Having signed on to a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason, let’s learn more about guard Jaylen Adams and how he’ll fit in Milwaukee.
It isn’t necessarily a reunion for Jaylen Adams, but he continues to call home with the Milwaukee Bucks going into the 2020-21 season.
Adams returned back to Milwaukee last month after signing a two-way contract with the Bucks following his brief stint with the Portland Trail Blazers as a substitute player down in the bubble to end last season.
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This marks the second straight season that Adams will be in the fold for Milwaukee as they originally brought him in for last season’s training camp on an Exhibit 10 deal with the intention of bringing him into the Wisconsin Herd, their G League affiliate.
It was there where, along with former two-way player Frank Mason III, Adams played a starring role and was critical to the Herd finishing with the best record in the G League last year.
Now he’ll look to build on the great work he did while in Oshkosh with the Bucks this year as essentially their third point guard on the roster. With that, let’s dive into the journey of new Milwaukee Bucks two-way player Jaylen Adams.
Examining Jaylen Adams’ humble beginnings and college career
Born in Hanover, Maryland, Adams first emerged playing at Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore. After enjoying plenty of success with the Gaels, he went to attend St. Bonaventure University in upstate New York.
Adams didn’t hit the ground running exactly when starting of his Bonnies career, but eased into a more featured role over time, especially from his sophomore season onwards. That year saw Adam earn the first of his three consecutive All-Atlantic 10 first team selections.
As Adams gained further prominence over his tenure with St. Bonaventure, so too did his prospects of entering the NBA, especially as he briefly entered the 2017 NBA Draft before dropping out to return to school for his senior season.
It was the 2017-18 season where everything came to a head for the scoring guard as he helped lead the Bonnies to a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Even as he struggled with injury down the stretch and into the NCAA Tournament, St. Bonaventure pulled off a massive upset 65-58 win over UCLA in the first round of the tournament, their first tournament victory in 48 years.
Adams capped off his senior season by averaging 19.1 points on .437/.436/.851 shooting splits, 5.2 assists, 3.4 rebounds in 28 appearances that year. That production and the team’s success helped Adams become the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year and was named an honorable mention All-American.
Even after all he accomplished at St. Bonaventure, Adams felt the best was yet to come as he remarked to J.P Butler of the Olean Times Herald in May of 2018:
"“I think that’s the craziest part,” he said. “I’ve still got a lot of time to get better, so I’m excited for what’s next. This four (years at Bona), I feel like I left my imprint here. That was my goal, especially at the end of my career. In the last two years, you kind of knew it was coming a little bit, and we made good on it.”"