Jalen Green – SG – G-League/19 – 6’6”, 186 lbs
Jalen Green is one of my favorite draft prospects in this year’s draft for many reasons, but let’s talk about his athleticism first. Not many people know about Green since he decided to skip going to college and was one of the young talents that helped form Team Ignite in the G-League this year, but man can this kid play!
The 19-year-old guard is arguably the greatest athlete in this year’s draft class and with his ability to soar over opponents to the rim, he will see major minutes with any teams in this league. It will be hard to keep this kid off of the court because of his ability to challenge literally anybody on the court.
In the G-League, Green mainly acted as his team’s primary ball-handler, but he has the ability to play on or off-the-ball, which will likely result in him being a shooting guard in the NBA. Not only does the young guard play well above the rim, but he’s outside shooting is also something that has impressed a lot of scouts over the months.
In 15 G-League games this year, Jalen Green averaged 17.9 points per game and shot 36.5% from three-point range. He is a really good playmaker, but because of his high motor and score-first mentality, he can be turnover prone at times. This is an easy fix though, especially if he is not the one having the ball up the court every possession.
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An easy comparison for Jalen Green just based on size and athleticism is this past year’s #1 overall pick Anthony Edwards. Green is probably a better overall athlete than Edwards, but they both share that mindset that they can score against anybody they play and they are always aggressive in their pursuit to score.
Where Jalen Green gets drafted really depends on who is picking where in the top-5 of this year’s draft, but there is no argument that can be made to say that Green is not one of the most talented players in this year’s draft class.
