The Milwaukee Bucks are busily preparing for the 2025-26 NBA season. This is, indeed, a crucial season for the franchise as trade rumors continue to swirl around their star, Giannis Antetokounmpo. This past week has seen a flurry of news reports and rumors reveal that the two-time NBA MVP may consider requesting a trade at some point this season, or next offseason, if Milwaukee fails to compete for another NBA Championship.
For his part, the nine-time All-Star has repeated his loyalty to the franchise that drafted him over a decade ago, but said that he could change his mind in the next six or seven months as he wants to win more than anything.
As they do every offseason, the Bucks front office has done its absolute best to build a roster around Giannis that can help them ascend to the top of the Eastern Conference. However, in addition to their free agent signings, they also are relying on players they already have to take steps forward in their development, notably sharpshooter AJ Green.
Over the past few years, Bucks general manager Jon Horst has received a great deal of criticism from fans because his draft picks and undrafted free agents have rarely panned out. However, one that has is sharpshooter AJ Green, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022.
In his three NBA seasons, Green has established himself as a lethal three-point threat, with a career mark of 42.1% from three. Last year, which saw him play 73 games and average 22 minutes per game, the Northern Iowa product shot 42.7% from three and averaged a career-best 7.4 points per game. He also turned heads with his hard-nosed defense, leading many to wonder if he may have a chance to crack the starting lineup in 2025-26.
But one thing that the six-foot-four guard has not done in a single NBA game is dunk the basketball. Indeed, it is something that his teammates and many fans have given him a hard time about over the years.
This is why the footage the Bucks social media pages of Green catching an ally-oop for a one-handed slam had fans (and his teammates) in shock:
AJ’s one-handed alley-oop had the whole squad shook.
pic.twitter.com/uBoW3rvIRI
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 11, 2025
But as exciting as Green’s slam was, what is very interesting is that the lineup on the court may give fans a hint to who the starters will be for Milwaukee this year.
Giannis and Myles Turner are obvious choices, but the other three joining them in the play shown in the footage were Green, Kevin Porter Jr., and Gary Trent Jr.
All three of Green, KPJ, and GTJ are elite three-point shooters, indicating that the Bucks’ plan for success is give Giannis as many quality shooters on the floor around him as possible to kick out to when he drives into the lane.
If this is the starting lineup, it would mean Kyle Kuzma, who was acquired for Khris Middleton, would be relegated to the bench.
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