US-based Filipino combo guard Jalen Green is excited to be taking an unusual path to the NBA, going straight to the NBA G League.
"It's exciting. My family's excited, I'm excited," Green said in an interview with ANC's Migs Bustos Friday. "I think it's really a great path for me. I always wanted to be different."
Joining the G league this soon meant skipping the opportunity to play Division 1 basketball, the traditional route top NBA prospects take, a decision he announced Thursday.
"I think it would be better for my long term goal, better for my development and professional success. The NBA G League will give me the best opportunity for development as an NBA player," Green said.
The 18-year-old, whose mother traces her roots to Ilocos Sur, is ranked No. 3 overall by the 247Sports Composite. He is also the nation's No. 2 combo guard and the No. 2 player in the state of California, per the index.
Following a season in the G League, Green would be eligible for the 2021 NBA Draft.
"I worked a lot since my 6th to 8th grade year, it kept going. I was in the gym, never satisfied still in the grind," Green said.
Aside from improving his game, Green hopes he would be able to elevate his leadership skills through the G League, too.
Green currently busies himself maintaining his fitness while waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to die down.
"I still work outside, running, push ups, pull ups. As of now, no court. I do stretching, getting stronger," he said.
"The most important thing for now is getting stronger, better in training, nutrition."
The reshaped G League program will group elite prospects on one team and pay them each at least $500,000, while serving as a one-year development program before they are eligible to enter the NBA draft.
Per ESPN, the program was bolstered after urging from NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who wanted the G League to interest players that might try to play professionally in Australia, as LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton did this year.
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