Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green called out Bill Simmons of The Ringer on social media after earning a place on the NBA All-Rookie first team on Wednesday.
Of course, Simmons made headlines after profanely revealing he did not vote Green to the first team on his end-of-season awards ballot. He felt as though there were some more deserving candidates and instead voted for Herb Jones since the New Orleans Pelicans made the playoffs.
“(Expletive) Jalen Green!” Simmons said on April 13. “I don’t care you’re scoring 40 points and your team is 19-60. Congratulations. Herb Jones is guarding dudes in real games. Now, the Houston people are going to be mad at me. I’m sorry. I like winning players, I’m sorry. Jalen Green will get there, it’s just that team was 21-61 this year or whatever.”
Green was among the five players named to the first team, receiving 58 first-team votes and 42 second-team votes for 158 total points. He was the fifth-leading vote-getter in the final tally, topping the 123 points received by Jones, who headlined the second team.
Certainly, Green turned in a strong campaign with the Rockets and was rewarded for it accordingly. Once the voting results were announced, Green wasted no time calling out Simmons.
shoutout bill simmons my dawg fr🙏🏽
— Jalen Green🤍 (@JalenGreen) May 19, 2022
The comments by Simmons were understandably not received well by Rockets fans and The Ringer personality was roughed up on social media, as a result. Simmons addressed the backlash and downplayed the situation, adding that the comments were in jest.
Since Simmons’ initial rant, former All-Star Gilbert Arenas and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green were among those to weigh in and defend Green. Last week, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid joined them in speaking out against Simmons.
In the end, though, Simmons’ vote didn’t prevent Green from a first-team selection but it certainly created a discussion on the entire voting process and changes could be on the way.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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