(MILWAUKEE BUCKS) – The Milwaukee Bucks have signed AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith.
Selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Johnson spent the 2023-24 season with the Illawarra Hawks in Australia’s National Basketball League as part of its Next Stars program. The 6-5 guard appeared in 26 games with the Hawks in his first professional season.
A native of Fresno, California, Johnson, 19, was a four-star recruit in the 2023 class coming out of Southern California Academy before opting to participate in the NBL’s Next Stars program.
Selected with the 33rd overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Smith, a 6-9 forward, played in 43 games last season with NBA G League Ignite and averaged 13.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 22.2 minutes per game while shooting 47.4% from the field and 36.0% from three. The 19-year-old reached double figures in scoring 31 times last season, including seven games scoring 20+ points, and participated in the NBA Rising Stars and NBA G League Up Next Game at NBA All-Star 2024.
Before joining G League Ignite, Smith played two seasons with Overtime Elite where he earned All-Overtime Elite Second Team honors following the 2022-23 season. As a 16-year-old, Smith was ranked as the No. 8 prospect in the Class of 2023 by ESPN before signing with Overtime Elite.
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