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Jalen Green is back. After a long hamstring rehab, he made an immediate impact in his first game with the Suns.
For Suns guard Jalen Green, the long road back onto the court finally reached its first checkpoint Tuesday night and the early returns were encouraging.
After spending nearly two months sidelined with a lingering right hamstring strain, Green made his return to the Phoenix Suns’ lineup in a 116-110 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Used off the bench for the first time in his five-year NBA career, Green delivered 12 points, two rebounds, and three assists in 20 minutes, providing a glimpse of the speed, pressure, and playmaking Phoenix has been missing.
More than anything, his return added another dimension to a Suns team that has already found ways to win without him.
A Careful Comeback After a Frustrating Injury
Green’s absence traces back to training camp, when he first suffered the right hamstring strain. The issue lingered into preseason, where he experienced a setback during Phoenix’s trip to China. Though he eventually returned on Nov. 6, the comeback was short-lived.
Green played just two games before aggravating the injury again, including a dominant 29-point performance in only 23 minutes in his season debut, before re-injuring the hamstring seven minutes into the following contest. What followed was a cautious, extended rehab process that stretched well beyond initial expectations.
Despite reports that Green hoped to return around Christmas, the Suns opted to take a conservative approach. Their success in the standings allowed them to prioritize long-term health over urgency. That patience paid off Tuesday.
“You could feel his ability to get downhill to the rim, into the paint,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said after the game. “Thought he made a lot of good downhill drives where he finished or tried to find a teammate. Just good to have him out there. It’s like his joy is back.”
Immediate Impact in a New Role
Coming off the bench, Green wasted little time making his presence felt.
He scored seven points in nine first-half minutes and finished the night shooting 4-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. While the numbers were solid, it was his rim pressure and pace that stood out most, traits Phoenix has been eager to reintegrate.
Green’s teammate and All-Star backcourt mate Devin Booker saw it clearly.
“Man, I’m excited for him,” Booker said in the postgame press conference. “He’s been with us through the whole process. We’ve been watching him grind. He looked good to me. He’s fast. He can make plays for other people and he gives us another presence in the paint. The speed is there.”
That speed has long been Green’s calling card. Acquired from the Houston Rockets in the blockbuster summer deal that sent Kevin Durant to Houston, Green arrived in Phoenix fresh off a breakout season in which he averaged 21 points per game as the leading scorer for one of the Western Conference’s top teams.
Tuesday wasn’t about reclaiming that role. It was about reintroducing himself and doing so within a system that has already found rhythm.
What Green Adds as the Suns Push Forward
Phoenix’s win over Philadelphia improved the Suns to 27-17, currently holding the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Even without Green, they’ve proven capable of stacking wins. With him, their ceiling rises.
“I just think we just continue to get better,” Ott said. “Even when it doesn’t feel great, we find ways to win. We’re implementing a big piece on the fly here and I thought even though the end of the game didn’t feel great, but we’ll learn from that.”
For Green, the moment was simpler and deeply personal.
“Felt good,” Green said. “The process was a long process. Shoutout to the training staff, my teammates, the whole organization for real, just sticking with me, supporting me. The process has been long. It felt good to get back out there.”
Phoenix didn’t need a takeover performance. It needed Green healthy, confident, and explosive and on his first night back, he checked all three boxes.