{"id":21884,"date":"2021-08-05T14:08:58","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T19:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=21884"},"modified":"2021-08-05T14:08:58","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T19:08:58","slug":"the-future-of-the-rockets-is-here-the-houston-rockets-no-1-nba-draft-pick-jalen-green-signs-rookie-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=21884","title":{"rendered":"The future of the Rockets is here, THE HOUSTON ROCKETS NO.1 NBA DRAFT PICK, &#8220;Jalen Green&#8221;,  signs rookie contract"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"collection-headline-flex\" role=\"presentation\">\n<div class=\"content-header__container content-header__container-theme-standard\">\n<div class=\"content-header__row content-header__title-block\" data-event-boundary=\"click\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;pattern&quot;:&quot;TitleBlock&quot;}\" data-include-experiments=\"true\">\n<h1 class=\"content-header__row content-header__hed\" data-testid=\"ContentHeaderHed\">How Jalen Green Conquered the Pressure of Teenage Celebrity, BY BEING GREAT!!!!!<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content-header__row content-header__accreditation\">\n<div class=\"content-header__row content-header__dek\"><strong>The 19-year-old guard with incredible hops will be a high pick in this year&#8217;s NBA draft, but he&#8217;s been dealing with the spotlight for years already.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lead-asset lead-asset--portrait content-header__lead-asset lead-asset--width-fullbleed lede-asset--inverted-background\" data-testid=\"ContentHeaderLeadAsset\">\n<figure class=\"lead-asset__content\">\n<div class=\"lead-asset__content__media lead-asset__content__photo\"><strong><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-TwdDQ SpanWrapper-kGyDFb hlNbBe iDbWuK responsive-asset lead-asset__media\"><picture class=\"ResponsiveImagePicture-jJiTGL jyYsQg lead-asset__media responsive-image\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/1:1\/w_120,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/1:1\/w_240,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/1:1\/w_320,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 320w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/1:1\/w_640,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 640w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/1:1\/w_960,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 960w\" media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/16:9\/w_120,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/16:9\/w_240,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/16:9\/w_320,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 320w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/16:9\/w_640,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 640w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/16:9\/w_960,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 960w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/16:9\/w_1280,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/16:9\/w_1600,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/16:9\/w_1920,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/16:9\/w_2240,c_limit\/1-edit.jpg 2240w\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628a7aef139cfe23cbe2\/16:9\/w_2560%2Cc_limit\/1-edit.jpg\" alt=\"How Jalen Green Conquered the Pressure of Teenage Celebrity Long Before the NBA Draft\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"PersistentAsideWrapper-OuFKU brUrwN persistent-aside persistent-aside--align-left\">\n<div class=\"StickyBoxWrapper-etZGwJ jNtHBi sticky-box article__social-share\">\n<div class=\"StickyBoxPrimary-fEozdy eJUHjp sticky-box__primary\">\n<div class=\"social-icons social-icons--has-background social-icons--share social-icons--bg\" data-event-boundary=\"click\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;pattern&quot;:&quot;SocialIcons&quot;}\" data-include-experiments=\"true\">\n<div class=\"social-icons__icon-container\">\n<div class=\"css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2\">\n<div class=\"css-901oao css-bfa6kz r-14j79pv r-18u37iz r-1qd0xha r-a023e6 r-16dba41 r-rjixqe r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">@JalenGreen<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<p id=\"aHd0Zy\"><strong>On a Saturday afternoon, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedreamshake.com\">Houston Rockets<\/a> hosted an introductory press conference for Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba, and Josh Christopher. The last time the Rockets had an introductory meeting for a first-round pick, it was Sam Dekker in 2015. This was an exciting moment for the organization after a troubling season in which they were 17-55. Rafael Stone had a huge smile on his face throughout the press conference.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"2jz9TZ\"><strong>Stone discussed how these four players can adapt to this Rockets\u2019 roster, as they already have younger players on the roster. He said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p id=\"GxLOT5\"><strong>\u201cWe have players on our team that we are already excited about, and I think this crew will fit in fine with that group. We\u2019re going to be really young and exciting and that\u2019s the direction we\u2019re going and hopefully, it leads to a quick turn around.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"ZLFg0M\"><strong>Stephan Silas couldn\u2019t be there because of safety and health regulations due to COVID-19, while Garuba is playing for Spain in the Olympics.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"Ktw6Q3\"><strong>Although Silas wasn\u2019t there, Green said that Coach Silas wants him to lock in on defense, which Stone also mentioned. \u201cWe\u2019re going to work on that D,\u201d jokes Stone as he looks over at Jalen. \u201cBut the effort is there.\u201d Green does have the potential to be a great two-way player, as his NBA career continues.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"ZbWDUl\"><strong>Green showed his excitement about being part of the Rockets\u2019 franchise and thanked Stone for selecting him on draft night. Green said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p id=\"10uG5w\"><strong>\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s hit me yet. It will probably hit me when we get into practice. That feeling walking the stage was crazy. I kind of blacked out. It\u2019s a surreal moment.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"MSXN8x\"><strong>Silas even broke down the strategy to Green for next season.<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p id=\"WPQSpw\"><strong>\u201cThat feeling was amazing. They [Rockets] get out and play to their strengths. They play hard. Coach Silas was telling me that their main focus was getting out there, and really locking in on defense and keep their same thing on offense and I think I fit really well into their offense.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"social-icons__icon-container\">\n<h1 id=\"firstHeading\" class=\"firstHeading\"><strong>Jalen Green<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div id=\"bodyContent\" class=\"vector-body\">\n<div id=\"mw-content-text\" class=\"mw-body-content mw-content-ltr\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n<table class=\"infobox vcard\">\n<caption class=\"infobox-title fn summary\"><strong>Jalen Green<\/strong><\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-image\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Jalen_Green_(cropped).jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/f\/fc\/Jalen_Green_%28cropped%29.jpg\/220px-Jalen_Green_%28cropped%29.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/f\/fc\/Jalen_Green_%28cropped%29.jpg\/330px-Jalen_Green_%28cropped%29.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/f\/fc\/Jalen_Green_%28cropped%29.jpg\/440px-Jalen_Green_%28cropped%29.jpg 2x\" alt=\"Jalen Green (cropped).jpg\" width=\"220\" height=\"301\" data-file-width=\"486\" data-file-height=\"664\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"infobox-caption\"><strong>Green at the <a title=\"2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019_FIBA_Under-19_Basketball_World_Cup\">2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Houston Rockets<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Position<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data role\"><strong><a title=\"Shooting guard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shooting_guard\">Shooting guard<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>League<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"National Basketball Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Basketball_Association\">NBA<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Personal information<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Born<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>February 9, 2002<span class=\"noprint ForceAgeToShow\"> (age\u00a019)<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Merced, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Merced,_California\">Merced, California<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Nationality<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>American<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Listed height<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>6\u00a0ft 6\u00a0in (1.98\u00a0m)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Listed weight<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>180\u00a0lb (82\u00a0kg)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career information<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>High school<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data plainlist\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"San Joaquin Memorial High School\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/San_Joaquin_Memorial_High_School\">San Joaquin Memorial<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>(<a title=\"Fresno, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fresno,_California\">Fresno, California<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Prolific Prep<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>(<a title=\"Napa, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Napa,_California\">Napa, California<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_draft\">NBA draft<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"2021 NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2021_NBA_draft\">2021<\/a> \/ Round: 1 \/ Pick: 2nd overall<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Selected by the <a title=\"Houston Rockets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Houston_Rockets\">Houston Rockets<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Playing career<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>2021\u2013present<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career history<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>2021<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"NBA G League Ignite\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_G_League_Ignite\">NBA G League Ignite<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"2021\u201322 NBA season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2021%E2%80%9322_NBA_season\">2021<\/a>\u2013present<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"Houston Rockets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Houston_Rockets\">Houston Rockets<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career highlights and awards<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"McDonald's All-American Game\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/McDonald%27s_All-American_Game\">McDonald&#8217;s All-American<\/a> (<a title=\"2020 McDonald's All-American Boys Game\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020_McDonald%27s_All-American_Boys_Game\">2020<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup Most Valuable Player\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/FIBA_Under-17_Basketball_World_Cup_Most_Valuable_Player\">FIBA Under-17 World Cup MVP<\/a> (<a title=\"2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2018_FIBA_Under-17_Basketball_World_Cup\">2018<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greenja05.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Stats<\/a>\u00a0<a title=\"Edit this at Wikidata\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q58009130#P2685\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/8\/8a\/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg\/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/8\/8a\/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg\/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/8\/8a\/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg\/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Edit this at Wikidata\" width=\"10\" height=\"10\" data-file-width=\"20\" data-file-height=\"20\" \/><\/a> at Basketball-Reference.com<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-below\" colspan=\"2\">\n<div class=\"mw-collapsible mw-made-collapsible\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<table class=\"infobox vcard\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-below\" colspan=\"2\">\n<div class=\"mw-collapsible mw-made-collapsible\">\n<div>\n<div><strong>Medals<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mw-collapsible-content\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\"><strong>Men&#8217;s basketball<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"adr\" colspan=\"3\"><strong>Representing <span class=\"country-name\"><span class=\"flagicon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbborder\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/a\/a4\/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg\/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/a\/a4\/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg\/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/a\/a4\/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg\/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"23\" height=\"12\" data-file-width=\"1235\" data-file-height=\"650\" \/>\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"United States men's national basketball team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States_men%27s_national_basketball_team\">United States<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\"><strong><a title=\"FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/FIBA_Under-19_Basketball_World_Cup\">FIBA U19 World Cup<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/16px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/24px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/32px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" data-file-width=\"16\" data-file-height=\"16\" \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><span class=\"nowrap\"><a title=\"2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019_FIBA_Under-19_Basketball_World_Cup\">2019 Greece<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"United States men's national under-19 basketball team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States_men%27s_national_under-19_basketball_team\">Team<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\"><strong><a title=\"FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/FIBA_Under-17_Basketball_World_Cup\">FIBA U17 World Cup<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/16px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/24px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/32px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" data-file-width=\"16\" data-file-height=\"16\" \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><span class=\"nowrap\"><a title=\"2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2018_FIBA_Under-17_Basketball_World_Cup\">2018 Argentina<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"United States men's national under-17 basketball team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States_men%27s_national_under-17_basketball_team\">Team<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\"><strong><a title=\"FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/FIBA_Americas_Under-16_Championship\">FIBA Americas U16 Championship<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/16px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/24px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/32px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" data-file-width=\"16\" data-file-height=\"16\" \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><span class=\"nowrap\"><a title=\"2017 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2017_FIBA_Under-16_Americas_Championship\">2017 Argentina<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"United States men's national under-17 basketball team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States_men%27s_national_under-17_basketball_team\">Team<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21890\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/MR.-GREEN.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"274\" height=\"184\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jalen Romande Green (born February 9, 2002) is an American professional <a title=\"Basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Basketball\">basketball<\/a> player for the <a title=\"Houston Rockets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Houston_Rockets\">Houston Rockets<\/a> of the <a title=\"National Basketball Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Basketball_Association\">National Basketball Association<\/a> (NBA). Listed at 6\u00a0feet 6\u00a0inches (1.98\u00a0m) and 180 pounds (82\u00a0kg), he plays the <a title=\"Shooting guard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shooting_guard\">shooting guard<\/a> position. He was a consensus five-star <a title=\"College recruiting\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/College_recruiting\">recruit<\/a> and the best <a title=\"Shooting guard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shooting_guard\">shooting guard<\/a> in the 2020 class, with <a title=\"ESPN\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ESPN\">ESPN<\/a> ranking him number one overall. He finished his high school career at Prolific Prep in <a title=\"Napa, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Napa,_California\">Napa, California<\/a>, and he chose to forgo <a title=\"College basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/College_basketball\">college basketball<\/a> to join the <a title=\"NBA G League Ignite\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_G_League_Ignite\">G League Ignite<\/a> team in its inaugural season. Green has won three gold medals with the United States at the junior level and was named <a title=\"FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup Most Valuable Player\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/FIBA_Under-17_Basketball_World_Cup_Most_Valuable_Player\">Most Valuable Player<\/a> (MVP) of the <a title=\"2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2018_FIBA_Under-17_Basketball_World_Cup\">2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup<\/a>. Green was selected by the <a title=\"Houston Rockets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Houston_Rockets\">Houston Rockets<\/a> with the second overall pick in the <a title=\"2021 NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2021_NBA_draft\">2021 NBA draft<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Green was born in <a title=\"Merced, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Merced,_California\">Merced, California<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-usa_2-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He grew up in Merced and <a title=\"Livingston, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Livingston,_California\">Livingston, California<\/a>. When Green was in third grade, he moved with his family to <a title=\"Fresno, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fresno,_California\">Fresno, California<\/a>. By sixth grade, he was playing <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Amateur_Athletic_Union\">Amateur Athletic Union<\/a> basketball and practicing for five hours each day.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"High_school_career\" class=\"mw-headline\">High school career<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>For his first three years of high school, Green played basketball for <a title=\"San Joaquin Memorial High School\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/San_Joaquin_Memorial_High_School\">San Joaquin Memorial High School<\/a> in Fresno. As a freshman, he was a full-time starter and averaged 18.1 points and nine rebounds per game.<sup id=\"cite_ref-usa_2-1\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He led his team to a <a title=\"CIF Central Section\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/CIF_Central_Section\">CIF Central Section<\/a> Division II runner-up finish and the CIF Division II quarterfinals. He earned <a title=\"MaxPreps\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MaxPreps\">MaxPreps<\/a> Freshman All-American second team and CIF Central Section rookie of the year honors. In his sophomore season, Green averaged 27.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, leading San Joaquin Memorial to a Central Section Division II title and the CIF Open Division playoffs.\u00a0 He was named <a title=\"MaxPreps National Basketball Player of the Year awards\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MaxPreps_National_Basketball_Player_of_the_Year_awards#Sophomore_of_the_Year\">MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year<\/a> and made the <i><a title=\"USA Today\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/USA_Today\">USA Today<\/a><\/i> All-USA California second team.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As a junior, Green averaged 30.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game for San Joaquin Memorial.\u00a0 <sup id=\"cite_ref-usa_2-4\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He won his second consecutive Central Division II championship. In the title game, Green surpassed the school career scoring record of 2,288 held by <a title=\"Roscoe Pondexter\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Roscoe_Pondexter\">Roscoe Pondexter<\/a> since 1971.\u00a0 He also helped his team reach the CIF Northern California Division I quarterfinals.\u00a0 Green was named <i>USA Today<\/i> All-USA California player of the year and appeared on the All-USA second team and MaxPreps All-American second team.\u00a0 For his senior season, he transferred to Prolific Prep in <a title=\"Napa, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Napa,_California\">Napa, California<\/a>.\u00a0 He helped his team win the Grind Session World championship. In March 2020, he shared Grind Session <a title=\"Most valuable player\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Most_valuable_player\">most valuable player<\/a> honors with <a title=\"Daishen Nix\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Daishen_Nix\">Daishen Nix<\/a>.\u00a0 Green averaged 31.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and five assists per game, leading his team to a 31\u20133 record. He was named <i><a title=\"Sports Illustrated\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sports_Illustrated\">Sports Illustrated<\/a><\/i> All-American player of the year and to the MaxPreps All-American first team.\u00a0 Green was selected to play in the <a title=\"2020 McDonald's All-American Boys Game\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020_McDonald%27s_All-American_Boys_Game\">McDonald&#8217;s All-American Game<\/a>, the <a title=\"Jordan Brand Classic\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jordan_Brand_Classic\">Jordan Brand Classic<\/a> and the <a title=\"Nike Hoop Summit\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nike_Hoop_Summit\">Nike Hoop Summit<\/a>, but all three games were canceled due to the <a title=\"COVID-19 pandemic\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/COVID-19_pandemic\">COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Recruiting\" class=\"mw-headline\">Recruiting<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Green was a consensus five-star <a title=\"College recruiting\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/College_recruiting\">recruit<\/a> and the number one <a title=\"Shooting guard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shooting_guard\">shooting guard<\/a> in the 2020 recruiting class, according to major recruiting services <a title=\"247Sports.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/247Sports.com\">247Sports<\/a>, <a title=\"ESPN\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ESPN\">ESPN<\/a> and <a title=\"Rivals.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rivals.com\">Rivals<\/a>. He is ranked as the top recruit in his class by ESPN.\u00a0 <sup id=\"cite_ref-247sports_20-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He received offers from many <a title=\"NCAA Division I\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NCAA_Division_I\">NCAA Division I<\/a> basketball programs, including <a title=\"Arizona Wildcats men's basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Arizona_Wildcats_men%27s_basketball\">Arizona<\/a>, <a title=\"Florida State Seminoles men's basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Florida_State_Seminoles_men%27s_basketball\">Florida State<\/a>, and <a title=\"USC Trojans men's basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/USC_Trojans_men%27s_basketball\">USC<\/a>, before turning 15 years old.<sup id=\"cite_ref-evans_23-0\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jalen_Green#cite_note-evans-23\">[23]<\/a><\/sup><sup id=\"cite_ref-boogaard_24-0\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jalen_Green#cite_note-boogaard-24\">[24]<\/a><\/sup> On April 16, 2020, Green announced that he would join the <a title=\"NBA G League\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_G_League\">NBA G League<\/a>, forgoing college basketball.<sup id=\"cite_ref-gleague_25-0\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jalen_Green#cite_note-gleague-25\">[25]<\/a><\/sup> He chose the G League over offers from <a title=\"Auburn Tigers men's basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Auburn_Tigers_men%27s_basketball\">Auburn<\/a>, Oregon, and <a title=\"Memphis Tigers men's basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Memphis_Tigers_men%27s_basketball\">Memphis<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<table class=\"wikitable\">\n<caption><strong>US <a title=\"College recruiting\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/College_recruiting\">college sports recruiting<\/a> information for high school athletes<\/strong><\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th><strong>Name<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Hometown<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>High school \/ college<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Height<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Weight<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Commit date<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"2\"><strong>Jalen Green <\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><i><a title=\"Shooting guard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shooting_guard\">SG<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Fresno, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fresno,_California\">Fresno, CA<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Prolific Prep (CA)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>6\u00a0ft 6\u00a0in (1.98\u00a0m)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>180\u00a0lb (82\u00a0kg)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"nowrap\"><strong>\u2014<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"7\"><strong><a title=\"College recruiting\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/College_recruiting#Star_Ratings\">Recruiting star ratings<\/a>: <a title=\"Scout.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Scout.com\">Scout<\/a>:\u00a0<i>N\/A<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"Rivals.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rivals.com\">Rivals<\/a>:<a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:5_stars.svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/75px-5_stars.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/113px-5_stars.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/150px-5_stars.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"5\/5 stars\" width=\"75\" height=\"15\" data-file-width=\"535\" data-file-height=\"110\" \/><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"247Sports.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/247Sports.com\">247Sports<\/a>:<a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:5_stars.svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/75px-5_stars.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/113px-5_stars.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/150px-5_stars.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"5\/5 stars\" width=\"75\" height=\"15\" data-file-width=\"535\" data-file-height=\"110\" \/><\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"ESPN\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ESPN\">ESPN<\/a>:<a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:5_stars.svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/75px-5_stars.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/113px-5_stars.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/150px-5_stars.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"5\/5 stars\" width=\"75\" height=\"15\" data-file-width=\"535\" data-file-height=\"110\" \/><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0ESPN grade:\u00a097<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"7\"><strong>Overall recruiting rankings: \u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"Rivals.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rivals.com\">Rivals<\/a>: <i>2<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"247Sports.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/247Sports.com\">247Sports<\/a>: <i>2<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"ESPN\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ESPN\">ESPN<\/a>: <i>1<\/i><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"plainlist\" colspan=\"7\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong><i>Note<\/i>: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height\u00a0and weight.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><cite class=\"citation web cs1\"><a class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/basketballrecruiting.rivals.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">&#8220;2020 Team Ranking&#8221;<\/a>. Rivals.com<span class=\"reference-accessdate\">. Retrieved <span class=\"nowrap\">May 16,<\/span> 2020<\/span>.<\/cite><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Professional_career\" class=\"mw-headline\">Professional career<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"NBA_G_League_Ignite_.282021.29\"><\/span><span id=\"NBA_G_League_Ignite_(2021)\" class=\"mw-headline\">NBA G League Ignite (2021)<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>On April 16, 2020, Green signed a one-year, $500,000 contract with the <a title=\"NBA G League Ignite\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_G_League_Ignite\">NBA G League Ignite<\/a>, a developmental team affiliated with the <a title=\"NBA G League\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_G_League\">NBA G League<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-27\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He became the first player to join the team.\u00a0 On March 8, 2021, Green recorded a season-high 30 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in a 127\u2013102 loss to the <a title=\"Raptors 905\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Raptors_905\">Raptors 905<\/a> in the first round of the <a title=\"2020\u201321 NBA G League season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020%E2%80%9321_NBA_G_League_season#Playoffs\">playoffs<\/a>. He averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Houston_Rockets\" class=\"mw-headline\">Houston Rockets<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>On June 29, 2021, Green was selected by the <a title=\"Houston Rockets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Houston_Rockets\">Houston Rockets<\/a> second overall in the <a title=\"2021 NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2021_NBA_draft\">2021 NBA draft<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-:0_1-1\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"National_team_career\" class=\"mw-headline\">National team career<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Green represents the United States internationally but has also shown interest in playing for the <a title=\"Philippines men's national basketball team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Philippines_men%27s_national_basketball_team\">Philippines<\/a> in the future due to his partial Filipino background.<sup id=\"cite_ref-terrado_31-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He made his national team debut for the United States at the <a title=\"2017 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2017_FIBA_Under-16_Americas_Championship\">2017 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship<\/a> in <a title=\"Formosa, Argentina\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Formosa,_Argentina\">Formosa, Argentina<\/a>. In five games, he averaged 9.8 points, two rebounds and one steal per game, helping his team win the gold medal.\u00a0 He was named <a title=\"FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup Most Valuable Player\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/FIBA_Under-17_Basketball_World_Cup_Most_Valuable_Player\">MVP<\/a> of the <a title=\"2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2018_FIBA_Under-17_Basketball_World_Cup\">2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup<\/a> in Argentina after averaging a team-high 15.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game and winning the gold medal.\u00a0 Green won another gold medal with the United States at the <a title=\"2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019_FIBA_Under-19_Basketball_World_Cup\">2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup<\/a> in <a title=\"Heraklion\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Heraklion\">Heraklion<\/a>, Greece. As the youngest member of his team, he averaged 10.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Career_statistics\" class=\"mw-headline\">Career statistics<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<table class=\"toccolours\">\n<caption><strong>Legend<\/strong><\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u00a0\u00a0GP<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Games played<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0\u00a0GS<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Games started<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0MPG<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Minutes per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u00a0FG%<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Field goal (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Field_goal_(basketball)\">Field goal<\/a> percentage<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a03P%<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Three-point field goal\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Three-point_field_goal\">3-point field goal<\/a> percentage<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0FT%<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Free throw\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Free_throw\">Free throw<\/a> percentage<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u00a0RPG<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Rebound (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rebound_(basketball)\">Rebounds<\/a> per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0APG<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Assist (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Assist_(basketball)\">Assists<\/a> per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0SPG<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Steal (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Steal_(basketball)\">Steals<\/a> per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u00a0BPG<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Block (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Block_(basketball)\">Blocks<\/a> per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0PPG<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Points per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0Bold<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Career high<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"NBA_G_League\" class=\"mw-headline\">NBA G League<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><strong><span id=\"Regular_season\" class=\"mw-headline\">Regular season<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<table class=\"wikitable sortable jquery-tablesorter\">\n<caption>\u00a0<\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Year<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Games played\">GP<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Games started\">GS<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Minutes per game\">MPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Field goal percentage\">FG%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"3-point field-goal percentage\">3P%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Free-throw percentage\">FT%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Rebounds per game\">RPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Assists per game\">APG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Steals per game\">SPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Blocks per game\">BPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Points per game\">PPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"2020\u201321 NBA G League season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020%E2%80%9321_NBA_G_League_season\">2020\u201321<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"NBA G League Ignite\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_G_League_Ignite\">NBA G League<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>15<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>15<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>32.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.461<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.365<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.829<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>4.1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>2.8<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1.5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.3<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>17.9<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"sortbottom\">\n<td colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>15<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>15<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>32.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.461<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.365<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.829<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>4.1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>2.8<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1.5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.3<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>17.9<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<tfoot><\/tfoot>\n<\/table>\n<h4><strong><span id=\"Playoffs\" class=\"mw-headline\">Playoffs<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<table class=\"wikitable sortable jquery-tablesorter\">\n<caption>\u00a0<\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Year<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Games played\">GP<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Games started\">GS<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Minutes per game\">MPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Field goal percentage\">FG%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"3-point field-goal percentage\">3P%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Free-throw percentage\">FT%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Rebounds per game\">RPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Assists per game\">APG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Steals per game\">SPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Blocks per game\">BPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Points per game\">PPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"2020\u201321 NBA G League season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020%E2%80%9321_NBA_G_League_season\">2020\u201321<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"NBA G League Ignite\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_G_League_Ignite\">NBA G League<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>41.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.550<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.300<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.571<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>7.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>3.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>30.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"sortbottom\">\n<td colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>41.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.550<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.300<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.571<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>7.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>3.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>30.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<tfoot><\/tfoot>\n<\/table>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Personal_life\" class=\"mw-headline\">Personal life<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Green&#8217;s mother, Bree Puruganan, is of part Filipino descent through her grandfather.<sup id=\"cite_ref-Sarmenta_36-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> His step-father, Marcus Green, was a basketball teammate of <a title=\"National Basketball Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Basketball_Association\">NBA<\/a> player <a title=\"DeShawn Stevenson\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/DeShawn_Stevenson\">DeShawn Stevenson<\/a> at <a title=\"Washington Union High School\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Washington_Union_High_School\">Washington Union High School<\/a> in Fresno. He has a younger sister.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<article class=\"article main-content\" lang=\"en-US\">\n<div class=\"lede-background\">\n<header class=\"content-header content-header--align-center content-header--media-fullbleed content-header--position-below article__content-header content-header__caption-style--default content-header--publish-date-bottom\" data-event-boundary=\"click\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;pattern&quot;:&quot;ContentHeader&quot;}\" data-in-view=\"{&quot;pattern&quot;:&quot;ContentHeader&quot;}\" data-include-experiments=\"true\">\n<aside class=\"PersistentAsideWrapper-OuFKU brUrwN persistent-aside persistent-aside--align-left\">\n<div class=\"StickyBoxWrapper-etZGwJ jNtHBi sticky-box article__social-share\">\n<div class=\"StickyBoxPlaceholder-jOpzWB cITeFH\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21889\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/J-GREEN.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content-background\" data-attribute-verso-pattern=\"article-body\">\n<div class=\"\" data-event-boundary=\"click\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;pattern&quot;:&quot;ChunkedArticleContent&quot;}\" data-in-view=\"{&quot;pattern&quot;:&quot;ChunkedArticleContent&quot;}\" data-include-experiments=\"true\">\n<div class=\"article__chunks\">\n<div class=\"grid grid-margins grid-items-0\">\n<div class=\"grid--item body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\">\n<p><strong>Jalen Green doesn\u2019t think he\u2019s famous. He blushes and squirms when I try to explain his celebrity to him, even saying at one point, \u201cI&#8217;m not going to be playing basketball forever. That\u2019s going to come to an end one day.\u201d But the fact is that he was a local icon before he enrolled in high school and an online legend since the age of 15, when he averaged 27.9 points per game at San Joaquin Memorial High School and became the most sought after prep prospect in his class. Before he learned to drive, universities from Arizona to USC begged him to commit to their schools. This was long before he was a potential No. 1 pick in this week\u2019s NBA Draft.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In an era of social media-driven popularity fueled by high level performances and delicately cut basketball mixtapes, one emphatic dunk at the right tournament or a supercut of highlights on the proper YouTube channel means thousands of people know your name, flock to your Instagram and revere you as the heir to the NBA throne. So of course he\u2019s confident: \u201cI feel like I\u2019m the best player in my class,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of talk about [consensus number one pick] Cade Cunningham and other people&#8230;but I\u2019m the best player. And I feel like nobody can do what I do. I show up every time the lights come on. Whether it\u2019s some weak players or the top in the country.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We\u2019re sitting in a booth at his favorite Italian restaurant in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles, where Jalen recently relocated to train. He looks up from underneath his hoodie with a fire in his eyes. \u201cEverything I got I worked for,\u201d he says. \u201cI got everything from the bottom.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbed-cMUmQX byHbeT asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"asset-embed__asset-container\"><strong><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-TwdDQ SpanWrapper-kGyDFb hlNbBe iDbWuK responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-ePfRP fhgzsG asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><picture class=\"ResponsiveImagePicture-jJiTGL jyYsQg AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-ePfRP fhgzsG asset-embed__responsive-asset responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/61006289ad9c85a68608ba36\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/3.jpg\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/61006289ad9c85a68608ba36\/master\/w_120,c_limit\/3.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/61006289ad9c85a68608ba36\/master\/w_240,c_limit\/3.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/61006289ad9c85a68608ba36\/master\/w_320,c_limit\/3.jpg 320w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/61006289ad9c85a68608ba36\/master\/w_640,c_limit\/3.jpg 640w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/61006289ad9c85a68608ba36\/master\/w_960,c_limit\/3.jpg 960w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/61006289ad9c85a68608ba36\/master\/w_1280,c_limit\/3.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/61006289ad9c85a68608ba36\/master\/w_1600,c_limit\/3.jpg 1600w\" alt=\"How Jalen Green Conquered the Pressure of Teenage Celebrity Long Before the NBA Draft\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>But acclaim comes with a cost. There\u2019s rarely quiet around Jalen now: the buzz of a nearby phone, the clicking of cameras, the throngs of fans can be incessant. The unhinged Instagram comments on casual pictures with friends from people he doesn\u2019t know, the constant judgements on his behavior, the cold shoulder when he comes back home to Fresno.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Fresno&#8217;s like a small city, so it\u2019s real small minded. It\u2019s like a crab bucket,\u201d Jalen admits, dropping his head back underneath his hoodie. \u201cYou&#8217;ve got a bucket full of crabs. They all pull on you when you try to get out. You can fall into crime there, all that type of stuff. If you don&#8217;t have the right home, right surroundings, right people around you, that shit can lead you down the wrong path.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-margins grid-items-0\">\n<div class=\"grid--item body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\">\n<p><strong>Jalen\u2019s friends and coaches from Fresno see the same goofy teenager they grew up with. But even though he\u2019s still a laid back jokester, he\u2019s a bit different than the boy they knew back then. Now his fingernails are painted black, he rides on private jets, and wants to have enough tattoos to one day be a living work of art. It\u2019s been a frequent topic of conversation in his new, star studded life. All of a sudden, people think Jalen is too bougie for basketball, too Hollywood for the hardwoods.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cPeople question if he\u2019s too big time,\u201d Justin \u201cJuice\u201d Huelskamp, one of Jalen\u2019s best friends and high school teammates, tells me. \u201cHe\u2019s just adjusting to his new life. This is regular for him now. Sometimes people get that misunderstood.\u201d Jalen\u2019s noticed this too, of course. \u201cThis shit&#8217;s crazy,\u201d Jalen tells me. \u201cWhere we&#8217;re from, it&#8217;s like not a lot of n-ggas that have done that.\u201d Recently, Jalen and Juice flew back to Fresno to renovate the courts he grew up playing on. He got Adidas to refurbish \u201cThe Cage&#8221; in Northwest Fresno at Koligan Park, christening the court with a windmill jam in front of the mayor. Brad Roznovsky, Jalen\u2019s high school coach at San Joaquin, couldn\u2019t believe what he saw. \u201cMan, you\u2019re not even a basketball player anymore,\u201d Roznovsky told him. \u201cYou\u2019re a frickin celebrity, bro!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbed-cMUmQX byHbeT asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"asset-embed__asset-container\"><strong><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-TwdDQ SpanWrapper-kGyDFb hlNbBe iDbWuK responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-ePfRP fhgzsG asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><picture class=\"ResponsiveImagePicture-jJiTGL jyYsQg AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-ePfRP fhgzsG asset-embed__responsive-asset responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628bad9c85a68608ba38\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/4-edit.jpg\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628bad9c85a68608ba38\/master\/w_120,c_limit\/4-edit.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628bad9c85a68608ba38\/master\/w_240,c_limit\/4-edit.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628bad9c85a68608ba38\/master\/w_320,c_limit\/4-edit.jpg 320w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628bad9c85a68608ba38\/master\/w_640,c_limit\/4-edit.jpg 640w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628bad9c85a68608ba38\/master\/w_960,c_limit\/4-edit.jpg 960w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628bad9c85a68608ba38\/master\/w_1280,c_limit\/4-edit.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628bad9c85a68608ba38\/master\/w_1600,c_limit\/4-edit.jpg 1600w\" alt=\"How Jalen Green Conquered the Pressure of Teenage Celebrity Long Before the NBA Draft\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>From the first time Jalen came to San Joaquin, Roznovsky had no doubt in his abilities. People in Fresno were whispering about him on the lower circuits for years. Roznovsky even heard that he was ready to play professionally in the eighth grade. \u201cHe was unreal,\u201d the coach says. \u201cI\u2019ve been coaching a long time and the athleticism that he had, I\u2019ve never seen that. The summer going into freshman year, the things he could do at 6\u20191, 110 pounds, 120 <em>maybe<\/em>, it was just something you don\u2019t see every day.\u201d Jalen was unselfish\u2014\u201che could\u2019ve scored 40 a game if he wanted to,\u201d Roznovsky says.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>His work ethic was unheard of: After a full day at school, he\u2019d go through a set of solo workouts, hit basketball practice which would end around 8:00 pm, and follow that with another workout that kept him in the gym into the waning hours of the night. \u201cWe had to kick him out of gyms at 10:30 at night after practice just to get him home,\u201d Roznovsky says. \u201cObviously, he\u2019s got some God given athletic ability. But, listen, he put the time in the gym, man. It\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-margins grid-items-0\">\n<div class=\"grid--item body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\">\n<p><strong>By the time Jalen was a sophomore, he couldn\u2019t stroll through the mall without attracting attention. His reputation swelled to the point where friends say cameras were always around him. \u201cThat was the first time I was like, \u2018Whoa, I don\u2019t think we can even go to the mall with you anymore bro,\u2019\u201d Juice says. \u201cThere were tons of people looking, lots of people following him, stopping him, asking him to take a picture. That\u2019s when I realized J\u2019s really a big name in Fresno.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>San Joaquin\u2019s games were packed, and occasionally broadcast on ESPN. His coaches leaned on him like an assistant by the time he was a junior, but they also lost him to the lights. \u201cA lot of our post game speeches after the game were without Jalen,\u201d Roznovsky says. \u201cIt was because of the stardom, the fans, the autographs. And we\u2019d always let him do it. He\u2019d try to ask \u2018should I say no? Should I come back?\u2019 No, man. Enjoy this.\u201d How Jalen composed himself amidst all of this impressed Roznovsky. \u201cHe was really a celebrity in high school. But, he\u2019s a humble kid. He didn\u2019t let it go to his head.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbed-cMUmQX byHbeT asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"asset-embed__asset-container\"><strong><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-TwdDQ SpanWrapper-kGyDFb hlNbBe iDbWuK responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-ePfRP fhgzsG asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><picture class=\"ResponsiveImagePicture-jJiTGL jyYsQg AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-ePfRP fhgzsG asset-embed__responsive-asset responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e44\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/6.jpg\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e44\/master\/w_120,c_limit\/6.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e44\/master\/w_240,c_limit\/6.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e44\/master\/w_320,c_limit\/6.jpg 320w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e44\/master\/w_640,c_limit\/6.jpg 640w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e44\/master\/w_960,c_limit\/6.jpg 960w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e44\/master\/w_1280,c_limit\/6.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e44\/master\/w_1600,c_limit\/6.jpg 1600w\" alt=\"How Jalen Green Conquered the Pressure of Teenage Celebrity Long Before the NBA Draft\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>But that\u2019s when the pressure mounted most. That much notoriety at that age? It can be taxing on the body. You have to take care of your family, your friends; entertain scouts and recruiters; protect teammates and please coaches. Exactly when is there time for yourself? Part of the feature of the Black American experience, basketball included, is the constant need to reinvent oneself, to lean heavily on improvisation and resourcefulness to survive and advance. So, Jalen set a high standard for himself. He had to adjust, develop tunnel vision and walk with conviction, knowing his decisions would work out for him and his family. For his bridge from Fresno to brighter pastures. And, as Juice consistently tells him, Jalen had to \u201cmake sure you take care of yourself before focusing on making everyone else happy.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>So, Jalen transferred to Prolific Prep in Napa, California, to play the best high school hoopers in the country. He came off the bench in the FIBA tournaments and still propelled America to three gold medals, winning a FIBA MVP at the under-17 World Cup. He tailored his craft to a professional level before he was old enough to go to college. \u201cWe were traveling with a phenom,\u201d Joey Fuca, his coach at Prolific, tells me. Fuca says he had more trouble dealing with people trying to get to Jalen than the kid himself. \u201cIt\u2019s a special type of environment for a kid that very rarely happens. I tell all these NBA scouts and coaches that call me that it was like coaching LeBron or Kobe when they were in high school.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-margins grid-items-0\">\n<div class=\"grid--item body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\">\n<p><strong>\u201cHe comes from a tough neighborhood,\u201d Fuca continues. \u201cAnd he always has that on his back. He\u2019s trying to make it out for several reasons, but one of them is his family. He\u2019s always used that as motivation. The area he came from is not good at all. But he\u2019s never used that as an excuse. That\u2019s just part of who he is&#8230;That\u2019s just part of his character. And that\u2019ll continue to be who he is, wherever he goes, and he won\u2019t ever forget that.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>That\u2019s part of the reason Jalen skipped college. \u201cI was set on Auburn,\u201d he admits. But the Ignite program in the NBA G-League offered an opportunity to get a handle on a world he was alien to. Of course, a $500,000 contract doesn\u2019t hurt either. \u201cYou just learn about how to become a pro on and off the court,\u201d he says. He grinded tape with coaches, learned financial literacy and started an LLC while playing a handful of games in a pandemic-shortened season. Then his burdens multiplied.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbed-cMUmQX byHbeT asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"asset-embed__asset-container\"><strong><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-TwdDQ SpanWrapper-kGyDFb hlNbBe iDbWuK responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-ePfRP fhgzsG asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><picture class=\"ResponsiveImagePicture-jJiTGL jyYsQg AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-ePfRP fhgzsG asset-embed__responsive-asset responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e45\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/7.jpg\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e45\/master\/w_120,c_limit\/7.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e45\/master\/w_240,c_limit\/7.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e45\/master\/w_320,c_limit\/7.jpg 320w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e45\/master\/w_640,c_limit\/7.jpg 640w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e45\/master\/w_960,c_limit\/7.jpg 960w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e45\/master\/w_1280,c_limit\/7.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c2b2b9a8bc0386e45\/master\/w_1600,c_limit\/7.jpg 1600w\" alt=\"How Jalen Green Conquered the Pressure of Teenage Celebrity Long Before the NBA Draft\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>Players were huddled into a bubble for protection, and call-ups to the NBA from the G-League grew scarcer. He was shuttled to a small, two-bedroom apartment in Walnut Creek, California, tested for Covid every day (\u201cI had like at least 1200 [tests],\u201d he says) and fined if he missed the 8:00 am bus to practice. After practice, he\u2019d be home by 2:00 pm with nothing to do and nowhere to go, thanks to the bubble. He\u2019d lean back on his couch and crawl under his covers and watch reruns of the same movies over and over. He\u2019d get bored and turn on primetime college hoops matchup and text his boys\u200b\u200b\u2014Scottie Barnes, Josh Christopher and Jalen Suggs (all expected 1st round picks in the draft)\u2014notes of congratulations.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>That tension turned in his stomach. He wanted to be like them: hooping in front of thousands. But instead he was locked away in his room. Before his first game, he couldn\u2019t sleep, tossing and turning for hours. \u201cI was nervous,\u201d he says. \u201cWe were coming into that game and I was thinking I had to go out [and ball], like I was obligated to score 40&#8230;I thought I had to go out and kill and do all the extra shit.\u201d Juice worried about his friend, wondering if this was the right move. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy to go from being in high school to having everyone around you to being on your own, with your own money and choosing what to do,\u201d he says. \u201cIt can be kind of dangerous. You can choose the wrong path. J stayed real level-headed, and I know that was hard in the bubble.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-margins grid-items-0\">\n<div class=\"grid--item body body__container article__body\" data-journey-hook=\"client-content\">\n<p><strong>Jalen decided to speak to a therapist twice a week and found journaling his thoughts to be the blessing he never knew he needed. He began understanding how an adult can take care of themselves and grew confident in his purpose. \u201cI feel like it just helped me get a lot off,\u201d he says. \u201cThey had the right answers. And if not, it helped me be more curious of why I was feeling a certain way. It helped me get over that hump a lot.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Before long, he was the highlight of the G-League\u2014the fastest player on the court, a multi-level scorer and apt defender, all the while delivering the same highlight reel, high-flying displays that made him famous on the internet. He\u2019d write down goals on yellow sticky notes on his door and cross them off when he accomplished them. Before leaving that Walnut Creek apartment and relocating to LA, the only one left read, \u201cBe the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cNumber one pick,\u201d he tells me, \u201cthat would be a dream come true. I ain&#8217;t going to lie. That happens, I&#8217;m going to have a breakdown,\u201d he laughs. And, naturally, he has preference in mind. \u201cI want to live in Detroit.\u201d He feels that spot is important to his journey, a reward for his endurance. When I ask him as dinner ends what he wants out of his career, he offers a singular ambition.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI want my respect,\u201d Jalen tells me. \u201cAs a person and a basketball player. What comes with this is that people don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve got to sacrifice and go through. Especially when you\u2019re in a small city and basketball takes you down this road and everyone\u2019s still in that small city. It\u2019s personal. A lot of people talk about you on the side. It can get back to your family and everything. And they don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve been through, by yourself, while you\u2019re on that journey.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbed-cMUmQX byHbeT asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"asset-embed__asset-container\"><strong><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-TwdDQ SpanWrapper-kGyDFb hlNbBe iDbWuK responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-ePfRP fhgzsG asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><picture class=\"ResponsiveImagePicture-jJiTGL jyYsQg AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-ePfRP fhgzsG asset-embed__responsive-asset responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__image\" src=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c7aef139cfe23cbe4\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/9-edit.jpg\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c7aef139cfe23cbe4\/master\/w_120,c_limit\/9-edit.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c7aef139cfe23cbe4\/master\/w_240,c_limit\/9-edit.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c7aef139cfe23cbe4\/master\/w_320,c_limit\/9-edit.jpg 320w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c7aef139cfe23cbe4\/master\/w_640,c_limit\/9-edit.jpg 640w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c7aef139cfe23cbe4\/master\/w_960,c_limit\/9-edit.jpg 960w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c7aef139cfe23cbe4\/master\/w_1280,c_limit\/9-edit.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/media.gq.com\/photos\/6100628c7aef139cfe23cbe4\/master\/w_1600,c_limit\/9-edit.jpg 1600w\" alt=\"Image may contain Human Person and Hair\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<h1><strong>No. 2 pick Jalen Green signs rookie contract with Rockets<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"has-aside-ad\">\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<article class=\"articlecontent allowvig loaded\" data-id=\"58\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:58,&quot;p&quot;:55,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;article&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:6,&quot;o&quot;:3}\" data-nativead-placements=\"article_aside:3;singlecard1:1;singlecard2:1;singlecard3:1;singlecard4:1;singlecard5:1;singlecard6:1;singlecard7:1;singlecard8:1;singlecard9:1;singlecard10:1;singlecard11:1;\">\n<section class=\"flexarticle\" data-id=\"59\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:59,&quot;p&quot;:58,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;flexarticle&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:6,&quot;o&quot;:1}\">\n<section class=\"articlebody \" data-id=\"60\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:60,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;articlebody&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:6,&quot;o&quot;:1}\"><strong><span class=\"storyimage fullwidth inlineimage\" data-aop=\"image\"> <span class=\"image\" data-attrib=\"Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports\" data-caption=\"\" data-id=\"61\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:61,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;openModal&quot;,&quot;t&quot;:&quot;articleImages&quot;,&quot;o&quot;:1}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAMWYDD.img?h=533&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=879&amp;y=307\" alt=\"a person holding a sign\" data-src=\"{&quot;default&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;53&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAMWYDD.img?h=533&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=879&amp;y=307&quot;},&quot;size3column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;42&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAMWYDD.img?h=416&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=879&amp;y=307&quot;},&quot;size2column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;42&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAMWYDD.img?h=416&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=879&amp;y=307&quot;}}\" \/> <\/span> <span class=\"caption truncate\"> <span class=\"attribution\">\u00a9 Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greenja05.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"86\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:86,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:4}\">Jalen Green<\/a>, the second selection in last week\u2019s draft, has signed his rookie contract with the Rockets, according to\u00a0<a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonchronicle.com\/texas-sports-nation\/rockets\/article\/Top-draft-pick-Jalen-Green-signs-with-Rockets-16364384.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"87\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:87,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:5}\">Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle<\/a>. Green is the first of Houston\u2019s four first-round picks to sign, Feigen states, citing a person with knowledge of the deal.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"bingadsoneclick\" class=\"bingadsoneclick\" data-id=\"85\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:85,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;bingadsoneclick&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:8,&quot;o&quot;:3}\" data-apikey=\"ARA%2b0ITwqT99rPR8ZUSwQ3UcObPuCgc8mNVYCCuE1gLZq%2fwZyNKZb4%2bEfUBSLJxG%2bBI%3d\" data-pagetype=\"article\" data-nativead-tracking=\"{&quot;id&quot;: &quot;bingad-ia&quot;, &quot;sdk&quot;: &quot;widget&quot;, &quot;w&quot;: &quot;300&quot;, &quot;h&quot;: &quot;250&quot;}\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>Green signed for 20% of the rookie scale, which is common for first-round picks. He will earn about $8.99M during his first season and could make up to $40.8M over the four-year deal.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The 19-year-old was the first major prospect to bypass college and sign with the newly formed G League Ignite team. In 15 games in the G League bubble in Orlando, Green averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per night, cementing his status as one of the best players in the draft.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>He is preparing to make his Summer League debut this weekend, Feigen adds.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow nonfullscreen clean \">\n<div class=\"flex gallery-container none\" role=\"application\" data-aop=\"article\" data-id=\"62\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:62,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;gallery&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:8,&quot;o&quot;:2}\" data-fullscreen-url=\"\/en-us\/sports\/nba\/looking-back-at-the-1996-nba-draft-25-years-later\/ss-AALCMEm?parent-title=no-2-pick-jalen-green-signs-rookie-contract-with-rockets&amp;parent-ns=ar&amp;parent-content-id=AAMWYDI&amp;fullscreen=true\" data-gallery-id=\"AALCMEm\" data-page-id=\"galleryvnext\" data-page-name=\"gallery_inline\" data-page-provider-id=\"AAuAgax\" data-page-parent-id=\"AAMWYDI\" data-nativead-2call-placements=\"interstitialgallery:3\" aria-label=\"slideshow\">\n<section class=\"gallery\" data-aop=\"article_slide\" data-click-behavior=\"GoToNextSlide\" data-tbl-ad=\"interstitialgallery:3\">\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-relevant=\"all\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<header class=\"entry__header noskim\">\n<div class=\"entry__title__wrapper\">\n<h1 class=\"entry__title\"><strong>Top draft pick Jalen Green officially signs contract with Rockets<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__thumbnail\">\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"image--full\" src=\"https:\/\/rocketswire.usatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2021\/08\/USATSI_16477056_168393233_lowres-2.jpg?w=1000&amp;h=600&amp;crop=1\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"article__thumbnail__caption\"><strong>Photo by Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__author\">\n<div class=\"article__author__details\">\n<div class=\"article__author__row\">\n<p><strong><a class=\"author url fn\" title=\"Posts by Ben DuBose\" href=\"https:\/\/rocketswire.usatoday.com\/author\/bendubosenba\/\" rel=\"author\">Ben DuBose<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"article__author__social\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__author__row article__author__row--end\"><strong><span class=\"article__author__date\">August 4, 2021 4:47 pm CT<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"noskim\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"content-container\">\n<div class=\"entry__content \">\n<div class=\"articleBody\">\n<div class=\"wp-remixd-voice-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"remixd-audio-player\"><iframe class=\"remixd-frame\" data-desktop=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>No. 2 overall draft pick Jalen Green has officially signed his four-year contract with the Rockets, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonchronicle.com\/texas-sports-nation\/rockets\/article\/Top-draft-pick-Jalen-Green-signs-with-Rockets-16364384.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Houston Chronicle<\/a> beat writer Jonathan Feigen. While the signing was a formality, since first-round salaries are mostly structured according to a scale for each slot, getting it done early should allow the 19-year-old to fully focus on the NBA\u2019s upcoming Las Vegas Summer League, which <a href=\"https:\/\/rocketswire.usatoday.com\/2021\/07\/28\/rockets-announce-schedule-for-nbas-2021-las-vegas-summer-league\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">starts on Sunday<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Relative to slot value, NBA teams can sign their first-round picks to as little as 80% of that rookie scale amount, or up to 120% of that figure. In nearly all cases, particularly with a prospect as desirable as Green, teams choose to offer the maximum possible amount as a sign of good faith.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Assuming that holds true with the Rockets, along with standard annual raises, here\u2019s what Green will earn over the contract (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsrumors.com\/2021\/08\/rookie-scale-salaries-for-2021-nba-first-round-picks.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">via HoopsRumors<\/a>):<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>2021-22: $8.99 million<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2022-23: $9.44 million<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2023-24: $9.89 million<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2024-25: $12.48 million<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Total: $40.8 million<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Green will be eligible to sign a contract extension with the Rockets in the 2024 offseason. If for some reason he does not, he would be on track to become a restricted free agent in the 2025 offseason.<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><strong>Top draft pick Jalen Green signs with Rockets <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ANbAoX2kkI\">https:\/\/t.co\/ANbAoX2kkI<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HoustonChron?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@houstonchron<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div>\n<div class=\"atom photo\">\n<div class=\"imgWrapper\">\n<div class=\"atom lazyImage loaded\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.bleacherreport.com\/w_800,h_533,c_fill\/br-img-images\/003\/916\/043\/hi-res-45b467362d2f61e6981cb8e996c3b954_crop_north.jpg\" sizes=\" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, (max-width: 1440px) 60vw, 1440px \" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.bleacherreport.com\/w_375,h_250,c_fill\/br-img-images\/003\/916\/043\/hi-res-45b467362d2f61e6981cb8e996c3b954_crop_north.jpg 375w,https:\/\/media.bleacherreport.com\/w_768,h_512,c_fill\/br-img-images\/003\/916\/043\/hi-res-45b467362d2f61e6981cb8e996c3b954_crop_north.jpg 768w,https:\/\/media.bleacherreport.com\/w_800,h_533,c_fill\/br-img-images\/003\/916\/043\/hi-res-45b467362d2f61e6981cb8e996c3b954_crop_north.jpg\" alt=\"BROOKLYN, NY - JULY 29: Jalen Green talks to the media after being drafted second overall by the Houston Rockets during the 2021 NBA Draft on July 29, 2021 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Melanie Fidler\/NBAE via Getty Images)\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>The <a href=\"http:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/houston-rockets\">Houston Rockets<\/a> and No. 2 overall pick <a href=\"http:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/jalen-green\">Jalen Green<\/a> agreed to the terms of his rookie contract, according to the <em>Houston Chronicle<\/em>&#8216;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonchronicle.com\/texas-sports-nation\/rockets\/article\/Top-draft-pick-Jalen-Green-signs-with-Rockets-16364384.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&amp;utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_medium=referral\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Feigen<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>The <a href=\"https:\/\/basketball.realgm.com\/nba\/info\/rookie_scale\/2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rookie pay scale<\/a> for the second overall pick starts at $7.5 million in the first year, $7.9 million in the second year and $8.2 million for the third-year option. The team then has the opportunity to exercise a fourth-year option on the player&#8217;s contract at a 26.2 percent increase of his third-year salary.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>The collective bargaining agreement allows teams to offer up to 120 percent of the allotted amount. Feigen reported Green will collect $9 million in his first year, the maximum allowable.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Green earned $500,000 last season playing with the NBA G League Ignite team. The first player to sign with the Ignite, Green will now have an opportunity to show how effective the developmental team is at preparing prospects for the NBA.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>The Fresno, California, native averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in 15 regular-season contests last year. He posted 30 points in a playoff game with seven assists and five boards.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Houston continues to rebuild after moving on from the likes of <a href=\"http:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/james-harden\">James Harden<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/russell-westbrook\">Russell Westbrook<\/a>. Green now becomes central to that effort alongside Christian Wood and Jae&#8217;Sean Tate. As the Rockets continue Green&#8217;s development, he&#8217;s already signed his second professional contract in as many years.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"molecule nr-video-manager\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"atom lazyImage loaded\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"article0\" class=\"data-reading-list-item\" data-reading-list-item=\"0\">\n<article>\n<div class=\"Article-head\">\n<h1 class=\"Article-headline\">Jalen Green could be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, and he&#8217;s so much more than just a unicorn<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"Article-subline\">Get to know the top player in the 2020 class, who&#8217;s drawn comparisons to Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Article-content\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21894\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/J-GREEN-NO.1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-8\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-8\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-7\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-7\">\n<div id=\"Article-body\" class=\"article article-main-body Article-body\">\n<div class=\"Article-bodyContent\" data-use-autolinker=\"true\">\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s a crisp, summer morning in Northern California, fresh dew on the grass, and the not-yet-blistering sun making its slow ascent to its scorching apex. It&#8217;s 5 a.m., an hour not many soon-to-be eighth-graders see during summer vacation &#8212; but <a href=\"https:\/\/247sports.com\/Player\/Jalen-Green-46036198\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jalen Green<\/a> is no ordinary teenager.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>His stepfather, Marcus Greene, heads downstairs to wake Jalen, asleep on the couch, for his morning workout &#8212; running miles in a weight vest, basketball training &#8230; you know, normal things for a 13-year-old on summer break. But this morning Green sleeps with a smile on his face. He&#8217;s been working on something, and this is the day he&#8217;ll finally let Marcus in on the secret. Marcus gently wakes Jalen, and he&#8217;s promptly serenaded by four words that will change the lives of everyone in the family.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;I can dunk now.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Green rolls off the couch, half asleep, throws on a pair of low-top red Vans, and heads to their outdoor court. Just like that, the middle-schooler throws down his first dunk, earning a pair of Jordan Concord lows that Marcus promised him if he slammed one home before entering eighth grade, and setting the family on a journey that will lead Jalen Green to South America, Asia and onto the radar of salivating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nba\" data-is-autolink=\"true\">NBA<\/a> scouts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Every time I step on the court, I&#8217;m the best on the court,&#8221; Green, now 16, told CBS Sports. &#8220;I don&#8217;t care who you are, where you&#8217;re from, what you&#8217;re working on or what you&#8217;re doing. If you&#8217;re guarding me, and if you&#8217;re trying to score on me, I&#8217;mma lock you up and I&#8217;mma get by you and I&#8217;mma get a bucket. Simple as that.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Set to enter his junior year of high school, the 6-foot-5 Green is the top high school basketball player in the Class of 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/247sports.com\/Season\/2020-Basketball\/CompositeRecruitRankings?InstitutionGroup=highschool\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to 247Sports<\/a>. His 130,000 Instagram followers (he recently secured the highly coveted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jalen\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@jalen<\/a> handle), along with countless YouTube viewers, have become entranced by his astonishing array of dunks &#8212; vicious posterizations of 7-footers, dunk contest-worthy jaw-droppers and angelic glides to the rim in high school and AAU gyms across the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"MediaShortcode MediaShortcodeInstagram none large\">\n<div class=\"MediaShortcode-content\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BjYTA5rlcx0\/\" data-instgrm-version=\"9\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BjYTA5rlcx0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">never let them catch up what you caught up \ud83d\ude24 @ballislife<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A post shared by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jalen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> \ud835\udcd9\ud835\udcea\ud835\udcf5\ud835\udcee\ud835\udcf7 \ud835\udce1\ud835\udcf8\ud835\udcf6\ud835\udcea\ud835\udcf7\ud835\udced\ud835\udcee \ud835\udcd6\ud835\udcfb\ud835\udcee\ud835\udcee\ud835\udcf7<\/a> (@jalen) on <time datetime=\"2018-05-29T23:25:40+00:00\">May 29, 2018 at 4:25pm PDT<\/time><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>He&#8217;s won two gold medals with Team USA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usab.com\/news-events\/news\/2018\/07\/mu17-game-07-fra.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">earning tournament MVP honors<\/a> for his most recent effort in the FIBA U17 World Cup), and is well on his way to fulfilling his dream of becoming the No. 1 pick in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nba\/draft\" data-is-autolink=\"true\">NBA Draft<\/a> &#8212; which could happen sooner than he originally thought. There&#8217;s significant momentum building in the NBA to once again allow players to enter straight from high school, eliminating the controversial &#8220;one-and-done&#8221; rule that&#8217;s been in place since 2006. Nobody can be sure if the rule will change in time for Green to go straight to the pros, but he&#8217;s hoping it will.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;People have said that he could be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft,&#8221; said Brad Roznovsky, Green&#8217;s coach at San Joaquin Memorial High School. &#8220;I know he would love to be. He wants to be the best, and I think there&#8217;s a good chance that&#8217;s gonna happen.&#8221; <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Green&#8217;s also picked up a nickname along the way, first bestowed upon him by a Florida State coach who showed up to watch him practice.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Unicorn.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The nickname may already have been claimed by the New York Knicks&#8217; 7-3 All-Star Kristaps Porzingis, but for Green it takes on a different meaning &#8212; one that he&#8217;s happy to embrace.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;I feel like I <em>am<\/em> different,&#8221; Green said. &#8220;Like, not even on the court. On the court you can tell I&#8217;m different &#8212; I play different. But off the court I&#8217;m different, too. &#8230; You know, I&#8217;m the unicorn. What else can I say?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When Green is asked to pose for a photo (which happens increasingly often), he&#8217;ll sometimes throw his index finger onto his forehead, symbolizing the unicorn&#8217;s defining feature, a message to the world that this isn&#8217;t just another top recruit. This is someone special &#8212; someone whose name will one day be permanently etched into the basketball lexicon.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"MediaShortcode MediaShortcodeImage none large\">\n<div class=\"MediaShortcodeImage-image\" data-large=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/20\/62c537c0-f9b6-4e96-91b1-de782b3c8772\/thumbnail\/670x377\/b9a3f58ccd011f66d293f4161c01bc8d\/jalenunicorn-072018.jpg\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/20\/62c537c0-f9b6-4e96-91b1-de782b3c8772\/resize\/670x377\/7c824a1fc070dfb1db8b6ffbdc22b084\/jalenunicorn-072018.jpg\" alt=\"jalenunicorn-072018.jpg\" width=\"670\" height=\"377\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/20\/62c537c0-f9b6-4e96-91b1-de782b3c8772\/resize\/670x377\/7c824a1fc070dfb1db8b6ffbdc22b084\/jalenunicorn-072018.jpg\" \/><\/strong><\/div><figcaption class=\"MediaShortcode-figcaption\"><strong><span class=\"MediaShortcode-caption\">Jalen Green, the top basketball player in the 2020 class, has embraced his &#8216;unicorn&#8217; nickname. <\/span><span class=\"MediaShortcode-credit\"> David Dennis <\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>What makes Green so appealing to the modern NBA is his versatility. At 6-5 and still growing, his athleticism and length project him to play multiple positions at the pro level as he continues to fill out his 172-pound frame. His dunks fuel the mixtapes, but he&#8217;s a tenacious defender, a knock-down shooter and an adept passer (he&#8217;s started spending more time at point guard). He already has his choice of college programs and, come 2021 &#8212; maybe even 2020 &#8212; an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nba\/teams\" data-is-autolink=\"true\">NBA team<\/a> will likely pick him, possibly first overall.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;You hear stuff that he resembles Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady,&#8221; Roznovsky said. &#8220;I&#8217;m a big Kobe Bryant fan. And obviously those are some big coattails to follow, but Kobe just had that &#8216;it&#8217; factor, and Jalen&#8217;s got that &#8216;it&#8217; factor.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>But there&#8217;s so much more to Green than just a basketball phenom. Spend some time with him and you&#8217;ll quickly notice the dichotomy between a humble, quiet, generous kid off the court and a brash, confident, trash-talking top prospect on it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>But first thing&#8217;s first &#8230; let&#8217;s talk about those shorts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Is it the shorts?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Green is already somewhat of a legend in the Fresno area &#8212; there&#8217;s even a rap song from local artists featuring the hook, &#8220;Ballin&#8217; like I&#8217;m Jalen,&#8221; which Green and his friends take turns blaring from their iPhone speakers. But he almost left his comfortable surroundings for greener basketball pastures at one of the nation&#8217;s leading prep school powerhouses. One fateful holiday tournament, however, stopped that transfer in its tracks.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s a late night in Las Vegas, and Green&#8217;s parents are driving frantically around the city. Their son, in the middle of one of the most prestigious high school basketball tournaments in the country, is going through a crisis that can&#8217;t wait until tomorrow.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"Pullquote--alignleft\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<blockquote class=\"Pullquote\">\n<div class=\"Pullquote-quote\"><strong>&#8220;I feel like I am different. Like, not even on the court. On the court you can tell I&#8217;m different &#8212; I play different. But off the court I&#8217;m different, too. &#8230; You know, I&#8217;m the unicorn. What else can I say?&#8221;<\/strong><\/div>\n<p><strong><cite class=\"Pullquote-source\"> Jalen Green <\/cite><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Nobody&#8217;s answering the phone and Google searches are coming up empty, so Jalen&#8217;s mother, Bree Purganan, and stepfather Marcus have to take matters into their own hands. They stop at a store to pick up needle and thread, and they race home to begin the operation. The improvised surgery isn&#8217;t taking place on Jalen, though. Bree, a nurse, isn&#8217;t using her considerable sewing skills to suture a wound. Instead she&#8217;s making sure that the only thing almost as important to Jalen as basketball and family is taken care of: His shorts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It may sound silly, but to Jalen, his trademark short shorts are no laughing matter. Since seeing his friend and fellow top 2020 recruit <a href=\"https:\/\/247sports.com\/Player\/Joshua-Christopher-46047630\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Joshua Christopher<\/a> at a tournament in 7th grade, Jalen&#8217;s worn his shorts at a specific length, more in the vein of 1980s John Stockton than Michigan-era Chris Webber. This got him into some trouble during his team&#8217;s first game at the Tarkanian Classic earlier that evening. As a matter of routine, Green rolls the waistband of his shorts before every single game until they reach the desired length. But when he walked onto the court against Las Vegas&#8217; Liberty High School and his friend <a href=\"https:\/\/247sports.com\/Player\/Julian-Strawther-46035981\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Julian Strawther<\/a> (who also happens to be the No. 22 recruit in the country) on that December night, the ref told Green to turn right around and head back to the bench.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You see, there&#8217;s a rule in Nevada prohibiting high school players from rolling their shorts on the court. So Jalen, who actually, without thinking, rolled his shorts\u00a0<em>again<\/em>\u00a0when he re-entered the game and was\u00a0<em>again<\/em> sent to the bench, played the rest of the game with what he would consider uncomfortably long shorts. And his team lost, 82-64.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>After the late-night mad dash to get supplies, Bree and Marcus spent all night tailoring their son&#8217;s shorts (Bree took the home whites, Marcus the away blues), and when the ref tried to once again send him back to the bench to start the next night&#8217;s game, Jalen triumphantly raised the bottom of his jersey, exposing a perfectly hemmed waistline. Even the ref had to marvel at the handiwork as he signaled Green to play on.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>This might seem like a lot of time and effort for a pair of shorts, but they&#8217;re representative of Jalen Green&#8217;s attitude toward basketball, and life in general. In keeping with the unicorn nickname, Jalen wants to express himself on and off the court, and his shorts are his signature &#8212; his spark of individuality and source of power, like Samson&#8217;s hair.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you question how seriously Green takes his shorts, keep this in mind: After learning about the Nevada rule preventing players from rolling their shorts, the family canceled its plans to move to Las Vegas and have Jalen transfer to basketball power Findlay Prep. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>No, seriously.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;As soon as they said that, as soon as that happened, we already were saying that in the crowd, &#8216;Well, guess we ain&#8217;t going to Vegas. We ain&#8217;t moving to Nevada,'&#8221; Marcus told CBS Sports. &#8220;And as soon as he came off the court, and the game was over, he was like, &#8216;Yeah we&#8217;re not moving to Nevada. If I can&#8217;t roll my shorts I can&#8217;t do it.&#8217; And so there it is. That killed it.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Don&#8217;t mess with this young man and his short shorts. The entire career arc of the nation&#8217;s top basketball recruit changed course because of a rule preventing players from rolling their shorts. But it wasn&#8217;t the unique attire that gained Green his status as prep basketball&#8217;s top dog &#8212; instead it was years of unwavering hard work, and a focus and dedication to being the best.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>&#8216;What keeps me grinding&#8217;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Jalen Green has a Mini-Me.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The sun is just starting to set in the clear May Fresno sky, and, after a full day of school, a series of on-camera interviews and a basketball workout in a crusty, windowless old facility called Ryan Gym that looks like it came straight off the &#8220;Hoosiers&#8221; set, Green is nearing the finish line of his second workout of the day. This time it&#8217;s at One Way Speed Training, located in what looks like a small airplane hangar down an industrial back road.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The workout is no joke. One minute Green pounds his size 15 sneakers on an inclined treadmill like Ivan Drago in &#8220;Rocky IV.&#8221; The next, he&#8217;s harnessed to a giant elastic band, the other end attached to the wall, which provides resistance as he chases an algorithm of flashing lights on a series of yellow poles &#8212; all while keeping his dribble alive. Then it&#8217;s time for shooting on a mechanized basket, sprinting to the wall after each jumper, hoping to back before the machine spits out the next chest pass &#8212; if the ball hits the floor, he owes trainer Kevin Swayne 50 pushups.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Green&#8217;s hands are on his knees. His shirt is pulled halfway up to expose a heaving abdomen lacquered with sweat, his wiry legs protruding from his signature short shorts, gravity pulling his mop of curly, dark brown hair toward the floor. He&#8217;s gassed, but he can&#8217;t show it. He stands next to his mom, who&#8217;s been sprinkling in strategic words of encouragement throughout the workout &#8212; she&#8217;s not loud, but her presence is felt. Green looks at her, smiles, and turns his attention back toward his goal. He has to finish his workout, like he does every day, because he knows someone is watching.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When they stand next to each other it becomes evident right away. Green is about a foot taller and a few years older, but the similarities are striking. A young baller, 13-year-old A.J. Johnson, studies every move Green makes, measuring himself against the best he&#8217;s ever seen. Same hairstyle. Same short shorts. Same shooting mechanics. Players A.J.&#8217;s age don&#8217;t normally do this kind of speed, strength and skill training &#8212; but once he heard Green was doing it, good luck trying to stop him.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body-ad-8\" class=\"native-story-ad\">\n<div id=\"native_story_flex_inc_7\" class=\"ad-native-story-flex-inc lazyload lazypreload\" data-ad=\"native_story_flex_inc_7\" data-ad-unit=\"['native_story_flex_inc', 7]\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"MediaShortcode MediaShortcodeImage none large\">\n<div class=\"MediaShortcodeImage-image\" data-large=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/72a40a95-2642-44b3-900a-a72aa3a3010d\/thumbnail\/670x377\/3b0fae7cdece2a95c1ec7605479ea02e\/jalenajsitting-072018.jpg\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/72a40a95-2642-44b3-900a-a72aa3a3010d\/resize\/670x377\/37d13c607d770a82c603da444fa1b2a0\/jalenajsitting-072018.jpg\" alt=\"jalenajsitting-072018.jpg\" width=\"670\" height=\"377\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/72a40a95-2642-44b3-900a-a72aa3a3010d\/resize\/670x377\/37d13c607d770a82c603da444fa1b2a0\/jalenajsitting-072018.jpg\" \/><\/strong><\/div><figcaption class=\"MediaShortcode-figcaption\"><strong><span class=\"MediaShortcode-caption\">Jalen Green (right), rests next to 13-year-old A.J. Johnson during a workout. <\/span><span class=\"MediaShortcode-credit\"> David Dennis <\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>&#8220;That&#8217;s honestly what keeps me grinding,&#8221; Green said about Johnson following his lead. &#8220;Like, if he&#8217;s looking up to me, I&#8217;m doing something right. So if he wants to look up to me, and I stop doing what I&#8217;m doing and I go down the wrong path, then he&#8217;s gonna be like, &#8216;Dang, I looked up to him.&#8217; So, like, I just gotta keep my head on tight.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Green&#8217;s schedule has been jam-packed with basketball for quite some time. It started back in sixth grade, when Jalen approached his stepdad with a simple question: &#8220;How do I get better?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>That launched years of individual workouts followe<\/strong>d by back-to-back practices, weekends chocked with games and more recently, workout sessions at One Way Speed Training. You&#8217;d think all that would wear on a 16-year-old, particularly one who enjoys hanging out with friends as much as Green does. But he&#8217;s never asked for a day off &#8230; though he came close, once.<\/p>\n<p>He had just finished playing for two different teams in a tournament in Reno, Nevada. After playing nine games in three days, he was understandably wiped out. Though he never said it, his parents could tell he needed some time off. But when the car pulled up in the driveway after the five-hour drive home to Fresno, dreams of basketball dominance had washed away the stains of fatigue. The first words out of his mouth were to ask his parents how quickly he could get into the gym again.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We have to tell him, &#8216;You need a week off,&#8217; &#8221; Bree told CBS Sports. &#8220;And he&#8217;ll take a day off and he&#8217;ll be like, &#8216;I can&#8217;t, I wanna get back in the gym. We&#8217;re like, &#8216;You have to rest your body.&#8217; Everyone tells him, &#8216;You have to rest your body, you have to take care of your body.&#8217; He&#8217;s just like, &#8216;I wanna get in the gym.&#8217; So it&#8217;s like, I mean, we try to keep him away, but he wants it so bad, what do you do?&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"MediaShortcode MediaShortcodeImage none large\">\n<div class=\"MediaShortcodeImage-image\" data-large=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/687df874-fc34-4680-ad0a-1b670a2c9e90\/thumbnail\/670x377\/3ae72be4a1216f8a61b74679022d01ac\/jalenworkoutlights-072418.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/687df874-fc34-4680-ad0a-1b670a2c9e90\/resize\/670x377\/c9bb9165c6f2e894d2ab11de97e6fcd6\/jalenworkoutlights-072418.jpg\" alt=\"jalenworkoutlights-072418.jpg\" width=\"670\" height=\"377\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/687df874-fc34-4680-ad0a-1b670a2c9e90\/resize\/670x377\/c9bb9165c6f2e894d2ab11de97e6fcd6\/jalenworkoutlights-072418.jpg\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"MediaShortcode-figcaption\"><span class=\"MediaShortcode-caption\">Jalen Green works out at One Way Speed in Fresno, California. <\/span><span class=\"MediaShortcode-credit\"> David Dennis <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His hard work has paid off so far, and it&#8217;s upped the level of expectation for a strong Fresno basketball tradition. Three current NBA players &#8212; Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez and Quincy Pondexter &#8212; all suited up for the same mid-2000s squad at Green&#8217;s high school, San Joaquin Memorial. DeShawn Stevenson, a 13-year NBA vet who entered the league straight out of Fresno&#8217;s Washington Union High School, has spoken with Green about the possible jump from high school to the NBA. Demetrius Porter, also a standout at Washington Union and later Fresno State, is the program director for Green&#8217;s Fresno-based AAU team,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/ebobasketball.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elite Basketball Organization<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t even think he understands the magnitude of what he&#8217;s doing for Fresno,&#8221; Porter said. &#8220;He gives hope to a lot of kids, and he really has the city on his back.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>The dog and his pack<\/h3>\n<p>A native of California&#8217;s Central Valley, Green has truly found a home in Fresno, where his legend grows daily with tales of between-the-legs dunks, 50-point games and his NBA future. He just concluded his sophomore year at San Joaquin Memorial, where he walks the beautiful outdoor campus in a form-fitting uniform polo shirt and snug khaki shorts, custom tailored to land about midway down his thighs, just like his basketball shorts. Green stands out immediately because of his height, gold chain with his No. 4 dangling from his neck, and the fact that he couldn&#8217;t look more like a basketball player &#8212; the other students don&#8217;t ogle him, but they clearly know that they have a uniquely talented classmate.<\/p>\n<p>Green lives with his mother, stepfather, younger sister and close friend in a second-floor apartment in Fresno. There&#8217;s a big-screen TV in the living room, a dining room table in the corner near the kitchen, where the refrigerator is home to a list of chores with items like &#8220;pick up living room,&#8221; &#8220;make your bed,&#8221; and &#8220;complete homework.&#8221; It&#8217;s the type of organization you&#8217;d expect from Bree, a nurse who previously served as a corrections officer at both men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s prisons (the men were more respectful to her, she says).<\/p>\n<p>On the floor are food and water bowls for Twilight, the household&#8217;s tiny and unbearably cute poodle. He&#8217;s second on the adorable scale, however, behind Jalen&#8217;s 7-year-old sister, Jurnee, whose heart-melting grin could enliven even the most depressed soul.<\/p>\n<p>Down a narrow hallway are the bedrooms, with Jalen&#8217;s on the left. The bed, home to a brightly colored stuffed unicorn, takes up most of the square-footage, and the closets burst with clothes and, more importantly, prized sneakers. He&#8217;s most proud of a pair of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/img.stylebop.com\/product\/1200x1800\/6a\/287341_m.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Y-3 X James Harden Tangutsus<\/a>\u00a0sneakers with pink flowers prominently displayed on the laceless tongues. They aren&#8217;t typical basketball kicks, which is exactly why Jalen likes them so much.<\/p>\n<p>One thing you don&#8217;t see in Green&#8217;s room, however, are trophies.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s not like that,&#8221; Bree said. &#8220;He has a lot [of accolades], we just don&#8217;t &#8212; like I said, he&#8217;s really humble. He doesn&#8217;t showcase things.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s true. Walking into Jalen&#8217;s room, you have know idea that he even plays basketball. It&#8217;s only when you ask him to show you his honors that the barrage begins. From his closet, behind the sneakers, emerge a bevy of trophies, plaques, signed basketballs and, yes, a gold medal from Team USA&#8217;s FIBA title.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not that Green isn&#8217;t proud of his accomplishments &#8212; Bree told CBS Sports in May that the U16 gold medal was his favorite achievement &#8212; but displaying them is just not something that crosses his mind.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"MediaShortcode MediaShortcodeImage none large\">\n<div class=\"MediaShortcodeImage-image\" data-large=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/a93a0d02-e56a-4071-b853-178a74966180\/thumbnail\/670x377\/62aee82d5c7d1bd0048bd328824f31a7\/jalenawards-072018.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/a93a0d02-e56a-4071-b853-178a74966180\/resize\/670x377\/5f914f19a87f1068b2e396ae263193a7\/jalenawards-072018.jpg\" alt=\"jalenawards-072018.jpg\" width=\"670\" height=\"377\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/a93a0d02-e56a-4071-b853-178a74966180\/resize\/670x377\/5f914f19a87f1068b2e396ae263193a7\/jalenawards-072018.jpg\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"MediaShortcode-figcaption\"><span class=\"MediaShortcode-caption\">Jalen Green displays his various awards in the bedroom of his Fresno home. <\/span><span class=\"MediaShortcode-credit\"> David Dennis <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In fact, when you talk to Green you engage with a shy, humble kid who downplays his accomplishments. But then you watch him on the court and he&#8217;s a whole different animal &#8212; dunking on people, flexing, talking trash. It&#8217;s almost impossible to reconcile what you see in the videos with the young man you meet in person.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d rather him be that way on the court and not in the world,&#8221; Marcus said. &#8220;Because reality is, all this can be taken from us at any moment. And so, on the court you have to play with that aggressiveness, that &#8216;come get me&#8217; attitude, because you don&#8217;t wanna be a pushover.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Green is anything but a pushover. Those around Jalen, from family to coaches, use the same phrase to describe his demeanor on the court: &#8220;He&#8217;s got that dog in him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s only fitting since Jalen&#8217;s second love behind basketball is animals &#8212; particularly dogs. He outwardly displays unbridled affection for his own pup, and wants to be a veterinarian if his basketball dreams should somehow come to an unexpected end.<\/p>\n<p>But Green is also familiar with the darker, wilder side of dogs.<\/p>\n<p>He grew up in Livingston, California, where he says his remote house was literally surrounded by wolves and coyotes. From there the wolves became more figurative, when he moved 20 minutes down the highway to Merced, a place Green referred to as &#8220;the complete hood.&#8221; Even now, in what he calls &#8220;the good side of Fresno,&#8221; Green says there are dangers he has to make a conscious effort to avoid. It&#8217;s part of the reason why his friends and family are so important to him.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They just keep me out of trouble &#8212; tell me life stories, stuff like that,&#8221; Green said of his family. &#8220;It just keeps my head tight, like I don&#8217;t wanna go down that path. I want to do better for myself, so when I get to that point, when I make it, I can do something for my family. Because they&#8217;ve been doing something for me the whole time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The word &#8220;family&#8221; doesn&#8217;t just refer to Green&#8217;s parents and blood relatives &#8212; he has a group of close friends whom he calls his brothers. How close, you ask? About six inches apart &#8212; sometimes not even that.<\/p>\n<p>All 6-5 of Jalen Green shares his queen bed with his friend Jahmai Bartley, who lives with the family. Bartley, who started off sleeping on the couch but eventually made his way to Green&#8217;s bedroom, goes about 6-4, plays basketball for Central High in Fresno, and is a bit thicker than the svelte Green. Needless to say, this leads to some midnight battles as the two jockey for position like they&#8217;re boxing out on the court.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Jahmai&#8217;s a wild sleeper,&#8221; Green said. &#8220;He&#8217;ll be moving all over the place, snoring loud, just rolling. He&#8217;s really like a big bear. It&#8217;s not that bad, honestly. I&#8217;ll be like, &#8216;Mai, move over,&#8217; and give him an elbow or something like that, but it&#8217;s not that bad as you would think.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Also in Green&#8217;s circle are Cash Williams, who has known Jalen since elementary school, and Kawan Kendrick. You often hear about NBA players being able to deal with outside pressures and expectations because of their strong core of friends and family. Visit with Green for just a few hours, and you&#8217;ll see that he has that part taken care of.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"MediaShortcode MediaShortcodeImage none large\">\n<div class=\"MediaShortcodeImage-image\" data-large=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/70e280f2-84bf-4f74-a3bf-b35fea9e866a\/thumbnail\/670x377\/ce6089570bfc049ca85c19e30c803edd\/jalencash-072418.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/70e280f2-84bf-4f74-a3bf-b35fea9e866a\/resize\/670x377\/4d42a6011bca3cc725a7f6842ddadb06\/jalencash-072418.jpg\" alt=\"jalencash-072418.jpg\" width=\"670\" height=\"377\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2018\/07\/24\/70e280f2-84bf-4f74-a3bf-b35fea9e866a\/resize\/670x377\/4d42a6011bca3cc725a7f6842ddadb06\/jalencash-072418.jpg\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"MediaShortcode-figcaption\"><span class=\"MediaShortcode-caption\">Jalen Green (right) with childhood friend Cash Williams. <\/span><span class=\"MediaShortcode-credit\"> David Dennis <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;I think he&#8217;s a good judge of character,&#8221; Bree said of her son&#8217;s choice of friends. &#8220;His teammates, everybody. Everybody who hangs around with him are great kids. And pretty much [Jalen&#8217;s] had the same close-knit friends for years now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But the better Green gets at basketball, the more it takes him away from his friends. Even though they live in the same city, Green attends a different school, which creates a divide between his home life and his school life. And then there&#8217;s the travel. Just two years ago, Las Vegas was the farthest away from home Green had been. Since then he&#8217;s journeyed all over the world, and during the summer he&#8217;s rarely home for more than a week at a time.<\/p>\n<h3>Like a king<\/h3>\n<p>Green&#8217;s reach extends well beyond his high high school campus, and even the city of Fresno, thanks to Instagram, YouTube, trips to Argentina with USA Basketball, and a very special voyage to the Philippines.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s won gold the past two summers as a member of the U16 and U17 USA national teams, most recently taking home tournament MVP following a dominant 95-52 win in the gold medal game over France in Santa Fe, Argentina earlier this month. Green was the tournament&#8217;s MVP scoring a team-high 15.7 points in seven games, all USA wins, and the gold medal will join the one that Green won at last year&#8217;s tournament.<\/p>\n<p>As much as he values his time with Team USA, Green glows when he talks about another trip &#8212; the one he and his family made to the Philippines. There he was worshiped like a god after flooring the crowd in the dunk contest and posterizing local 7-1 prospect Kai Sotto during a game.<\/p>\n<p>Green&#8217;s family on his mother&#8217;s side is Filipino, so it was an emotional and eye-opening trip to Manila. Jalen and his parents occasionally feared for their lives in the hectic traffic patterns, but overall it was a tremendous experience. It also gave Jalen a taste of the fame he could soon experience from rabid NBA fans.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Each game just more and more people came,&#8221; Green said. &#8220;I went out there, I won the dunk contest. And then I scored 51 points and broke the record out there. They all just looked at me like &#8212; like I&#8217;m a king or something.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Whether it&#8217;s the highlight dunks, the short shorts, or his blossoming social media presence that reveals a unique and down-to-earth young man, Jalen Green could become a household name sooner than you think.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I just want to be the greatest,&#8221; Green said. &#8220;I love the game. I got a feel for it. Without basketball, my life would be boring, you know? It brings my family close, we enjoy all the traveling and stuff like that. Basketball is fun. I love it, and I just want to be the greatest that could ever play.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fixate-sharebar-bottom-anchor relative\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"fixate-mpu-top-bottom-anchor relative\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"fixate-follow-us-bottom-anchor relative\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Jalen Green Conquered the Pressure of Teenage Celebrity, BY BEING GREAT!!!!! The 19-year-old guard with incredible hops will be a high pick in this year&#8217;s NBA draft, but he&#8217;s been dealing with the spotlight for years already. @JalenGreen On a Saturday afternoon, the Houston Rockets hosted an introductory press conference for Jalen Green, Alperen [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2405,330,11,8,1314,2432,1456,1156,13,2404,2406,14,106,104,187,1,12,7,9,10],"tags":[4543,4597,4598,4599,4596],"class_list":["post-21884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-basketball-sports","category-business","category-entertainment","category-global-business-entrepreneurs","category-global-gamers","category-global-news-updates-and-more","category-global-sports","category-health","category-high-school-sports","category-mbs-hss","category-most-commented","category-nba-sports-news","category-ncaa","category-ncaa-basketball","category-news","category-scitech","category-sports","category-us","category-world","tag-jalengreen","tag-2002-age-19-merced","tag-california-nationality-american-listed-height-6-ft-6-in-1-98-m-listed-weight-180-lb-82-kg-career-information-high-school-san-joaquin-memorial-fresno","tag-california-prolific-prep-napa","tag-jalen-greenjalen-green-cropped-jpg-green-at-the-2019-fiba-under-19-world-cup-houston-rockets-position-shooting-guard-league-nba-personal-information-born-february-9","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}