AJ Green shares how he tries to stay ready to shoot and make shots despite the limited minutes and opportunities

AJ Green stays ready, all the time.

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A.J. Green knows what he’s in the NBA for: his deadeye shooting from three-point range. After all, 42 of his 52 field goals during his rookie season came from beyond the arc. And this season, he remains on brand and track, as all but three of his makes in the 2023-2024 season have been three-pointers.

However, there’s a catch to what Green has been tasked with doing in every game he plays—he has to make the most out of every shot, as it’s guaranteed he won’t get many. To that end, he has formulated physical drills and mental exercises to help him stay locked in throughout a game.

Valuable skill

Green doesn’t play much; last season, he played 9.9 minutes per game and saw action in 35 contests. That number is down to 7.4 minutes per game this season, but it doesn’t faze AJ. He knows his role and stays ready to fulfill it whenever his number is called.

Green shared that the road to where he is now was a long process that took most of last season.

“It took half the season, a good chunk of the season last year, to really where I was comfortable was like, ‘Alright, I can come in,’ and if I haven’t touched a ball, I’ll still feel good about the shot going up,” Green said.

“I think part of that is just having to learn it. You have no choice other than to do that. Part of it is things you can try to incorporate within workouts or finding different ways within the game to stay physically ready. Mentally. Just ready across the board. I feel good with it now to where I come in and just ready to impact the game.”

Has his teammates’ trust

In an offense led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, spacing is king. With Green’s ability to hit the three and move without the ball, he has quickly earned his teammates’ trust in finding him for open shots.

“I feel like whenever he shoots the ball, the ball is going in,” Giannis shared of his confidence in AJ.

Bucks coach Adrian Griffin knows how tough Green’s job is and respects how the 24-year-old does it.

“Nothing fazes him,” Griffin said.

“It’s tough to sit there all season and not know when your minutes are coming but you can be called on any time.”

AJ Green can become the sharpshooter the Milwaukee Bucks desperately need