On August 14, 2024, I published my very first piece for the Dream Shake. The title... “Jalen Green could be walking the footsteps on an NBA legend”. In that piece, I shared comparisons of Jalen Green’s first three seasons in the NBA with that of Kobe Bryant. I recommend you go back and read that piece. For my first, it wasn’t bad if I may say so myself. The real entertainment is in the comment section however, because I got ROASTED.
Before we get into the nuances of Jalen Green’s 2024-2025 season, let’s just look at the raw numbers. In 82 regular season games played Jalen averaged 21 points-per-game, 4.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists on 42.3 percent shooting from the field, including 35.4 percent from three. In short, Jalen Green was what he has been, as those number nearly mimic his career averages. A skeptic would argue that he hasn’t improved, and optimist would say he’s been more consistent, and the biggest difference is that he put these numbers together for a 52-win playoff basketball team.
Jalen Green showed much more consistency this regular season. Did he have his share of bad games? Yes. However, those stretches were much fewer and farther between. One of Jalen’s most vital abilities has been his availability. For the second consecutive season, Jalen Green played all 82 games. In 2024-2025, a season that saw multiple key Rockets players miss time with injury, this was invaluable to say the least. There is little doubt that the Rockets likely don’t win 52 games and finish with the fourth-best league record without Jalen Green, who led the team in scoring, recording 14 games of 30 or more points, and one 40+ point game.
Now we may address the elephant in the room. In what were the seven biggest games of his young career, Jalen Green was not good. He averaged 13.3 points-per-game, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 37.2 percent shooting, including a dismal 29.5 percent from the three-point line and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line in the NBA Playoffs. All far lower than his regular season and career numbers. We can’t ignore that it is a singular 38-point performance in Game 2 that even makes the numbers look as “good” as they are. Jalen was not good. He described his play himself as “straight sh*t”.
So it’s settled then, right? Jalen Green’s career is cooked, he’s finished as a member of the Rockets, it’s time for them to move on. In fact, they should have moved on last season before giving him a contract extension... right?
I’m going to echo the same sentiment I did in my first TDS piece. What were you doing when you were 23. Were you at the top of your profession? Did you hit the ground running on everything you did with no speed bumps along the way? “Nick... I’m not an NBA player making millions of dollars to play basketball.” I hear you. “This was Sengun’s first playoffs too, and he didn’t struggle like Jalen. Again, I hear you. Now, hear me if you will?
Jalen Green is today’s equivalent of what coming straight out of high school would have looked like in the late ‘90s to mid 2000s. The now defunct G-League Ignite proved to be a failure in preparing high school kids who wanted to forgo college to play in NBA. Jalen Green came into the NBA on a team with no structure, no discipline, and no veteran leadership. These are not excuses for Jalen, just facts. He isn’t the first player to struggle in his first playoff series, and he won’t be the last.
While his situation is similar to Amen Thompson, who showed brilliance at times in the playoffs, Amen came into a much more structured environment that is conducive to accountability and development. Jalen has improved in his overall game in this same environment, but he still has much needed growth. The good news for him is he is 23 years old. With all due respect to Amen Thompson, he did not face the type of defensive pressure or strategy that Jalen Green did, because Jalen Green’s skillset is very different.
In many ways, as Ime Udoka pointed out to the media in his interview after the series was over, it was a sign of respect that the Warriors defended Jalen the way that they did. In the single game they played more straight up man-to-man, he cooked them for 38 and the Rockets cruised to victory. The Warriors have far too much experience to not adjust, so now the onus is on Jalen Green to make his adjustments in the offseason.
It’s often said if you want to truly know who someone is, listen to what their peers say about them. There is no one who will deny Jalen’s talent and desire to be great, and his teammates, coaches, and GM know what his potential is. The only question is will his work ethic and discipline match that desire to be great? I’m sorry, Rockets fans, but to believe that question has been answered at the age of 23 is just flawed thinking. The Rockets are a young team with as core that is still developing. Jalen Green is not the single piece keeping them from being a championship team. He is a crucial piece to the vision Tilman Fertitta laid out when he bought the team.
There are no shortcuts to greatness. Kobe Bryant averaged 8.2 points per game in around 14 minutes per game in his first year in the playoffs. Aside from one or two impressive performances, he was not good, famously shooting four airballs late in an elimination game against the Utah Jazz. As I stated in my very first piece, I lived in Los Angeles at the beginning of Kobe’s career, and fans were frustrated.
I believe the NBA in general in addition to the fans have become much less patient in this age of free-agent empowerment and forming of “super teams”. However, I want to remind the readers of The Dream Shake that the Houston Rockets have attempted to build a championship roster in every way possible. They have drafted young stars and developed them, they have traded assets for stars that other teams drafted, and they have traded or signed aging stars past their prime in a last-ditch effort to get them over the top. The only strategy that hung two banners in the rafters of The Summit / Compaq Center that now hang in Toyota center, was to draft their own stars and develop them.
I’ve seen more “trade Jalen Green” sentiment and proposals than I can count. If Jalen wants to be truly great, he needs to understand that heavy is the head that wears the crown. it comes with the territory. He must embrace it and use it as fuel. He doesn’t have to be Kobe. If he becomes the best version of Jalen Green, then all the Rockets patience will be well rewarded. Stay tuned.