Jalen Green was widely seen as the number two draft pick, but he feels like he should’ve gone number one, if only he didn’t have to play in Detroit.
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The Rockets rookie was lighting it up in the NBA Summer League before a minor injury concern had the Houston Rockets pull him from all remaining games.
One of his games involved a head to head duel with the number one overall pick, Cade Cunningham, and while both rookies played very well, Green may have had the slight edge in the contest.
Jalen Green Believes He Should’ve Been Drafted Number One Overall
Coming from the NBA’s G-League Ignite program, Green had a lot of hype around him because he was only a 19 year old playing against grown men.
Going away from the traditional ‘one-and-done’ route, Green never played college basketball, unlike Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham. Perhaps, that’s one of the reasons scouts and NBA teams felt like Cade was at the top of their lists and not Jalen Green.
However, Green has admitted he has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to not being selected at the top of the draft board.
However, Green has also recently come out and said that he wouldn’t want to play in a city like Detroit throwing shade at the Pistons and well the city itself.
Unfortunately for Green, he can’t get everything he wants. It’s either being selected number one overall and going to Detroit who hold that pick or playing in a nicer city perhaps (to Green) but going second overall. Ultimately, the decision was never in his hands, and the Pistons did what most people expected them to do.
Cade was sensational in his one year of college, averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.3 three-pointers made and 1.6 steals per game. Meanwhile, in the G-League Ignite program, Green looked like the best player on the court with guys who had legitimate NBA experience as he averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.1 three-pointers made and 1.5 steals.
