Jalen Rose is taking his rightful place as the King of the Jalens after responding to a viral video about the influx of players with the same name as him.
Creator Rainey Ovalle released a hilarious ode to the sheer volume of Jalens across the NBA, noting that 16 teams in the league have a player with the name, with some of them having more than one. The various spellings and remixes of the name have also picked up traction. And, according to Ovalle, we all have Rose to thank.
“Next draft more Jalens in the fold / And it’s all thanks to the legendary Jalen Rose,” he said in the video.
Ovalle also did the work of breaking down the percentage of teams who have a player named Jalen on their roster; a whopping 53 percent. More than half!
Ovalle, who co-hosts the Victory Light Podcast alongside The Kid Mero, has gotten the support of many outlets as the funny observation struck a chord with many sports fans who’ve also noticed the pattern. In fact, back in 2021, ESPN published a piece about “The Jalen Generation”, chronicling the history of the name throughout both basketball and football since Jalen Rose’s rise to fame at the University of Michigan.
“I always say that the name Jalen’s a superpower,”Rose said at the time. “Because, if you’re seeing this level of Jalens when you’re watching college basketball and football, pro basketball and football, that’s a small percentage of the society that actually carry the name.”
He also showed love to his mother, Jeanne, who passed away the same year after a battle with lung cancer.
“If she would’ve named me James or Jason, that wouldn’t have hit the same. So she’s the creator, and I’m the vessel that gets to carry it out. Names and words are extremely powerful. If people don’t rock with you or they don’t like you, you know the last thing they’re gonna do is name their kid after you. That ain’t got nothing to do with your rings. That ain’t got nothing to do with where you went to college. Like, if I’m gonna name my son or daughter after you, I rock with you.”
There’s no official history of the name Jalen; however, Rose is widely recognized as the person who made it a pop culture mainstay. And with so many people now carrying on the legend of the Jalen, there doesn’t seem to be any sign of a decline in them.
Jalen may not be able to take all the credit for his name; however, he is the first player to have an academy named after him. His Jalen Rose Learning Academy continues to be one of the most successful schools at preparing students for the next level of education. The City of Detroit has recognized both Rose and the Academy on multiple occasions for their commitment to excellence.
So, though he may or may not be the first Jalen on record, we’re fine with formally appointing him King of the Jalens. Hear hear!
