Ticket King Reviews the Five Most Recent Milwaukee Bucks Draft Prospects
The Milwaukee Bucks have made five draft picks since the 2020 draft: Chris Livingston, Marjon Beauchamp, Isaiah Todd, RJ Hampton, and Jordan Nwora. Only two of these Bucks’ draft picks are currently playing for the Bucks: Chris Livingston and Marjon Beauchamp.
Get to Know These Bucks Draftees | Early History to NBA
Ticket King has looked into these Bucks draft picks and has a summary of which of these players didn’t pan out, and which to keep an eye out for. The next time you go to a Bucks game at Fiserv Forum, you might witness the birth of the next Milwaukee basketball star. For nearly every great player, it all starts with the NBA draft.
Chris Livingston 2023 Bucks Draft Pick
Chris Livingston was born on October 15th, 2003 in Akron Ohio, the same hometown as Lebron James and Stephen Curry. On the basketball court, he began making waves as a high school freshman at Buchtel Community Learning Center. At that young age, he averaged 24.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. He nearly carried his team to the state championship. In that impressive first season, Livingston became the highest-scoring freshman in school history.
As a sophomore, he felt the need for a change and he transferred to Western Reserve Academy. While there, he averaged an impressive 32.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. That outstanding stat line led Livingston to become a First-Team sophomore All-American and a consensus Five-Star recruit. At the end of his high school career, it was time to make a decision on where to play at that next level. At the age of 14, Ohio State showed a very strong interest in recruiting Livingston.
Livingston was widely considered to be one of the country’s top high school players, ranked No. 12 overall by ESPN. He had offers flooding in from top colleges across the country and could practically attend any school he wished. He had offers from many prestigious colleges such as Kansas, UNC, LSU, and Florida. Livingston eventually decided to commit to the University of Kentucky. Livingston played just one season with the Wildcats (2022-23,) appearing in 34 games, and starting in 26. He averaged 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and that stat line earned him SEC All-Freshman Team honors.
After his freshman year, he was invited to the NBA Combine where he was able to boost his stock through an impressive performance throughout the event. He was projected to be picked 62nd overall in the 2023 NBA draft but the Milwaukee Bucks saw his potential and took him with the 58th pick. He signed a 4-year $7.6 million contract with the Bucks.
Entering the NBA, Livingston was viewed as a young player with good size, solid defensive skills, and high potential. Like many younger NBA rookies, his transition to the professional ranks would remain unproven until he mixed it up with seasoned veteran players. He was given an opportunity to showcase his talent at the top level but struggled.
Throughout 14 games Livingston averaged 1.2 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.1 blocks. He averaged just 4.3 minutes per game. While he was given that small chance to showcase his abilities, Livingston was unable to prove himself as ready for prime time. Ultimately, Livingston was assigned to the Bucks G-League affiliate team Wisconsin Herd. With the Herd, he played in 16 games, averaging 14.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.3 steals. He was given plenty of playing time, and that impressive stat line is exactly what the Bucks were looking for in Livingston. His time in the G-League has helped develop his skills and confidence as he looks to return to the Bucks for the 2024 season.
Marjon Beauchamp Drafted by Milwaukee in 2022
Marjon Beauchamp was born October 12th, 2000 in Yakima Washington. Beauchamp had a transient high school career, playing for 4 different schools in two different states. In his freshman year of high school, Marjon moved to Seattle to play basketball at Nathan Hale High School. The team was very strong under the leadership of former NBA player Brandon Roy. Due to his young age and other future NBA players Michael Porter Jr. and Jontay Porter, Beauchamp did not play much. Despite his lack of playing time, the team finished with a perfect 29-0 record. The team went on to win the Washington 3A state title and earned a #1 national ranking.
In his Sophomore year, Beauchamp transferred to Garfield High School, also in Seattle. There, he helped the team win another 4A state championship. In his Junior year, he moved again as he transferred to Rainier Beach High School in Seattle. At Rainier Beach H.S. he was named MVP of the Seattle 3A Metro League as he led the team to the 3A state semi-final. He averaged 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists per game. Despite this success, he transferred once again for his senior year. He moved to Glendale Arizona to play at Dream City Christian school. At the end of his high school career, he was a Four-Star recruit and had offers from many top Division One schools. Despite this, he decided to skip college basketball and instead begin training privately for the NBA draft.
Beauchamp began his NBA draft preparation with Chameleon BX, which is a private training program for players looking to improve their draft stock. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was forced to cancel those plans and move back to Washington. He decided to give college basketball another try and joined Yakima Valley College to continue his basketball career. In his first year, he averaged 30.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists through 12 games. This success brought Beauchamp attention from the NBA. He signed a professional contract with the G League Ignite, a developmental team for the NBA, covering the 2021-2022 season.
With Ignite, he averaged 15.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. This success proved that Marjon was ready for the NBA and the Bucks jumped on the opportunity to add him to the roster. Milwaukee selected him with the 24th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Beauchamp signed a 4-year $12.6 million contract.
Beauchamp began his career with the Bucks summer league team where he averaged 12.8 points per game 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists in that 2022-23 season. He then played for the Bucks G-league affiliate, the Herd, where he played 6 games and averaged 19.3 points, and 5.8 rebounds. His hard work in the G-League paid off and Beauchamp played 52 games with the Bucks in the 2023 season. He averaged 13.5 minutes on the court, and 5.1 points per game. Beauchamp flashed some potential in his rookie season but was unable to translate that effort to a permanent spot on the Bucks roster.
In his second year, Beauchamp looked to improve upon his rookie season after showing that he had serious potential in the NBA. He once again began the season in the summer league where he improved upon last season’s averages. He finished the summer playing an average of 28.9 minutes per game with 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and two assists. Beauchamp was assigned to play for the Herd, only playing in 3 games where he averaged an impressive 24.7 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists. In the NBA, that effort didn’t directly translate to similar numbers as played in 48 games but averaged just 4.4 points. Overall, the drop in production for Beauchamp once again showed that the difference between a solid G-League performance doesn’t always translate to the same thing in the NBA.
Entering his third year, Beauchamp needs to prove he can produce at the pinnacle of the sport. He has shown his potential at lower levels but there is a plateau he’s got to push past in order to keep his roster spot in the NBA.
2021 – Isaiah Todd 31st Bucks Draft Pick
Isiah Todd was born on October 17th, 2001 in Baltimore Maryland. Todd was a successful player at a young age, winning a district title for John Marshall High School as a freshman. He averaged 12.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and was considered a top prospect. His success continued as a sophomore, winning another state championship and being named a class-three player of the year. He continued to win awards throughout his high school career including the USA Today All-USA North Carolina Player of the Year. Todd was also selected to be a McDonald’s All-American. This successful high school career led him to being pegged the number one ranked recruit in the 2020 class. This also meant he had his choice of universities to play collegiate-level basketball, he had offers from top schools like Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina, but ultimately decided to play at Michigan.
Todd’s commitment to Michigan was short-lived when just six months later he would decommit from Michigan and pursue professional basketball. Todd signed a one-year contract with the G-League Ignite team. This was the first year the G-League Ignite was operational, and Todd was one of the first players to sign with this developmental team. During his time with Ignite, he averaged 12.3 points and 4.9 rebounds. This stat line, combined with his top recruit profile, earned him lots of attention from the highest levels. To Todd, the NBA was calling. Todd entered the draft as roughly the 46th-ranked prospect. He was selected by the Bucks in the second round with the 31st pick. At that time, Todd signed a 4-year $6.8 million contract.
Todd’s career with the Bucks was short-lived as he was included in a five-team trade that sent him first to the Indiana Pacers and eventually to the Washington Wizards. Todd made little impact in his rookie year. He only appeared in 12 games and averaged 1.7 points per game.
He was once again on the move as Todd was sent to the Suns in a blockbuster trade involving All-Star Bradley Beal. The Suns traded Todd soon after acquiring him and sent him to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he was waived soon after. Todd’s struggle to succeed in the NBA led him to resign with the G-League Ignite and has not returned to the NBA.
RJ Hampton and Jordan Nwora Drafted by Bucks In 2020
RJ Hampton was born on February 7th, 2001 in Dallas Texas. Hampton was an instant success in basketball as he averaged 23.6 points as a high school freshman and led his team to a district title. He was named to the MaxPreps Freshman All-American first team. This success allowed him to transfer to the nationally-ranked Montverde Academy in Florida. Here, Hampton continued to thrive, averaging 30.3 points and another first-team All-American selection. As a junior, Hampton added another award to his young and prestigious career. He was named the Texas Gatorade Player of the year. Hampton would forgo his senior year by reclassifying. This was no surprise as Hampton was a 5-star player and top recruit.
Hampton Starts Pro Career in NBL
Despite having his choice of colleges to play for, Hampton decided to pass on the opportunity and chose to play overseas. He signed a multi-year deal with the New Zealand Breakers, the only non-Australian team in the NBL. He would only play in 15 games for the Breakers and averaged 8.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. This impressive performance by a teenager led Hampton to be a projected top-five pick in the 2020 draft. Hampton mysteriously fell to the tail end of the first round, still ranked high as one of the Bucks draft picks, and was selected 24th. Some believe it was due to Hampton’s choice to not play in college, but instead to play for a lower-talent league like the NBL.
Hampton was traded on draft night to the Denver Nuggets. This would set in motion his career in the NBA as a journeyman as he would play for 4 teams over 4 years (2020-2021 Denver Nuggets, 2021-2023 Orlando Magic 2023 Detroit Pistons 2023-2024 Miami Heat). He made little impact during his time in the NBA averaging 6.8 points and 1.8 assists with 18.3 minutes played. Hampton was waived from the Heat and he continued his career in the G-League with the Capital City Go-Go. He would only play in 2 games before he was traded to the Delaware Blue Coats.
Jordan Nwora Earns Championship Ring While Playing for Milwaukee
Jordan Nwora was born on September 9th, 1998. The son of the Head coach of the Nigeria Men’s National Team, basketball came to Nwora naturally. He was a standout star for Amherst Central High School and The Park School of Buffalo. Jordan was a 4-star recruit and a top 50 player in the country when he committed to play college basketball at Louisville. He had a slow start as a freshman averaging 5.7 points and 2.2 rebounds. Nwora would improve in his sophomore year as he raised his averages to 17 points per game and 7.6 rebounds, earning him the NCAA’s second Most Improved Player honors, and ACC Most Improved Player.
As a junior Nwora continued to improve as he averaged 18 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. This improvement proved Nwora was ready for the NBA and was projected to be drafted at the end of the first round. Come draft night, Nwora was not picked in the first round but was still selected with the 45th pick by the Milwaukee Bucks. Nwora would play for the Bucks for three seasons and won a championship with the team in 2021. Nwora was not an incredibly impactful player but played in 130 games and averaged 6.8 points on 15.8 minutes played.
He would then be traded to the Toronto Raptors to begin the 2022-23 campaign. He would return to the Bucks to finish the season. Nwora was traded to the Indiana Pacers in the 2023-24 season. This would be the final NBA team Nwora would play for, as he is currently with the Anadolu Efes, a team in the Turkish league.
