I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that, for me, it was really cool to see Brandon Jennings get to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks championship and then part of the parade. Despite how tumultuous his exit may have been in the past, it was nice to see that Jennings is still embraced by the fanbase and that he still has a love for the city, fans, and organization.
Jennings’ NBA career may not have been what people expected it to be, especially after being drafted 10th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft and being in a draft class with the likes of Steph Curry, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, and Jrue Holiday. There’s certainly some pressure on your shoulders to live up to the potential of being a top 10 pick, but also living up to the high standards set by your peers.
His up and down career was something that Jennings reflected on in a recent appearance on the HoopsHype Podcast with Michael Scotto. Jennings delved into a number of topics, such as his upcoming NFT collection, his decision to play overseas, and looking back at his time in Milwaukee. But one of the more interesting aspects of the interview was Jennings’ introspection of his career as a whole.
Jennings has been somewhat of a mystery the last couple of years, focusing on his successful clothing brand Tuff Crowd. His appearance in Milwaukee for the championship-clinching game and then the parade was great to see, and it’s also nice of him to give us an insight into his career.
Former Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings reflects on his career; “It was chaos”
Upon Scotto asking Jennings if his career was what he thought it would be, Jennings gave this response.
"Honestly, my career was up and down. There was a lot of inconsistency. That was just through a lot of things outside of basketball that kept me away from my focus and from being able to come into my own … But, overall, to me, I think it was chaos."
Even simply looking at Jennings’ career numbers, you could see what he’s talking about in regards to the inconsistency. Obviously, it’s hard being a young player coming into the NBA and being asked to do a lot, but it’s even harder for a young point guard. It took Jennings a couple of years before you began to see the player we were hoping he could become.
Of course, he had the big 55-point game in his rookie season, but it wasn’t until his third year where we saw him become a more complete player. Then we started to see him become more of a facilitator and passer in his final season with the Bucks and his time with the Pistons before his devastating Achilles injury, which was also something Jennings talked about.
"I would’ve been an All-Star for sure if I didn’t tear my Achilles, and I believe we would have made the playoffs that year in Detroit, and then I’d end up getting paid … Then again, who knows what happens after that? I feel like with the injury, that’s when the chaos started happening outside of my career. I felt like with the money, it would’ve probably been more chaos."
It’s a moment of reflection and vulnerability from Jennings, admitting he’s not sure what would have happened with his life had the Achilles injury not occurred. He’s not entirely wrong about being an All-Star, either. In that season, Jennings was posting assist rates well above 30 percent and becoming a more efficient scorer.
The 32-year-old spoke about something similar to this on the recently-formed I Am Athlete LA podcast, which he is one of the co-hosts. In the most recent episode, Jennings talks about how people in his life showed their “true colors” when he was out of the league.
Of course, after the Achilles injury was when Jennings began to struggle on the court and, as he alludes, in his personal life as well. I obviously can’t speak at all to what he went through, but going by what he’s said in his recent interviews and appearances, it seems as though Jennings is in a good place now.
In the HoopsHype interview, Jennings talks about how he’s not rushing to get back to playing basketball and that he could be interested in being a brand ambassador or creative director for an NBA team (give the man a call, Bucks!) as opposed to something on the basketball side.
It’s great to see Jennings doing well and thriving with his clothing brand. Hopefully, we continue to see him at more Bucks games in the future and potentially find a role with the organization.