Danny Green (basketball)

Daniel Richard Green Jr. (born June 22, 1987) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of North Carolina (UNC), where he played in more games (145) and had more wins (123) than any Tar Heel before him. Green is also the only player in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 150 three-pointers, 150 blocks and 150 steals.[1]

Danny Green

Green with the Toronto Raptors in 2019
No. 14 – Los Angeles Lakers
Position	Shooting guard
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1987-06-22) June 22, 1987 North Babylon, New York
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school	North Babylon (North Babylon, New York) St. Mary's (Manhasset, New York)
College	North Carolina (2005–2009)
NBA draft	2009 / Round: 2 / Pick: 46th overall
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Playing career	2009–present
Career history
2009–2010	Cleveland Cavaliers
2010	→Erie BayHawks
2010	San Antonio Spurs
2011	Reno Bighorns
2011–2018	San Antonio Spurs
2011	→Austin Toros
2011	Union Olimpija
2018–2019	Toronto Raptors
2019–present	Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
2× NBA champion (2014, 2019) NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2017) Slovenian Cup champion (2011) NCAA champion (2009) Third-team All-ACC (2009) ACC All-Defensive Team (2009) McDonald's All-American (2005) Second-team Parade All-American (2005)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

He won an NCAA championship his senior year and was subsequently drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 46th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. During the 2013 NBA Finals, Green set an NBA record for most three-point field goals made in a Finals series (23). He then won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs the following season, and became just the third player from UNC to win an NCAA championship and an NBA championship, the two others being James Worthy and Michael Jordan. In 2019, he won his second NBA championship in his only season with the Toronto Raptors.

Known for his perimeter defense and three-point shooting, Green has been a key contributor on both ends on the floor throughout his NBA career, having been selected to his first NBA All-Defensive Second Team in the 2016–17 season.

High school career

As a high school freshman, Green attended North Babylon High School in North Babylon, New York on Long Island and in addition to basketball, he played quarterback on the football team. From his sophomore onwards, Green attended St. Mary's High School, a private school, in Manhasset, New York.[2] He averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks as a senior. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Green was listed as the No. 8 shooting guard and the No. 31 player in the nation in 2005.[3]

College career

Green came off the bench as the sixth man during his freshman year at UNC. He averaged 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in his sophomore season.[4] After his second year at North Carolina, Green considered transferring, but would ultimately finish his college career there.[5] Green improved his scoring average in each of the next two seasons.

Green's junior year, he averaged 11.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.9 turnovers, 1.2 steals, 1.2 blocks in 22.3 minutes per game.[4] He also improved his true shooting percentage (TS%) significantly, increasing his field goal percentage to 46.9% and his free throw percentage to 87.3%. He shot 37.3% from the three-point line.[4]

Approaching his senior season, he declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft, but did not sign with an agent so that he had the option to return to school, which he decided to do on June 16.[5] He went on to average 13.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 turnovers, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks in 27.4 minutes per game.[4] He again improved his shooting percentages, averaging 47.1% and 41.8% from the field and three-point line respectively.[4] In his senior year, Green was selected to be a member of the ACC's All-Defensive Team. He was also named as a team captain along with Bobby Frasor and Tyler Hansbrough.[6]

Achievements at UNC

• Part of the 2009 national championship team's starting five. Green logged a solid overall Final Four performance with 18 total points including six made three-pointers, six rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and one steal.
• Green is the only Tar Heel ever to have 1,000 points (1,368), 500 rebounds (590), 200 assists (256), 100 blocks (155) and 100 steals (160)
• One of four players in ACC history with 100 blocked shots and 100 three-point field goals (with Duke's Shane Battier, Maryland's Terence Morris and Wake Forest's Josh Howard)
• Played in 145 games and been a part of 123 wins setting a new UNC record (record of 115 previously held by Sam Perkins)
• Scored 1,368 career points (9.4 per game)
• Passed Vince Carter in scoring at Virginia Tech on March 4, 2009
• Blocked a career-high 7 shots in the win at Duke on March 8, 2008
• Only Tar Heel ever to block 100 or more shots and make 50 or more three-pointers
• Scored in double figures 63 times (nine times in 2005–2006, four times in 2006–2007, 24 times in 2007–08 and 26 times in 2008–2009)
• Scored 20 or more points seven times in his career, including five times in 2009
• Led Carolina in blocked shots as a freshman with 32 and was second the next three seasons
• UNC's defensive player of the game 15 times (twice as a sophomore, six times as a junior and seven times as a senior)
• Played in four wins at Duke, joining Tyler Hansbrough and Wake Forest's Tim Duncan and Rusty LaRue as the only players to do that against Mike Krzyzewski-coached teams.

Professional career

Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)

Danny Green with the Cleveland Cavaliers in November 2009.

The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Green as the 46th overall pick of the 2009 NBA draft. After he played in 20 games in his rookie year with the Cavaliers, the team waived Green at the beginning of the next season.

San Antonio Spurs (2010–2018)

Green was subsequently picked up by the San Antonio Spurs on November 17, 2010.[7] The Spurs waived him six days later after he appeared in two games.[8] In January 2011, Green was acquired by the Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-League. He averaged 20 points, a team high, and 7.5 rebounds in 16 games with the Bighorns.[9] The Spurs signed Green again in March 2011,[10] assigned him to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League on April 2, and then recalled him on April 3.[11]

In August 2011, Green signed a one-year contract with KK Union Olimpija, which included an NBA-out clause option when the 2011 NBA lockout ended.[12] Green returned to the Spurs after the lockout ended. Green had a breakout season, as he started 38 of his 66 games played, averaging 9.1 ppg. Green eventually became the starting shooting guard for the Spurs when Manu Ginóbili returned to being the sixth man in the rotation. Green finished ninth in the league in voting for the NBA Most Improved Player Award.[13]

On July 11, 2012, Green re-signed with the Spurs for $12 million over three years.[14] In his first game of the season, he scored 9 points and added 2 blocks in San Antonio's win over New Orleans. On November 1, 2012, he scored 13 points in a win over the Thunder. Then on November 3, Danny Green scored 21 points to help the Spurs beat the Utah Jazz in a 110–100 win.[15] On November 13, 2012, he hit a game-winner against the Los Angeles Lakers, finishing the game with 11 points. On February 6, 2013, Green recorded career-highs of 28 points and 8 three-pointers made in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was one three-pointer shy of Chuck Person's record for most three-pointers made in a single game as a Spur.[16]

In Game 2 of the 2013 NBA Finals, Green was perfect from the field, including 5–5 from the three-point line. However, the Spurs lost in a blowout to the Miami Heat, 103–84.[17] In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Green hit 7–9 from three-point range, including the one to set a Finals record for most three-pointers in a game by a team. He notched 27 total points in the Spurs' blowout 113–77 victory as the team took a 2–1 series lead in the process.[18] On June 16 in Game 5, Green made six three-pointers for a total of 25 in the series to that point, breaking the record for an NBA Finals series previously held by Ray Allen, who made 22 in six games with the Boston Celtics in 2008.[19] By the end of the series, Green had made 27 three-pointers, but the Spurs lost the series in seven games. The record was later broken by Stephen Curry in 2016.[20][21]

On April 11, 2014, Green scored a career-high 33 points in a 112–104 win over the Phoenix Suns.[22] On June 15, 2014, Green won his first NBA championship after the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat 4 games to 1 in the 2014 NBA Finals. In doing so, Green joined Michael Jordan and James Worthy as the third Tar Heel to win both the NCAA and NBA championship.

On December 19, 2014, Green scored a season-high 27 points in the 119-129 triple overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.[23] On April 12, 2015, Green recorded 3 three-pointers against the Phoenix Suns to set a franchise record for the most three-pointers in a season at 191.[24]

On July 14, 2015, Green re-signed with the Spurs[25] to a reported four-year, $45 million contract.[26] On January 6, 2016, Green hit two three-pointers against the Utah Jazz, giving him 662 with San Antonio to surpass Bruce Bowen (661) for second in franchise history.[27]

On November 9, 2016, Green made his season debut for San Antonio, scoring eight points against the Houston Rockets in his return from a strained left quadriceps.[28] At the season's end, he was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.[29]

On December 28, 2017 against the New York Knicks, Green became the 127th player in league history to reach 900 career 3-pointers.[30]

Toronto Raptors (2018–2019)

On July 18, 2018, Green and teammate Kawhi Leonard were traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Pöltl and a protected 2019 first round draft pick.[31] On November 10, 2018, in a 128–112 win over the New York Knicks, Green reached 1,000 3-pointers for his career.[32] On December 14, he had 19 points and 11 rebounds while matching his season high with five 3-pointers in a 128–122 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.[33] On January 19, he had a season-high 24 points and set a franchise record for 3-pointers in a quarter with seven in the third, as the Raptors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 119–90. With 21 points in the third, he fell one shy of Kyle Lowry's franchise record for a quarter. Green also matched a career high with eight 3s for the game.[34] On April 1, he scored a season-high 29 points in a 121–109 win over the Orlando Magic.[35] As a reference to his proficiency as a three-point shooting specialist, in his pre-game starting lineup introduction throughout the season, he was introduced as "The money man from three-point land, Danny 'Money, Money' Green" with Green doing the Johnny Manziel celebration.[36][37] Green helped the Raptors reach the 2019 NBA Finals, where they defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games, with Green earning his second NBA championship.[38]

Los Angeles Lakers (2019–present)

The Lakers signed Green to a two-year $30 million contract on July 6, 2019.[39]

He debuted for the Lakers on October 22, 2019, where he led the team with 28 points in 32 minutes on 10-of-14 field goal makes and 7-of-9 three point makes in a 112–102 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. His 28 points are the most points in a debut in franchise history, breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 27 points.[40]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
†	Won an NBA championship

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2009–10	Cleveland	20	0	5.8	.385	.273	.667	.9	.3	.3	.2	2.0
2010–11	San Antonio	8	0	11.5	.486	.368	–	1.9	.3	.3	.1	5.1
2011–12	San Antonio	66	38	23.1	.442	.436	.790	3.5	1.3	.9	.7	9.1
2012–13	San Antonio	80	80	27.5	.448	.429	.848	3.1	1.8	1.2	.7	10.5
2013–14†	San Antonio	68	59	24.3	.432	.415	.794	3.4	1.5	1.0	.9	9.1
2014–15	San Antonio	81	80	28.5	.436	.418	.874	4.2	2.0	1.2	1.1	11.7
2015–16	San Antonio	79	79	26.1	.376	.332	.739	3.8	1.8	1.0	.8	7.2
2016–17	San Antonio	68	68	26.6	.392	.379	.844	3.3	1.8	1.0	.9	7.3
2017–18	San Antonio	70	60	25.6	.387	.363	.769	3.6	1.6	.9	1.1	8.6
2018–19†	Toronto	80	80	27.7	.465	.455	.841	4.0	1.6	.9	.7	10.3
2019–20	L.A. Lakers	68	68	24.8	.416	.367	.688	3.3	1.3	1.3	.5	8.0
Career		688	612	25.4	.424	.400	.807	3.5	1.6	1.0	.8	8.9

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2011	San Antonio	4	0	1.8	.333	.250	–	.3	.5	.3	.3	1.3
2012	San Antonio	14	12	20.6	.418	.345	.700	3.2	1.1	.5	.7	7.4
2013	San Antonio	21	21	31.9	.446	.482	.800	4.1	1.5	1.0	1.1	11.1
2014†	San Antonio	23	23	23.0	.491	.475	.818	3.0	.9	1.4	.7	9.3
2015	San Antonio	7	7	29.1	.344	.300	.667	3.1	2.1	1.0	1.0	8.3
2016	San Antonio	10	10	26.7	.462	.500	.667	3.1	.7	2.1	.8	8.6
2017	San Antonio	16	16	27.2	.405	.342	.571	3.6	1.4	.6	.9	7.8
2018	San Antonio	5	5	20.6	.267	.250	–	2.2	.2	.2	.8	4.2
2019†	Toronto	24	24	28.5	.342	.328	.913	3.6	1.1	1.3	.5	6.9
Career		124	118	25.7	.414	.397	.768	3.3	1.1	1.1	.8	8.1

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2005–06	North Carolina	31	0	15.3	.433	.355	.792	3.7	1.1	.7	1.0	7.5
2006–07	North Carolina	37	0	13.6	.411	.296	.848	2.8	1.1	.6	.7	5.2
2007–08	North Carolina	39	1	22.3	.469	.373	.873	4.9	2.0	1.2	1.2	11.5
2008–09	North Carolina	38	38	27.4	.471	.418	.852	4.7	2.7	1.8	1.3	13.1
Career		145	39	19.9	.455	.375	.845	4.1	1.8	1.1	1.1	9.4

Personal life

Green's brother, Rashad, played for Manhattan College in 2007–08 and the University of San Francisco from 2009 to 2012.[41] His younger brother, Devonte, plays for Indiana University.[42] His second cousins are NBA player Gerald Green and Garlon Green.[43] A first cousin, Jordan Green, played for Texas A&M University.[44] and a third cousin, Willie Green, in the NBA and for Detroit Mercy.

Green was well known for dancing to the song "Jump Around" to pump up the crowd before most of the University of North Carolina home games.[45]

In 2018, Green and longtime friend and sports broadcaster Harrison Sanford launched a podcast entitled "Inside the Green Room".[46] While they intended to start with a soft launch in the summer of 2018, Green was traded to the Toronto Raptors just prior to recording what was to be the pilot episode, so they decided to do a full launch with the first episode.[46] The podcast gained sponsorship from Yahoo Sports Canada.[47] Episodes have featured players and coaches from the Toronto Raptors, as well as players from other teams and other sports journalists. Green has expressed an interest in moving into sports broadcasting after his playing career is over.[46][48]

See also

• List of National Basketball Association career playoff 3-point scoring leaders

References

1. "Doing the little things, UNC's Green makes his dad, teammates proud". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. April 3, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
2. Chan, Lorne (July 14, 2015). "The Persistence of Danny Green". NBA.com. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
3. Danny Green – Rivals.com
4. "Danny Green Stats, News, Photos," ESPN Men's College Basketball, North Carolina Tar Heels, April 20, 2009.
5. "Player Profile, Danny Green," tarheelblue.cstv.com, April 20, 2009.
6. "No Decision Yet for Lawson, Ellington," Archived April 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine InsideCarolina.com, The Independent Voice of UNC sports, April 16, 2009.
7. "Spurs Sign Danny Green". Nba.com. October 19, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
8. "Spurs Waive Danny Green". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. November 23, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
9. "Spurs Nation » Spurs sign swing man Danny Green". Blog.mysanantonio.com. March 15, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
10. "Spurs sign swing man Danny Green". Blog.mysanantonio.com. March 15, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
11. "Spurs Assign Danny Green To Austin Toros". Nba.com. April 2, 2011. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
12. "Danny Green moves to Union Olimpija". Sportando.net. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
13. "Magic's Ryan Anderson wins Kia Most Improved Player Award". nba.com. NBA. May 4, 2012. Archived from the original on May 8, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
14. "Spurs Re-Sign Danny Green". Nba.com. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
15. "Notebook: Spurs 110, Jazz 100". Nba.com. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
16. "Notebook: Spurs 104, Timberwolves 94". Nba.com. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
17. "Heat ride Mario Chalmers in second half, cruise by Spurs in Game 2". ESPN.com. June 9, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
18. "Spurs hit NBA Finals-record 16 3-pointers in rout of Heat". ESPN.com. June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
19. "Manu Ginóbili's surprise start sparks Spurs, pushes Heat to brink". ESPN.com. June 16, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
20. Young, Royce (June 16, 2013). "Danny Green breaks NBA Finals 3-point record". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
21. Garcia, Paul (June 16, 2016). "Green's 3-Point Finals Record broken by Curry in Game 6 of 2016 Finals". Project Spurs. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
22. Notebook: Spurs 110, Suns 104
23. "Lillard scores 43 as Blazers beat Spurs in 3 OT". Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
24. Duncan leads Spurs to 11th straight win, 107-91 over Suns
25. "Spurs Re-Sign Danny Green". NBA.com. July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
26. Sam Amick (July 1, 2015). "Danny Green agrees to 4-year contract with Spurs". osatoday.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
27. "Duncan scores 18, Spurs rout Jazz to move to 21-0 at home". Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
28. Harden's triple-double leads Rockets past Spurs, 101-99
29. "KAWHI LEONARD AND DANNY GREEN NAMED TO NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAMS". NBA.com. June 26, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
30. "Aldridge leads Spurs' charge past Knicks, 119-107". ESPN.com. December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
31. "Toronto Raptors Acquire Kawhi Leonard". NBA.com. July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
32. "Siakam scores career-high 23, Raptors beat Knicks 128-112". ESPN.com. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
33. "Lillard scores 24, Blazers hold off NBA-best Raptors 128-122". ESPN.com. December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
34. "Green hits 7 3s in 3rd quarter, Raptors top Grizzlies 119-90". ESPN.com. January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
35. "Green scores season-high 29 as Raptors beat Magic 121-109". ESPN.com. April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
36. "Five thoughts on yesterday afternoon: Raptors 117, Heat 109 (OT)". raptorshq.com. April 8, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj8hKwvkPx4
38. "Raptors capture first NBA title, beat Warriors in Game 6". ESPN.com. June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
39. "Lakers Sign Quinn Cook, DeMarcus Cousins, and Danny Green". Los Angeles Lakers. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
40. "Lakers vs. Clippers - Box Score - October 22, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
41. Rashas Green. ESPN.
42. Danny Green confident brother Devonte will thrive at Indiana
43. "USF Men's Basketball Announces Signing of Rashad Green," USF official website, August 14, 2008.
44. Jordan Green Bio
45. Lemire, Joe. "Doing the little things, UNC's Green makes his dad, teammates proud", Sports Illustrated April 3, 2009. Image caption.
46. Loung, Steven (September 4, 2018). "Q&A: Inside the Green Room podcast co-host Harrison Sanford". Sportsnet. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
47. "Inside the Green Room". Inside the Green Room. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
48. Davies, Spencer (February 15, 2019). "Raptors Guard Danny Green Dishes on Podcasting, PUMA Hoops and NBA All-Star Weekend". Closeup 360. Retrieved June 25, 2019.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
• North Carolina Tar Heels bio
• Scout.com profile
• ESPN.com profile