Rockets' Jalen Green Ranks Ninth on HoopsHype's Shooting Guard List

Green seems to be trending in the right direction.

Apr 9, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) warms up prior to the game against the Orlando Magic at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Jalen Green has become one of the league's more polarizing players. The Houston Rockets scoring guard is admired by his fans, who marvel at his athleticism.

By the same token, Green has skeptics who point out his scoring inefficiency, while also bringing up his inconsistency, the latter of which would be agreed upon by both his fans and naysayers.

Last season, Green took a leap, even earning consideration for Western Conference Player of the Month, averaging 28.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 49.2 percent from the field, and 40.8 percent from deep in 15 games.

So where exactly does Green rank among the league’s best players at his position? According to HoopsHype's Frank Urbina, Green ranks as the league's ninth-best shooting guard, as he explained. 

"One of the big question marks in the NBA. Former No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green looked like a max player for a stretch of games late in the season. 

Green eventually cooled off as the Houston Rockets missed the Play-In Tournament but even so, it was a very impressive – and important – stretch for the G League Ignite product, who played some of the best basketball of his career during that hot run.

And yet, Houston still opted not to extend him this summer. And we still have mounds of evidence that Green, a career 42.1 percent shooter from the floor, isn’t all that efficient of a player.

[We] think he might be able to tap into that efficient stretch from late last season more often in 2024-25. After all, he’s an explosive athlete with good length and skill – he just needs to get much more adept with his scoring to truly take the next step."

Just a year ago, Urbina ranked Green 12th among shooting guards, so Green seems to be trending in the right direction. And with the motivation of a contract extension, Green could possibly catapult himself even further.

It'll all come down to how he starts the season, as usual.

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