BIO: Davis was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, while his father was playing for the Indiana Pacers. Throughout his father’s career, the family moved frequently before eventually settling in Atlanta after his retirement. Davis began high school at Greater Atlanta Christian School, where he helped the Spartans secure back-to-back Georgia High School Association (GHSA) state titles. He later transferred to Buford High School before his junior year.

FAMILY: Son of NBA star Antonio Davis. His twin sister, Kaela Davis, currently plays for the Dallas Wings of the WNBA.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Aj Davis made his NBL debut with the Brisbane Bullets at 23 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.

During the off-season, and After finishing dead last in 2018, Brisbane said goodbye to Adam Gibson (to South East Melbourne), Shaun Bruce (to Sydney), and Anthony Petrie (retired) and went on a recruiting drive that brought in Boomers sharpshooter Cameron Gliddon (via Cairns), Jason Cadee (via Sydney), Matt Hodgson (via Adelaide), Tom Jervis (via Perth), and Mika Vukona (via New Zealand). The Bullets also welcomed back Rio Olympian and former Chicago Bull Cam Bairstow, who was returning after a knee reconstruction, added Makoto Hiejima under the NBL’s Asian Player rule, making him the first Japanese player to sign with an NBL team, and added NBA veteran Alonzo Gee (via Puerto Rico) as an import.

These key signings were meant to bolster Brisbane’s roster as they prepared for a tough start to the season, with 12 of their first 15 games coming against last season’s top-four playoff teams.

Four games into the season, Brisbane was forced to release Alonzo Gee (7.8 points 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists) after four matches when the veteran of 417 NBA games requested to go home to the US for ‘personal reasons’. A month later, import Stephen Holt (7.1 points 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists), concerned about his playing time (16.6 minutes per game), was granted a mutual release and left to pursue an opportunity in Europe. To fill the gap, Brisbane signed Lamar Patterson (via China) to replace Gee (October 2018) and Jeremy Kendle (6.0 points 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists), who had been training with the team throughout the season, to cover the loss of Holt.

In January, a 29-point loss to Cairns had Brisbane sitting middle of the ladder (9-9). During this time, Nnanna Egwu (0.0 points 2.3 rebounds) was brought in for three games as an injury replacement, and Kendle’s contract was extended for the rest of the season. Additionally, rarely used Japanese guard Makoto Hiejima was replaced by import AJ Davis (4.1 points 2.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists), who had spent time with Brisbane in the pre-season and made a lasting impression with the Bullets coaching staff, to further improve the roster.

“AJ is a versatile player … he plays hard and competes on every possession,” Bullets general manager Richard Clarke said.

“AJ gives us extra depth and defensive versatility, and allows us to change up our line up and throw some different looks and challenges at teams, which we felt would really help us in the battle for playoff spots.”

Despite the ups and downs, AJ Davis (4.1 points 2.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists) delivered a solid season for the Bullets in his limited appearances. His best games of the regular season included 8 points 1 rebound and 1 assist against Sydney (3 Feb 2019), 6 points 2 rebounds and 1 assist against Cairns (19 Jan 2019), and 6 points 3 rebounds and 1 block against Sydney (1 Feb 2019).

Alongside AJ Davis, Brisbane was led offensively by Lamar Patterson (17.8 points 6.2 rebounds 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals), Cameron Gliddon (13.7 points 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists), and Cam Bairstow (11.6 points 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists). Reuben Te Rangi (9.9 points 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists) won the league’s Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year awards.

Brisbane finished the regular season tied with Adelaide (14-14) but secured the fourth spot due to a higher points percentage and advanced to the playoffs.

In Game 1, Terrico White (24 points 3 rebounds and 1 assist) and Bryce Cotton (19 points 2 rebounds and 10 assists) led Perth to a dominant victory (89-59). Cam Gliddon (18 points 4 rebounds and 2 assists) was Brisbane’s top scorer. AJ Davis contributed 7 points 6 rebounds and 1 steal.

In Game 2 (84-79), Terrico White (24 points 3 rebounds) and Bryce Cotton (19 points 10 assists 3 rebounds) again led Perth. Despite strong efforts from Lamar Patterson (19 points 5 rebounds 4 assists and 3 steals), Brisbane was unable to stop Perth from advancing to the Grand Final. AJ Davis contributed 8 points 4 rebounds and 1 block in the final game.

Aj Davis played one season in the NBL. He averaged 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 11 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (815 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.