College basketball prospect Jalen Green will reportedly land a $500,000 deal to skip college and enter the reshaped NBA professional pathway program.
Green, a potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, is the first prospect to choose this NBA/G League pathway.
Five-star prospect Isaiah Todd is also expected to sign an NBA G League deal and join the new Southern California G League team with Green.
“The NBA is the best development system in the world, and those players shouldn’t have to go somewhere else (abroad) to develop for a year. They should be in our development system,” G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim told ESPN.
Green and Todd’s decision signals that the idea of eliminating the one-and-done rule in college basketball is a reality sooner than later.
“It’s going to be a lot of pressure, but at the same time, I think I’ll handle it well,” Green told Yahoo Sports. “I’ve been handling the attention since the ninth grade, so I’m pretty used to it. I got a small circle that keeps my head right. I think I’ll be fine. Hopefully, everything goes right so players can take this route in the future.”
Green announces he’s skipping college to join the G-League:
Here is Green’s mixtape:
