Bill Simmons, the publisher of The Ringer and a prominent NBA media personality, wasn’t always a big admirer of Jalen Green during his first three seasons with the Houston Rockets.

However, it looks like Green and the Rockets (36-35), who currently have an NBA-best active winning streak of nine games and an 11-1 record in March, are changing Simmons’ perspective.

From the most recent episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast:

“I’m going to say this very carefully because I know what’s at stake and he’s not going to be this person…” But when I see him, he reminds me of young Kobe Bryant, especially in terms of attacking the rim and then jumping.

Not three-ring-in-a-row Kobe, but late-’90s Kobe, when it was like, ‘Man, there’s a lot here. What’s going on here? And seeing him the last few weeks, it’s like, man, if you were to draw a two-guard from scratch, from a scoring viewpoint, what kind of move or shot would he not have?

The full episode can be heard here, and the portion comparing Green to Bryant is embedded below (via ClutchFans).

Green and the resurgent Rockets will visit Oklahoma City (49-21) on Wednesday, looking to maintain their push for a Western Conference play-in tournament spot. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. Central. Given the quality opponent, Houston will most likely need another solid performance from Green to secure its tenth consecutive victory.

Bill Simmons believes seeing Jalen Green in March reminds him of a youthful, late-90s Kobe Bryant.

“Watching him the last couple of weeks, it’s like, man, if you were just drawing a two-guard from scratch, from a scoring standpoint, what kind of move or shot doesn’t he have?” pic.twitter.com/4TBtrxxTMx