Jalen Green's Highlight Dunk Signals What's Ahead for Suns

Jalen Green turned heads with a massive alley-oop finish in Phoenix's win over the Kings.

Mar 3, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) reacts after dunking the ball during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Justine Willard-Imagn Images | Justine Willard-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- It has been a very rough season for Jalen Green in his first year with the Suns after he suffered a hamstring injury in training camp that caused him to miss 48 games.

Still, the Suns have found success with a 35-26 record on the year and Green, who had not missed a single game the last two seasons, has now played in all six of Phoenix's games since the All-Star break.

As Green works to get back his explosiveness and conditioning, he is taking steps every game he is out there and last night against the Sacramento Kings, he had his top highlight yet in a Suns uniform.

With just over eight minutes to go in the second quarter, Collin Gillespie got a steal and drove up the right side of the floor in transition before he found Green for a massive alley-oop jam as Green took off on two feet and also drew a foul finishing through contact.

"I was just happy I got a dunk like that just to know that I can still get up," Green said after Phoenix's 114-103 victory over Sacramento (via The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin).

JALEN. GREEN. ELEVATED. OMG!!! 😱🔥 pic.twitter.com/bcRKHqvExQ

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 4, 2026

How Jalen Green Can Build Off Massive Dunk

Green entered Tuesday's game against the Kings in a massive slump, shooting 21-for-75 (28%) from the field and 5-for-33 (15.2%) from 3 over his previous four games, but finished with a team-high 20 points (7-16 FG) to go along with four rebounds and four steals against Sacramento.

Phoenix also got back Devin Booker, who had missed the last four games with a hip strain, against the Kings, which took a lot of pressure off Green offensively and allowed him to get a lot more open looks.

Booker reflected on Green's dunk postgame.

"I saw him getting his steps together. He's on the right side of the floor," Booker said (via Rankin). "That's his launch pad. Every game, we're seeing him get a step closer to his natural self. Tonight was a step forward."

Gillespie, who has held down the Suns' offense all season with the injuries they have dealt with, said he was throwing the lob pass to Green "no matter what was happening."

"I think he's been waiting for one of those for a little bit, but it was good to see him do that," Gillespie said. "Obviously he's that explosive player he's been his whole career, and when you're out for a while, you just try to find one of those to kind of get your legs back into it, and it gave us a big jolt of energy, so we needed it."

Green has had several highlight dunks throughout his career, and the Suns will hope this one sparks some momentum moving forward.

"That's a probably a moment he'll remember in this season," Suns coach Jordan Ott said. "There are steps he's taking to feel himself. Just the joy. I think there was so much joy in him doing it, he didn't even know he got fouled, didn't hear the whistle. Some of those moments are big for our group, but especially for him."

Even after the big dunk, Green knows it's a process and doesn't want to get too rushed with 21 games remaining in the regular season and Phoenix sitting in the seventh seed in the West.

"I feel like it's coming back slowly but surely. That's all part of it," Green said. "People been talking about missing shots and that's all just part of it. Just got to keep shooting.

"Everyone knows that I work on my game every day, and these are shots I'm capable of making, so just got to keep getting them up.

The Suns are back in action Thursday night at home against the Chicago Bulls.