{"id":131271,"date":"2025-03-28T11:28:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T15:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=131271"},"modified":"2025-03-31T08:36:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T12:36:57","slug":"rockets-jalen-green-hall-of-famers-latest-feat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/28\/rockets-jalen-green-hall-of-famers-latest-feat\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockets Cornerstone&#8217;s Latest Feat Hall Of Fame Level"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>During the Houston Rockets takedown of the Utah Jazz, fans that were watching the broadcast may have noticed a brow-raising graphic.<\/p>\n<p>The focal point?<\/p>\n<h2>Rockets\u2019 Jalen Green \u00a0Joins Hall Of Famers With Latest Feat<\/h2>\n<p>Rockets young cornerstone <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greenja05.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Green<\/a>, who signed <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/21\/rockets-sign-jalen-green-first-kind-contract-extension\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a unique contract extension<\/a> last offseason. The second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Green is now the sixth youngest player (23 years, 46 days) to record 6,000+ points, 1,200+ rebounds, and 1,000+ assists since 1976-77.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This is ridiculous company for Jalen Green.<\/p>\n<p>6th youngest player since the Merger to join this group. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7RveRO76FP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/7RveRO76FP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BradeauxNBA\/status\/1905463517760602286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Among the eight players listed, two have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bryanko01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kobe Bryant<\/a> (22 years, 205 days) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcgratr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tracy McGrady<\/a> (22 years, 320 days).<\/p>\n<p>The five remaining players are all active.<\/p>\n<p>Los Angeles Lakers teammates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a> (21 years, 89 days) and Milwaukee Bucks leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> (23 years, 54 years) already have foolproof Hall of Fame cases. Lakers point guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka Doncic<\/a> (22 years, 335 days), Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/edwaran01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Edwards<\/a> (22 years, 177 days), and Phoenix Suns shooting guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bookede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Devin Booker<\/a> (23 years, 132 days) may not be shoo-ins for that honor yet but they\u2019re on the right trajectory.<\/p>\n<p>That said, Green\u2019s resume isn\u2019t on their level.<\/p>\n<h3>Jalen Green\u2019s Resume<\/h3>\n<p>Green was selected for the All-Rookie first team, which can\u2019t be downplayed. In a class that included Rockets teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sengual01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alperen Sengun<\/a>, Detroit Pistons point guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/cunnica01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cade Cunningham<\/a>, Cleveland Cavaliers big man <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mobleev01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Mobley<\/a>, Toronto Raptors point-forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/barnesc01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scottie Barnes<\/a>, and Orlando Magic wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wagnefr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Franz Wagner<\/a>, he could have easily missed the cut. Like him, each of the aforementioned players are regarded as star-caliber building blocks for their respective teams.<\/p>\n<p>As a rookie, he was invited to the 2022 Slam Dunk Contest. He was selected to participate in the Rising Stars game as a sophomore. Green has yet to participate in All-Star Weekend as an actual All-Star though. As he\u2019s in just his fourth season, that isn\u2019t necessarily problematic. Nevertheless, until he does, there cant\u2019 be a discussion about much else.<\/p>\n<h3>Tectonic Plates<\/h3>\n<p>A superior athlete, Green could probably play for another 15 years, especially if he stays healthy. As he gets closer to his mid-to-late 20s, the theoretical prime of a player\u2019s career, he could start racking up the accolades.<\/p>\n<p>To that point, there are several players that could retire or decline within the next five years. James, Suns forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a>, and Golden State Warriors guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/curryst01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stephen Curry<\/a> are the first players that come to mind. The three Olympians \u2014Zeus, Poseidon, and Apollo \u2014have been peppered with questions about <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/26\/lakers-lebron-james-how-know-retire\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">when they\u2019ll hang it up<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Los Angeles Clippers guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a>, 35, is another perennial All-Star who could retire by that time. Dallas Mavericks guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/irvinky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyrie Irving<\/a> (33) and Philadelphia 76ers center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/embiijo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joel Embiid<\/a> (31) are among those whose play could begin to decline due to age and injury.<\/p>\n<p>That much shift in the NBA landscape could certainly benefit Green.<\/p>\n<h3>Upward Trajectory<\/h3>\n<p>With Rockets head coach Ime Udoka pushing him, Green is reading the floor better, making his presence felt defensively, and committed to crashing the glass. There\u2019s still a little too much variance in his shot-making, likely due to his shot difficulty. All the same, his stats and his tape are that of a high-quality player.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024-25, Green\u2019s averaging a team-high 21.5 points per game. He&#8217;s also averaging a career-high in rebounds (4.7) and steals per game (0.9). Speaking of his defense, he&#8217;s holding opponents to <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/players\/isolation?TypeGrouping=defensive&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=TEAM_ABBREVIATION\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">43.8 percent shooting from the field<\/a> on isos. For the third consecutive season, he&#8217;s averaged at least three assists per game.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ll stop there. But just think, he&#8217;s only scratching the surface of his potential..<\/p>\n<div class=\"modal-image-setImageMetadata\">\n<p class=\"ng-binding\">\u00a9 Rob Gray-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the Houston Rockets takedown of the Utah Jazz, fans that were watching the broadcast may have noticed a brow-raising graphic. The focal point? Rockets\u2019 Jalen Green \u00a0Joins Hall Of Famers With Latest Feat Rockets young cornerstone Jalen Green, who signed a unique contract extension last offseason. The second overall pick in the 2021 NBA [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":131279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31,1608,26,62,3],"tags":[3256,551,38,1199],"class_list":["post-131271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rockets","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","tag-jalen-green","tag-kobe-bryant","tag-lebron-james","tag-tracy-mcgrady"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131271"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131867,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131271\/revisions\/131867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}