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.

After finishing last in 2017/18 with a 9-19 record and collecting a second consecutive wooden spoon, Brisbane reshaped its roster under coach Andrej Lemanis. Daniel Kickert (to Sydney), Tom Jervis (to Perth), Mitch Young (to Cairns), Anthony Petrie (retired), Shaun Bruce and imports Travis Trice and Perrin Buford departed, while captain Adam Gibson, Stephen Holt, Reuben Te Rangi and Will Magnay remained. Cameron Gliddon (via Cairns), Jason Cadee (via Sydney), Matthew Hodgson (via Adelaide), Mika Vukona (via New Zealand), Makoto Hiejima (via Japan) and Alonzo Gee (via Puerto Rico) were added, while Cam Bairstow returned after missing the previous season following a knee reconstruction. Hiejima joined under the NBL’s Asian Player rule, becoming the first Japanese player to sign with an NBL team, while Brisbane faced a difficult opening draw with 12 of its first 15 games coming against teams which had reached the previous season’s playoffs.

Four games into the season, Gee (7.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals across 4 games) requested to return to the US for personal reasons and was released, with Lamar Patterson (17.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.3 steals across 24 games, via China) signed as his replacement. Holt (7.1 points across 11 games) was later granted a mutual release to pursue an opportunity overseas, with Jeremy Kendle (6 points across 18 games) added after training with Brisbane throughout the season. A 109-80 loss to Cairns on January 3 left Brisbane at 9-9, with the Bullets then signing AJ Davis (via Prishtina) on January 4 after he had spent time with Brisbane during the preseason and made an impression on the coaching staff. Hiejima (0 points across 3 games) was released the following day as Brisbane added Davis to provide additional depth and defensive versatility for its playoff push. Bullets general manager Richard Clarke said, “AJ is a versatile player … he plays hard and competes on every possession. 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.”

Davis made his NBL debut against defending champions Melbourne on January 6, where Davis (2 points and 1 steal) played 4:30 off the bench as Brisbane defeated United 95-86. Hodgson (17 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 block) and Gliddon (16 points and 2 steals) led the Bullets, while Casper Ware (29 points and 5 assists) was Melbourne’s best.

Davis (4.1 points across 11 games) provided athleticism and defensive versatility from the bench after joining Brisbane in January. No injury was reported during his stint with the Bullets, with the games he missed earlier in the season coming before he was added to the roster.

Against Cairns on January 19, Davis (6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal) provided another productive performance off the bench as Brisbane defeated the Taipans 99-68. Cadee (18 points and 3 steals) and Gibson (17 points and 3 assists) led Brisbane, while Melo Trimble (23 points) was Cairns’ leading scorer as the Bullets improved to 12-9.

Davis (6 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block) again contributed against Sydney on February 1, but the Kings defeated Brisbane 95-93. Bairstow (22 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block) and Gliddon (17 points and 5 rebounds) led the Bullets, while Kevin Lisch (15 points) was Sydney’s leading scorer as Brisbane fell to 12-12.

Davis’ best regular-season scoring game came against Sydney on February 3, where Davis (8 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 block) provided scoring from the bench, but the Kings defeated Brisbane 107-91. Patterson (27 points and 6 rebounds) and Bairstow (16 points and 7 rebounds) led the Bullets, while Jerome Randle (26 points and 2 steals) was Sydney’s best.

Brisbane’s playoff hopes came down to its final regular-season game against New Zealand on February 16, where Davis (2 points, 1 rebound, and 1 block) played 13 minutes off the bench as the Bullets defeated the Breakers 84-78. Patterson (23 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Cadee (18 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists) led Brisbane, while Shawn Long (23 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks) was New Zealand’s best. The victory left Brisbane tied with Adelaide at 14-14, with the Bullets claiming fourth place on points percentage and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Patterson led Brisbane offensively and was named to the All-NBL First Team as well as winning the Bullets’ club MVP award, while Gliddon (13.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals across 29 games), Bairstow (11.6 points and 5.8 rebounds across 29 games), Te Rangi (9.9 points and 3.1 rebounds across 30 games), Hodgson (9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds across 29 games), Cadee (8.3 points and 4.1 assists across 30 games), Vukona (6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds across 28 games) and Gibson (6.2 points across 30 games) provided the other major contributions. Te Rangi was named both the NBL’s Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year.

Perth opened the semifinals at RAC Arena on February 28 with an 89-59 win over Brisbane behind Bryce Cotton (22 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists), Terrico White (19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) and Nick Kay (18 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks). Gliddon (18 points and 4 rebounds), Hodgson (10 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block) and Patterson (9 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists) led Brisbane, while Davis (7 points and 6 rebounds) played 18 minutes off the bench.

Davis’ best game came in game two at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, where Davis (8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block) made 4 of 7 field goals in 20 minutes. Patterson (19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals), Hodgson (15 points and 2 blocks) and Bairstow (12 points and 7 rebounds) led Brisbane, while White (24 points), Cotton (19 points and 10 assists) and Kay (16 points and 15 rebounds) led Perth to an 84-79 victory and completed the 2-0 sweep.

After Brisbane’s season ended, Davis (to Delaware) returned to the United States and was acquired by the NBA G League’s Delaware Blue Coats on March 7.

Aj Davis played one season in the NBL. He averaged 3.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 12 NBL games.