NBA G League sensation Jalen Green became the second overall pick Thursday in the NBA draft after being selected by the Houston Rockets.
“[Green] is a transcendent athlete,” Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said Thursday to SI. He runs faster than people and he’s athletic in a super functional way. … We think that combination of tools makes him an extraordinarily exciting prospect.”
Rappler reports his mother is from Ilocos Sur and his maternal grandfather is a full-blooded Filipino.
Green made his first visit to the Philippines in 2018 for a tournament.
“I know for myself how big that is and how much I’m representing the Philippines,” said Green.
He is expected to sign a contract worthy anywhere from six to nine million dollars in his first year.
Last year he decided to skip college and go directly to the NBA’s G League.
Recently he returned to his home base of Fresno, CA to attend the renovation of his childhood playground.
“It’s surreal in a way,” Green said at Koligian Park to ABC30. “I didn’t expect to be here. I came from nothing. I wasn’t even a basketball player in the beginning. It’s a blessing, that’s all I can say.”
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