With the NBA season slowly making its comeback, so too is NBA Draft season. To give you a break from the collegiate prospects you’ve become so accustomed to, the last couple of weeks have been about some high school guys skipping college to go to the G-League. This week’s prospect is guard Jalen Green who has set himself up as the premier player on the new select squad for the G-League.
Green will likely be the go-to guy on this team and is the biggest name they’ve got on the roster. If he was eligible, Green could have been the top pick in this draft class and even in a much more loaded class next year he is expected to compete for the top spot. The 6-foot-5, 180-pound guard is a major athlete with superb pop and explosion in his game. He has natural talent for days and his athleticism can’t be understated, as he has a superb first step that gets him past just about defender.
This young man has the tools to become a go-to scorer at the NBA level and has shown clear potential. He has — for better or worse — gotten comparisons to Kobe Bryant already in his career and some of that is from his volume of shooting. Of course, he makes a good amount of those shots and that is one of the reasons he was able to lead his high school to a 26-3 record after transferring right before his senior year. His highest upside probably sees him as a high-volume but also high-efficiency shooter. Of course, he could fall just short of that and still be a great player.
Green will have to prove he can handle the scrutiny and the pressure at the next level as the main star on the G-League select team. If he can handle his business next season, make his teammates look good and sprinkle in some more playmaking ability, he’ll be just fine. He will be in the conversation for the top pick next season with Oklahoma State commit Cade Cunningham, among others, and the G-League path to get there might prove to be quite fruitful for him and the NBA.