Jalen Green is a highly talented 6-foot-4, 186-pound shooting guard on the Houston Rockets. Green was the No. 2 overall pick by the Rockets in the 2021 NBA Draft. He didn’t take the traditional college route, electing to play for the NBA G League Ignite instead. Many players followed Green’s lead to play in the G League following his success. The most recent player was Portland Trail Blazers’ No. 3 overall pick, point guard Scoot Henderson.
Top 25 NBA Players Under 25: No. 20 – Jalen Green
Green was awarded NBA-All Rookie First Team honors with the Rockets. But, now at only 21 years old, he has untapped All-Star-level potential entering his third year in the NBA. Last season, Green averaged 22.1 points, 3.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in 34.2 minutes per game on 42/34/79 shooting splits. Every aspect of Green’s game that made him the top-rated shooting guard coming out of the 2020 class has translated to the NBA already. Green has everything you look for in a potential All-Star. He’s an elite shot-creator and an underrated playmaker because of his ability to force help defense.
How He Can Improve His Ranking
Something Green will have to improve as he continues to develop is his shooting efficiency, specifically from three. Green should be shooting better than 34 percent from three as an All-Star-level shooting guard. Part of that will be his development, but another aspect to consider is that he was the focal point of the Rockets offense, which didn’t generate a ton of easy looks for Green the past two seasons. As he improves his shooting and the Rockets’ offensive system improves, Green should be more efficient entering his third season. Green had similar shooting efficiencies from all over the court, meaning a large part of his statistical improvements in year two were due to his minutes increase from 31.9 to 34.2. It’s clear Green has elite potential and is turning out to be a great No. 2 overall pick for the Rockets. He’s an integral part of their rebuilding process.
However, there are still some areas that Green can continue to develop. He needs to become a better playmaker, three-point shooter, and defender. Defensively last season, Green was a -2.9 according to FiveThirtyEight RAPTOR player ratings. Green will be a positive on the offensive end his entire career. But for him and the Rockets to take that next step in the rebuilding process, Green will have to be a more committed two-way player.
Nonetheless, the sky is the limit for Green. He’s another player who could be much higher on this ranking list next offseason because of his untapped potential and skill set.
ALSO READ: Jalen Green 2021 NBA Draft Profile
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