Though he is only 20 years old, Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green showed an impressive sense of maturity in recent weeks when he joined Bill Simmons on a podcast to put an end to an apparent controversy.
On Monday, as part of the 2022 NBA edition of Jimmy Kimmel’s popular “Mean Tweets” segment, Green took it a step further by showing an ability to laugh at a disparaging tweet about him. The segment debuted on ABC’s pregame show prior to Game 5 of the 2022 NBA Finals.
“Jalen Green has the basketball IQ of a baby hamster,” the tweet from a Miami Heat blogger on Dec. 31, 2021 reads.
Even at the time, it was relatively harsh, considering that Green was a 19-year-old NBA rookie. Nonetheless, the 6-foot-6 guard did struggle in his opening weeks in the league, which was to be expected.
Jalen Green has the basketball IQ of a baby hamster
— Silas P. Silas (@Kenny16Techs) January 1, 2022
But he certainly progressed in the calendar year 2022, punctuated by a historic scoring stretch late in the regular season that culminated in Green earning a spot on the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team.
Knowing what we know now, the tweet didn’t age well. But Green continues to show a good sense of humor and was willing to laugh it off. The full segment featuring numerous NBA players can be viewed below.