Watch: Jalen Green reloads for a thunderous slam over Jaren Jackson Jr.
Jalen Green is known to be one of the modern-day high flyers in the NBA. While he wasn't able to impress the crowd in the 2022 dunk contest, Green is more than capable of throwing it down on defenders in-game. His explosiveness as a player is one of the reasons why the Houston Rockets keep him around.
Recently, when the Houston Rockets faced the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, Jalen Green posterized Jaren Jackson Jr. The play happened during the final seconds of the third quarter.
Green executed an isolation play then proceeded to slash inside for a monstrous dunk over the Grizzlies big man. Watch Green slam the ball over Jackson Jr. (at timestamp 0:04):
Can Jalen Green reach All-Star level?
Since getting drafted as the second overall pick by the Houston Rockets in 2021, Jalen Green has shown lots of promise as a player. In his rookie season, he averaged 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. At that point, it seemed that Green was going to be great as a player in the years to come.
True enough, Green exceeded his rookie season the following year with better numbers and performances. Last season, the Rockets star boosted his numbers to 22.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, and 3.7 apg.
Many believed that his figures were good enough to be named an All-Star in the near future. However, looking at the way he's been playing this year, that could be a stretch.
So far, Green hasn't exactly been playing the way he did last year. His shooting percentage dropped to the 30s range with 39.5%. While Green has carried the Rockets for the most part, his game hasn't been consistent either.
Whenever he performs exceptionally on a certain night, come the following game, it's like he loses all of his powers for some weird reason. He then comes back strong the next game and repeats the same pattern.
Nevertheless, it's unlikely that Jalen Green will be named an All-Star anytime soon, considering the way he has performed so far. However, that doesn't mean that it's too late for him.
Considering how the Rockets don't have a superstar-caliber player on the team, Green has the opportunity to prove that he can be the team's go-to guy.