Milwaukee Bucks NBA Draft Prospect Watch: R.J. Hampton

Milwaukee Bucks, RJ Hampton, NBA Draft — AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – NOVEMBER 30: (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

R.J. Hampton made waves when he opted to play overseas instead of going the traditional one-and-done route for players of his caliber. Will he be of interest to the Milwaukee Bucks?

R.J. Hampton’s path to the 2020 NBA Draft certainly caught the attention of basketball fans all over the world.

Nearly a year ago, Hampton declared his intentions to eschew the traditional, one-and-done route for a five-star recruit like himself and opted to play professionally overseas for the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL as part of their ‘Next Stars’ program.

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Citing his disillusionment for the recruitment process and solely focusing on the game of basketball, Hampton’s decision follows what we’ve seen from other high school players over the last-decade or so. The biggest difference, though, in the case of Hampton is that he met all the academic requirements and even reclassified a year before.

While the debate rages on about how Hampton’s choice and similar players of his profile to forgo the college route, Hampton’s year abroad didn’t provide the kind of launching pad he was aiming for.

While he wound up playing a considerable role for a struggling Breakers team that went through considerable turmoil, a hip injury kept him out of action for nearly a month before returning near the start of January. Nearly a month later, Hampton and his family left New Zealand and effectively ended his time with the Breakers to fully focus on the draft.

The adjustments of living in a new country, the jump in playing against veteran basketball players and professionals, among others, didn’t dissuade Hampton from still taking the riskier path as he said to Dana O’Neil of The Athletic in November of 2019:

"“It’s definitely hard,’’ he says. “I have good days and I have bad days. I wish I could wake up and know what I did these last 28 games and I’d be home. If someone gave me a wish and said, ‘R.J., you gotta live with whatever outcome, but you could go to sleep and wake up tomorrow and those 28 games are played.’ I’m taking that risk. I’m taking that risk.’’"

In his 17 total appearances with the Breakers this season, Hampton averaged 9.5 points on a .417/.294/.737 slash line, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals across 21.3 minutes per tilt.

So without further ado, let’s break down R.J. Hampton’s game by detailing his strengths and weaknesses, see where draft experts currently rate him and explore his potential fit with the Milwaukee Bucks.