'He's going to be around for a very long time': Bucks bullish on Akron's Chris Livingston

CLEVELAND — Hours before Chris Livingston appeared in his 12th regular-season NBA game and first against his hometown Cavaliers, the Akron native caught countless passes from Jack Herum, took jump shots from several spots around the perimeter and repeatedly drove to the basket with orders to finish at the rim.

On the morning of Jan. 17, Livingston was the last Milwaukee Bucks player on the court at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse during the team's shootaround. Herum, a player development coordinator, put Livingston through the paces long after the veterans had boarded the team bus.

“I'm always trying to get better. There's always errors in my game I'm trying to improve,” Livingston told the Beacon Journal moments after completing the workout.

Later the same day, Livingston entered the action against the Cavs with 6:48 left in the third quarter and the Bucks trailing by 31 points. The Cavs rolled to a 135-95 blowout win over the Bucks, who were without superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (shoulder contusion).

A rookie second-round draft pick, Livingston played nine minutes but finished 0-of-1 shooting from the field and didn't score. The former Buchtel Griffins star grabbed one rebound.

Statistics, however, don't tell the entire story of Livingston's development.

Milwaukee Bucks coach Adrian Griffin provides progress report on rookie Chris Livingston

Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said he has been impressed with Livingston's athletic ability, footwork, knack for guarding multiple positions and maturity. Griffin pointed to Livingston logging a season-high 15 minutes on Jan. 8 and scoring six points on 2-of-5 shooting from the floor, grabbing two rebounds and recording a steal in a 132-116 loss to the Utah Jazz.

“He did a tremendous job,” Griffin said. “He has a really good feel. For a rookie, he has a great feel. He knows his role, he has that self-awareness of what he does well, what he needs to improve on, and he's an extremely hard worker. Every day I come into the gym, Jack Herum and him are down at the other end and they're working extremely hard. So I've really been satisfied with where he is.

“But I also feel that I have an obligation to try to find him some more minutes just to get his feet wet because he's going to be a really, really good player. There's no timetable. I don't know when. Sometimes it happens sooner than later, but I think we need to find out. I need to just keep throwing him out there because he's … one of those young guys with fresh legs, young legs, and they could defend multiple positions. I like how he finishes through contact. I like how he rebounds.

“I like how he defends. You could put him on the ones, the twos and threes, and he has great feet and he can knife over screens. So he has the prototype NBA body, and I think he's going to be around for a very long time.”

Livingston explained he had family and friends in the crowd during the Bucks' second and final game in Cleveland this regular season, but he didn't know the head count. He said he considered it “a great experience to be able to play around my hometown.”

There's a chance Chris Livingston and Pete Nance could give Milwaukee Bucks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers a Summit County flavor

The Cavs and Bucks will close their 2023-24 regular-season series with two more meetings Wednesday and Friday in Milwaukee.

Revere High School graduate Pete Nance signed a 10-day contract with the Cavs on Jan. 18 and made his regular-season NBA debut late in Saturday's 116-95 win in Atlanta. So, yes, there is a chance Nance and Livingston could appear in the same NBA game this week and thereby give Cavs at Bucks a Summit County flavor.

Meanwhile, Livingston's mission in the infancy of his professional basketball career is to be ready for whenever the Bucks summon him.

“It's a long season, so mentally you've got to bring it every day, whether that's practice, the game,” Livingston said. “It doesn't matter what you did good or bad yesterday.

“It's a new challenge every day. It's coming at you fast. It's nonstop. So that's probably my biggest adjustment.”

A 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward, Livingston played for Buchtel as a high school freshman, Western Reserve Academy in Hudson as a sophomore, Buchtel as a junior and Oak Hill Academy in Virginia as a senior.

In Livingston's lone college basketball season, he started 26 of his 34 games at the University of Kentucky and averaged 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds.

How Akron native Chris Livingston views the Milwaukee Bucks picking him in the second round of the NBA Draft

The Bucks chose Livingston 58th overall — the final pick of the 2023 NBA Draft. He said he's most happy about landing with veteran players who can guide him on and off the court.

Livingston, 20, has noticed how Antetokounmpo, forward Khris Middleton and center Brook Lopez take care of their bodies and approach workouts and practices with a high degree of seriousness. All three of them helped the Bucks win the NBA title in 2021.

“This is a championship organization, and being a part of winning was my main mindset,” Livingston said. “How can I impact winning? What can I bring to the team to where they're able to call on me at times down the stretch later on the season to where I'm able to be impactful on the court as far as winning and earning my keep?”

Livingston has also leaned on forward Jae Crowder for advice. This is Crowder's 12th season in the league, and he has emphasized the importance of relentless preparation.

“You never know when your moment is going to come,” Livingston said. “You don't never know when your name is going to be called.”

Livingston has had his name repeatedly called this season by the Wisconsin Herd, the NBA G League affiliate of the Bucks. The assignments have allowed Livingston to work on his game during stretches in which Griffin doesn't have minutes to give him.

In nine games with the Herd, Livingston has averaged 13.6 points on 54.2% shooting, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.2 blocked shots and 26 minutes.

In 12 games with the Bucks, he has averaged 1.4 points on 58.3% shooting, one rebound and five minutes.

Akron Buchtel and NBA Draft history: Milwaukee Bucks picking Chris Livingston unearths lesson

With the Herd, Livingston said he has been determined to create his own shots and implement an aggressive style of offense. With the Bucks, he said his offensive priority is to move without the ball, occupy the right spots on the court and position himself for catch-and-shoot scenarios.

It's all part of Livingston knowing to fit in.

“I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing — developing, playing hard, whether I'm on either team,” he said.

Livingston and the Bucks are confident the dedication he's showing behind the scenes will pay off as he gains experience with life in the NBA.

More on Pete Nance's Cavs opportunity: Son of a franchise legend considers 10-day contract a great step, but maintains his motivation to work

Editor's note: Adrian Griffin talked with the Akron Beacon Journal for this story a week ago. The Milwaukee Bucks fired Griffin as head coach Tuesday.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Bucks pleased by Akron product Chris Livingston’s rookie development