When the Suns acquired Jalen Green from the Houston Rockets this past summer, most people understood the profile of the player they were getting. The strengths were clear. The efficiencies, or lack thereof, were part of the conversation as well. The scouting report had already been written in many ways. One thing not written in that report was the intangibles.
Green feels like the kind of teammate people naturally rally around. He celebrates the success of others, he brings energy to the floor, and
he connects with the group in a way that becomes noticeable over time. Those are the types of players fans tend to root for. At some level, everyone hopes to be that kind of teammate. The person who lifts the room, adds motivation, and helps move the mission forward. We should all want to be a Jalen Green-type of co-worker in your office.
This season has not been easy for him. For the first time in his career, he dealt with an injury that impacted his greatest weapon. Speed has always been his superpower. It is what allows him to break defenses down, collapse the paint, and create chaos in transition. When that element of his game became limited, it clearly shook his confidence.
Over time, the bounce has begun to return. The movement looks a little more fluid, the bursts downhill feel sharper, and the spring in his step is slowly coming back.
The percentages, though, have taken longer to follow.
The last time I wrote about Jalen Green, I mentioned that at some point the numbers would have to move back toward the mean. Or at least I hoped they would. I do not believe there is a version of reality where he settles in as a 26% three-point shooter over the long term. The sample size tells part of the story. The other part comes from circumstance. He entered the season while most players around the league were already in rhythm, while he was still trying to find his legs and rebuild confidence after the injury. Those are real factors when it comes to late-season productivity for someone just starting their season.
The hope has always been that progression would arrive eventually. That he would settle into the role Phoenix needs him to play and start contributing in a way that matches his skill set. Because of that, there has not been any overreaction to the numbers. Just reaction. It has been more about documenting the progression throughout the season. Early on, that progression looked like regression. The shots were not falling, and the rhythm was missing.
Over the past two games, though, there have been signs that things are starting to click. Green looks more comfortable on the floor. The spacing makes more sense to him. The timing of when to attack and when to move the ball appears clearer. It certainly helps having Devin Booker on the floor, the adult in the room who understands exactly where players need the ball in order to succeed. Booker knows when to deliver it and where to place it. Green’s job is to take those opportunities and finish them.
That was not the case in the game against Chicago. He had a layup that would have sealed the win for Phoenix, and it slipped away. The opportunity was there, though, which is part of the larger story. The chances are beginning to appear more often.
As Green noted after the game, “I saw a lane and just took it. We had some good ball movement off of it. Yeah, just missing shots I normally make right now.”
“Just keep shooting, keep working, staying in the gym,” he added. “That’s all I can do.”
Since then, against the New Orleans Pelicans and the Charlotte Hornets, Green has started to look far more comfortable. Over those two games, he is averaging 24.5 points, doing so on 44.4% from the field and 36.8% from beyond the arc. Add in 4.5 rebounds, and you have a well-rounded pair of performances, the kind that signal progress.
His first half against Charlotte might have been the best stretch of basketball we have seen from him since arriving in Phoenix. Yes, he scored 16 points in the first half of his Suns debut on November 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers, although that night required 6-of-13 shooting to get there. On Sunday night, he needed far fewer attempts. Green went 7-of-11 from the field and 4-of-7 from deep, pouring in 20 points before the break.
It was the most comfortable he has looked in a Suns uniform. The drives came with purpose, the finishes around the rim carried confidence, and the touch on the perimeter looked natural. Some of those buckets required real craft. One possession featured a smooth up and under around the defender at the rim. The three-point shot looked decisive, and the aggression attacking the cylinder never disappeared.
The second half was not nearly as smooth for Green. He went 1-of-8 from the field and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc, finishing the half with four points. The scoring cooled off, although he still found ways to impact the game. He grabbed three rebounds, handed out a couple of assists, and picked up a steal. The offensive rhythm may have disappeared, although the effort showed up in other areas.
That matters for his development in Phoenix.
Within the structure of this Suns team, the question always becomes the same. How can you impact the game in a positive way? There will be stretches where scoring takes center stage. But this roster leans heavily into defense. Effort on that end carries real value. When you commit to that side of the floor, the offense tends to reward you later. You can see that in the way players like Dillon Brooks and Jordan Goodwin operate. Both built their role through defense, energy, and disruption. The offensive opportunities followed because of that commitment.
We still have a long road ahead when it comes to understanding who Jalen Green will become within the structure of this team. There may not even be enough games left this season to gather a complete evaluation before the offseason arrives. Although the past couple of games offered something valuable. They offered a glimpse. Not the idea that he will suddenly transform into some hyper-efficient scorer. The hope is simpler than that. The hope is that he becomes a player who contributes to winning basketball in Phoenix.
It is also hard not to enjoy the athletic element he brings to the floor. There is something refreshing about having a guard who can explode toward the rim, someone you can throw a lob to and watch him rise up and hammer it home. That has not been a common feature in Phoenix for a long time. You probably have to rewind the tape back to Gerald Green to find the last time that kind of vertical pop lived in the guard rotation.
Any contribution that pushes this team toward winning deserves recognition. But this is not a full love letter. I save those for Rasheer Fleming. It is a reaction to what we have seen over the past couple of games. The process remains the same. Watch. Observe. Take notes on how his progression and integration into the Phoenix Suns system continues to unfold. Because when the offseason arrives, and the conversations begin about the next steps for this franchise, it helps to understand which options are sitting on the table. Jalen Green is one of those options.
The next step for Green is understanding that he does not need to carry the same offensive burden he once did in Houston. Phoenix operates differently. The job here is to make winning plays. Sometimes that means scoring. Sometimes it means moving the ball, defending with purpose, or attacking the rim at the right moment. The key is timing.
And if he continues to learn when those moments arrive, his role in Phoenix will begin to make a lot more sense.
