In a new ranking of shooting guards from across the NBA, HoopsHype ranks second-year Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green as No. 15 in the league entering the 2022-23 season. The rankings were tallied based on a voting panel of staff members.
However, the panel believes further growth is certainly possible — if not likely — based on the historic scoring stretch from Green at the conclusion of his 2021-22 rookie season. From Frank Urbina:
The second overall pick in the 2021 draft, Jalen Green did not disappoint in his rookie season, averaging 17.3 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 42.6% from the floor.
Sure, he was a bit streaky, but it’s beyond promising that the G League Ignite product improved steadily as the season progressed, flashing his scoring from deep, the midrange, and the basket area to go with his explosive athleticism.
From February through the end of the year, Green’s numbers saw a noteworthy uptick to 20.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists on, most importantly, tidy 47.4/39.3/75.5 shooting splits. That was a 32-game sample size, by the way, by no means a small number, and if the athletic Green is able to carry that over in 2022-23, he’ll outpace his place on this list with ease.
For perspective, Green was placed just ahead of Portland’s Anfernee Simons, Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort, Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Philadelphia’s Seth Curry. On the other side, Green was ranked narrowly behind Toronto’s Gary Trent Jr., Golden State’s Klay Thompson, Miami’s Tyler Herro, and Golden State’s Jordan Poole.
The complete shooting guard list is available below. The Rockets did not have any representatives on HoopsHype’s top-25 lists for point guards and small forwards entering the 2022-23 season, while lists for power forwards and centers have yet to be published. Stay tuned!
Our @hoopshype staff ranked the Top 25 NBA shooting guards. Below is the full list. https://t.co/nwYleyFwf2
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) August 3, 2022
