The 2021 NBA Draft is shaping up to have of the most talented classes of the past 25 years. Evan Mobley is playing like a generational big man prospect, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. Cade Cunningham looks closer and closer to the heliocentric ball handler many thought he could be before the draft. Scottie Barnes is making the Raptors front office look really smart for taking him above Jalen Suggs. In addition, Josh Giddey, Franz Wagner, and Alperen Sengun have all made compelling cases to be the steals of draft. As he passes over the 30-game mark of his career, it's now worth discussing how second overall pick Jalen Green has looked for the Rockets this season.

Jalen Green Rookie Season Grade So Far

Grade: C+/B-

Not many people have talked about Jalen Green this season on the national level and that's because his rookie season hasn't really been noteworthy, in a good or bad way.  Coming off his hot Summer League performance, many had Green penciled in as the favorite for Rookie of the Year. And in reality, if you were to run a computer simulation of all of the rookie seasons Green could have possibly had, what's happening now is probably his median outcome. Rookie of the Year is an award reserved for players that hit the high end of these simulations.

It's perfectly okay to predict that a player will win the award, but having it as an expectation is unfair. Green also was never going to have the usage rate to compete for that award. Christian Wood, Eric Gordon, and Kevin Porter Jr. were always going to have the ball more than him. If you had your expectations that high, you were setting yourself up for disappointment with Green this season.

On the whole, Green has been fine. He's shown enough flashes to prove he has the capability to be a high-level scorer one day, he's making good interior reads as a secondary ball-handler, and he's not a good defender. He's probably a tad less polished as a scorer than anticipated, but the unexpected playmaking chops makes up for it. The lightning quick step, the shiftiness off the dribble, the transition ability, and off-ball movement is all there. Jalen Green is about the same level of tantalizing package he was when Houston selected him at number two.

The strength is a real problem for Green right now. He's got to get significantly stronger and bulkier if he wants to make significant strides on both ends of the floor. Defensively, he stands no chance against bigger wings or switches where he may have to defend a post-up. To be clear, his biggest weakness defensively is lateral quickness and awareness right now, but strength will go a long way.

Offensively, it's preventing him from finishing at the basket strong. He's actually leaned away from contact driving to the rim on most occasions. It'll also help his ball handling as you'll sometimes see defenders muscle the ball away from him as he's trying to split a double team or make a first step to the basket. Ball handling in general is something he needs to also tighten up.

It'll be interesting to see if he can get to the point as a passer where he's spraying the ball to shooters instead of mostly big men like he is right now. That's a very hard skill to develop, but we've seen it happen before in the NBA. In general, his moments of overpassing make it pretty clear that he's not going to become this selfish player with blinders when he's trying to score.

Overall, the biggest point of contention you may have is others in Green's class have exceeded expectations, making him look worse by comparison. Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes in particular are lapping the field as rookies. However, it's always easier to criticize executives in hindsight for decisions that seem obvious now. Few people had Barnes on their board ahead of Green and almost nobody who had Mobley over Jalen Green thought it was a no-brainer selection. It was a defensible pick then and so far, it remains a defensible pick.

For more context, let's look at how JalenGreen compares to other rookies of his mould.

Shooting guard prospects this decade (per 36 minutes over first 30 games)

Bradley Beal (2012-13):

15.0 PPG

4.2 RPG

3.0 APG

46.5% True Shooting

1.70 Assist/Turnover

22.5% Usage Rate

-12.3 Net Rating

Zach LaVine (2014-15):

12.4 PPG

3.3 RPG

5.3 APG

47.3% True Shooting

1.56 Assist/Turnover

15.6% Usage Rate

-17.4 Net Rating

Devin Booker (2015-16):

14.7 PPG

2.8 RPG

2.2 APG

60.8% True Shooting

1.15 Assist/Turnover

16.7% Usage Rate

-4.5 Net Rating

Anthony Edwards (2020-21):

18.2 PPG

4.7 RPG

3.1 APG

47.1% True Shooting

1.55 Assist/Turnover

24.3% Usage Rate

-7.6 Net Rating

Jalen Green (2021-22)

17.9 PPG

3.9 RPG

2.7 APG

52.4% True Shooting

0.91 Assists/Turnover

23.2% Usage Rate

-17.4 Net Rating

As you can see, other than the turnovers, Jalen Green compares just fine to his respective peers at similar points in their career. He's actually more efficient scoring the ball than everyone on the list other than Devin Booker (ridiculous first 30 games). And for those complaining about Green's opportunities, he has a higher usage than everyone but Anthony Edwards last season. Green will eventually need to get to the gold standard of 55+ percent true shooting, but that may take a couple seasons. He's starting in a nice spot right now.

If you were to describe Green's rookie year in one word, it's probably “expected”. We've seen highs and lows from Green, but it's met in this middle ground that may make fans anxious or uncomfortable, but ultimately leave you feeling okay if you're a talent evaluator in Houston's front office. We've yet to see the best from Jalen Green and that's perfectly fine.