NBA Draft: Jalen Green should get consideration for No. 1 overall

Jalen Green should get consideration for No. 1 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Since the end of the 2020–21 college basketball season, there are three names that have sat atop most big boards and mock drafts heading into the 2021 NBA draft. Those three names are Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, and Evan Mobley.

However, as we inch closer and closer to the official pre-draft process, I can’t help but think we’re leaving out one name out of the consensus top of this draft: Jalen Green.

Green has almost emerged as a forgotten prospect on top of this year‘s class and has to be considered an underrated prospect at this point. If a team is going to be able to grab Green out of the top three and potentially at No. 5 overall, there’s a chance Green could end up being the best bargain pick in the top 10.

Get to know the name Jalen Green ahead of the 2021 NBA Draft

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Part of it is that, simply put, not many are familiar with Green. After all, he elected to forgo college and play in the G League this season. Quite frankly, I’m not sure many casual fans are watching G League basketball. Even less so in the middle of a global pandemic.

Either way, that’s one big reason why Green hasn’t made the jump up draft boards early on as many with his measurables and skill set would.

Green is a 6-foot-5 guard that is considered a great athlete, a work in progress (to a certain extent) on both ends of the floor and has to fine-tune his raw skills to be a star at the next level. Still, amid all that, he managed to average 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Green jumps off the screen when watching him play and it’s clear that he sticks out in the midst of a talented draft class. You can’t help but wonder had he had elected to play in college (over the G League) if he’d be in considering to be the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s class.

Nevertheless, Green is going to be a steal outside the top 3. He may not have the collegiate or post-high school accolades that some of the other players in this draft have, but there’s no question that he has the potential and ability to be a star at the next level.

As the pre-draft process quickly approaches, depending on what Green elects to participate in, I believe he’s the type of player that is only going to impress teams more and more. He was the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2020 high school class and many need a reminder of why.

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I’d have to imagine that there’s a good chance Green moves up the draft boards and possibly into the top 3 between now and the NBA Draft. It’s unlikely that he unseats Cunningham as somewhat of the consensus No. 1 pick, but he’s the type of talent that, at the very least, will have teams thinking hard.