One of the more unexpected talking points in the NBA season was Bill Simmons’ unbelievable rant against Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green. Simmons was pushing for Herb Jones to get All-Rookie First team consideration and as a part of that somehow ended up bashing Green, who didn’t deserve the harshness of criticism that was directed at him.
After Simmons’ comments, the likes of Joel Embiid questioned whether the analyst should even have a vote when it comes to NBA awards, stating that his bias was apparent in his comments about Green and that it could harm the perception of the youngster’s career.
And now, Green himself has revealed his initial reaction to hearing that from Simmons, and in doing so has displayed a maturity beyond his years in handling a situation that can be quite difficult to deal with normally for a player his age. And he did so on Bill Simmons’ podcast too:
“When I saw that, I’m like ‘Damn. I don’t know him. What’d I do to him? I don’t know where this is coming from. But everyone’s going to talk. I’m used to seeing things like that, people talking in general, but I ain’t never taking it too personal. I started making a joke out of it on Twitter. Laughed about it. It’s all good’,” said the Rockets star.
Green was quick to call out Simmons after he made it to the All-Rookie First Team too, and overall, it seems like he’s not too worried about what’s said about him. That is an extremely unique quality for a youngster and shows that he has what it takes to make it to the very top.
Green averaged 17.3 points per game in his rookie season and could take the next step next season; he certainly has the talent to do so. And while he seems to have buried the hatchet with Simmons, he has a larger point to prove to all his doubters by becoming a star at the NBA level.
