The NBA announced the All-Rookie teams for the 2021-22 regular season earlier today and it was an interesting mix of 10 players selected for both the teams. The first team featured Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Franz Wagner, Scottie Barnes, and Evan Mobley. The second team was made up of Josh Giddey, Ayo Dosunmu, Chris Duarte, Bones Hyland, and Herbert Jones.
Green’s selection on the first-team has raised some eyebrows due to his inconsistent play all season long. Many analysts had Herb Jones making it over him for his extremely impactful 3-and-D play for the New Orleans Pelicans and their push for the playoffs. Green was knocked for having empty and inefficient stats for the worst team in the league.
This is a criticism Bill Simmons brought out earlier in the season and received a ton of backlash for after he said ‘f**k Jalen Green‘, on his show. However, Green has gotten his revenge by making the team over Simmons’ choice, Herb Jones.
shoutout bill simmons my dawg fr🙏🏽
— Jalen Green🤍 (@JalenGreen) May 19, 2022
The case for Green as compared to Herb Jones or Josh Giddey is a controversial one. While Giddey and Jones were more solid and reliable, Green had flashes of super-stardom. He was sensational in the final month of the season and ended his rookie year with a 41-point performance, en route to winning Rookie of the Month in April.
Rookie teams are meant to be a reflection of performance during the season and not a projection of the ceiling the player has. Green is trending to one day be a super versatile scorer, but this season had its rookie bumps for him.
— josh giddey (@joshgiddey) May 19, 2022
Ultimately, the voters decided to put Green on this list, which anyway is subjective. Giddey and Jones can feel motivated by this snub if they need more fuel to come out and be better next season.
All three players are in the Western Conference, so it will be fun to see how they all develop into their sophomore years.
