In what is known informally as the NBA’s “load management” era, it’s quite rare for a player to participate in all 82 games of a season.
For example, when Tari Eason did it for the Houston Rockets as a rookie in the 2022-23 campaign, he was one of only 10 players in the entire league to do so. Eason mostly came off the bench that season, averaging 21.5 minutes per game.
Now, consider the ongoing streak for fourth-year shooting guard Jalen Green. Houston’s matchup at Atlanta on Tuesday night was Green’s 150th consecutive game played, making for nearly two full seasons worth of uninterrupted action. All of those 150 games were starts and featured a relatively high workload, with Green averaging just over 32 minutes. In that stretch, Green has led Houston in scoring at an average of more than 20 points per game.
“I think it’s super important,” said Green, who led Houston with a team-high 25 points on 45.8% shooting during Tuesday’s victory over the Hawks. Houston (32-14) has won four straight games and remains at No. 2 in the Western Conference standings.
“At the end of the day, people are coming to watch you play,” Green said. “So, being able to go out and perform each night, it means a lot to me. I want to shout out my trainers, and the training staff here, for keeping me on point and staying with the routine.”
The last game Green missed came on Feb. 26, 2023, during the 2022-23 campaign, in which the Rockets lost at Portland. Then-Blazers star Damian Lillard scored a historic 71 points against a rebuilding Houston squad coached by Stephen Silas.
Ime Udoka speaking on Jalen Green’s mental and physical toughness as well as his competitiveness, all of which has allowed him to play in 150 consecutive games for the #Rockets. Notes that many sit out with some of what JG plays through. pic.twitter.com/fVQq1dgTv5
— Don Dougan (@don_dougan) January 29, 2025
Now 22 years old, Green clearly prioritizes fitness, and it only adds to his longer-term value with the Rockets. As the saying goes, availability is the best ability, and that’s becoming a big part of the career arc for Houston’s No. 2 overall draft pick from the 2021 first round.
“It’s something that you don’t take for granted,” head coach Ime Udoka told Rockets Wire’s Brian Barefield after Tuesday’s victory in Atlanta. “He hasn’t missed a game since I’ve been here. He plays through everything. He plays through injuries and pains, and some things that most guys would sit out from. It takes a certain amount of toughness, for sure.”
“You look at him, being kind of slight of frame, and think he’s not the most physical guy,” Udoka said of Green. “But he’s got that toughness to be able play through everything. Many nights, he’s been sick and had swelling or injuries that most guys would sit out from. We knew that about him last year, after he played all 82, and he’s had great carryover this year. It shows his competitiveness, and his mental and physical toughness.”
More: Rockets star Jalen Green named Western Conference Player of the Week
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Modern NBA iron man? Jalen Green makes 150th straight start on Rockets
