Fresno’s Jalen Green more than a basketball standout. Now he’s a trailblazer
Playing one season in college before leaping to the NBA had become the well-worn pathway for elite basketball prospects.
Fresno’s Jalen Green decided to blaze his own trail, and the pipeline for high school standouts such as himself may never be the same.
Bypassing college basketball, Green announced Thursday on Instagram he will join the NBA’s G League for the 2020-21 season before declaring for the 2021 NBA Draft, where he’s a potential No. 1 overall pick. The former San Joaquin Memorial High standout will play for a new G League “select team” in Los Angeles and earn a $500,000 salary, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
While much of the basketball universe expected Green to pick a school – Fresno State was among the finalists – the 18-year-old instead will become the first participant in a reshaped NBA professional pathway program available only to elite talents such as himself.
“It’s a great opportunity for me,” Green told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes. “I could have gone down other paths, but this one right here is leading me to my goal of playing in the NBA. And to make it out of Fresno is a big deal because a lot of people get sidetracked and caught up in stuff.
“But for what I’m doing, I would advise some of the top guys to do the same. If everything works out for me in the G League, I would definitely advise guys to take this approach.”
Since 2005, only basketball players who were out of high school for one year or 19 years old were eligible for the NBA Draft. This led to a wave of top prospects declaring after their freshman seasons of college – the so-called “one-and-dones” – and others who spent a year playing overseas.
Quite the power move by Green
The G League was never really a viable option for elite prep talent because, until Green came along, the maximum salary was $125,000.
Green will earn four times that amount in 2020-21 and can profit from endorsements that are certain to come his way including a seven-figure shoe deal. And he’ll be playing in Los Angeles, on a new team made up of NBA veterans and fellow prospects, rather than on the other side of the world in someplace like Australia, China or Italy.
Quite the power move for a 6-foot-5 shooting guard whose frame and skills draw comparisons to a young Kobe Bryant or Tracy McGrady.
The biggest loser in this scenario is college basketball, which has already suffered a talent drain with more top prospects opting to play a year overseas rather than under the constraints of the NCAA. Now that Green has opened a new avenue, others will surely follow.
Don’t shed tears for NCAA
Just don’t shed any tears for college hoops, because the NCAA largely did this to itself with its overly restrictive amateurism rules.
Green’s deal with the NBA G League reportedly includes a $125,000 college scholarship, to be used whenever he wishes, and life-skills training. His team will play a limited number of games against both G League competition, foreign national teams and international NBA academies.
Green could’ve been a star anywhere. But his decision to skip college basketball and play in the G League could have lasting ramifications on how high school players enter the pros.
