7 Imaginative NBA player comparisons for Milwaukee Bucks guard AJ Johnson

Realistic Comparison for Bucks' AJ Johnson: Collin Sexton

Collin Sexton is a player Milwaukee Bucks fans have had eyes on for a long time. Is it possible that Jon Horst drafted a player he believes could fill a similar role and skill set in AJ Johnson?

At the 2018 NBA Combine, Sexton measured at 6-foot-1.5 with a 6-foot-7 wingspan and weighed in at 183 pounds. AJ Johnson came in at 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-8.5 wingspan and 167 pounds. As he stands today, Sexton is 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. Assuming the maturity and weight gain for Johnson, these measurables aren't terribly far off.

Coming out of Alabama, the first two takeaways that HoopsHype had about Collin Sexton were that he's "a bundle of energy on both ends of the floor" and "plays at a very high pace." Who does that sound like? That sounds similar to what scouts said about AJ Johnson and the traits he possesses that the current Milwaukee Bucks team lacks, particularly energy and pace.

Collin Sexton put up some really solid numbers last season, although similarly to Jaden Ivey, those numbers came on a bad Utah Jazz team that, even though they had players like Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, John Collins and Walker Kessler, finished 12th in the Western Conference.

Sexton averaged 18.7 points, 4.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 2023-24 in 26.6 minutes per game while shooting 48.7 percent on field goals, 39.4 percent on 3-point shots and 85.9 percent on free throws.

AJ Johnson has some development to go to catch up to Sexton's percentages, but Sexton is going on his seventh season in the NBA. Using his stats from Summer League, if AJ Johnson were to play similar minutes, his averages would be 13.4 points, 3.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. These numbers aren't super close as of today, but assuming development by AJ Johnson, they are realistic.

AJ Johnson showed some flashes of some impressive playmaking during summer league, like hitting some dribble step-back 3-point shots that make the comparison to a scorer like Sexton feel all the more understandable.