Jalen Green‘s first season with the Suns has been a washout due to a right hamstring strain. That could soon change.
Suns coach Jordan Ott said of Green “he’s there” in terms of returning from the injury that has limited him to two games this season, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports.
“We’ll just keep it moving in the right direction, but he’s taking steps every day,” Ott said. “Continue to assess, but he’s moving in the right direction.”
Green participated in a 5-on-5 scrimmage during the team’s morning shootaround on Tuesday.
“Being out for so long, we’re going to be as cautious as we can, but knowing that he’s itching to get back out there,” Ott said.
Green won”t play against the Pistons on Thursday during their current six-game road trip. He’s expected to return at some point during the trip. Phoenix plays the Knicks on Saturday and the Nets on Monday. The road trip winds down with games against the Sixers on Tuesday and the Hawks on Jan. 23.
The hamstring has been an ongoing problem in 2025/26 for Green, who initially suffered a strain early in training camp, then aggravated it during his ramp-up process in mid-October. The 23-year-old sat out the first eight games of the regular season, played 23 minutes in his debut in early November, then aggravated the injury again a couple days later about seven minutes into his second game.
On Dec. 22, the Suns provided an update that indicated Green would miss at least 2-3 more weeks.
Green was traded from Houston to Phoenix over the summer as part of the Kevin Durant mega-deal. He’s earning about $33.6MM in ’25/26 in the first season of a three-year, $105MM rookie scale extension that includes a $36MM player option for the ’27/28 campaign.
Green will provide another big-time scoring option for the surprising Suns, who are 24-16 after falling to Miami on Tuesday. He averaged 21 points and 3.4 assists in his final season with Houston.
Above average player. Good to see the Suns winning but this dude ain’t helping win championships