 1, 2022, he announced he would remain in the draft and forego his remaining eligibility.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

, Green signed a two-way contract with the

. Green joined the Bucks'

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus ...

roster. In his Summer League debut, Green scored fourteen points in a 94–90 win against the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

. On July 7, 2023, Green signed a standard contract with the Bucks. On February 9, 2024, Green scored a career-high 27 points during a 125–109 loss to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 35 , , 1 , , 9.9 , , .424 , , .419 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .2 , , .0 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 56 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .423 , , .408 , , .895 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .2 , , .1 , , 4.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 91 , , 1 , , 10.5 , , .424 , , .412 , , .913 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .2 , , .0 , , 4.5

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 0 , , 11.2 , , .375 , , .182 , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 6 , , 0 , , 11.2 , , .375 , , .182 , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 29.9 , , .410 , , .348 , , .864 , , 3.0 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .1 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 34.8 , , .416 , , .391 , , .917 , , 3.0 , , 3.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 36.3 , , .464 , , .407 , , .667 , , 5.7 , , 2.7 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , 22.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 36.4 , , .410 , , .388 , , .915 , , 3.7 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , .0 , , 18.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 99 , , 99 , , 33.7 , , .414 , , .378 , , .900 , , 3.3 , , 2.6 , , .7 , , .1 , , 17.9

Personal life

Green's father, Kyle Green, is an associate head basketball coach for

. He was previously an assistant coach and later associate head coach for

. Kyle played

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

basketball for

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline o ...

before spending one season professionally in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, where he also began his coaching career. Green's mother, Michele, played basketball for Hamline and is a

chiropractor Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscie ...

. Green's younger sister, Emerson, played basketball for

and is now playing at

References

External links

Northern Iowa Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, A. J. 1999 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Iowa Milwaukee Bucks players Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball players People from Cedar Falls, Iowa Point guards Shooting guards Undrafted NBA players Wisconsin Herd players