After 15 years in the NBA and becoming a model of three-and-D, Danny Green has announced his retirement from basketball.
The 37-year-old veteran has played a total of 14 seasons for six teams including the Cleveland Cavaliers (the team that selected Green in the NBA Draft), San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and finally the Memphis Grizzlies.
Before being called in the 2009 NBA Draft, Danny Green played four years for the University of North Carolina (UNC) and helped the school win the championship in 2008.
Three Championship Rings and the Journey to Becoming the NBA’s Top 3-and-D Player
Danny Green entered the NBA in 2009 as a second-round pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he only played for the team for one season. Green then moved to the San Antonio Spurs and met legendary coach Gregg Popovich.
There, he was molded into a defensive-shooting specialist for the Spurs, becoming the perfect piece to a lineup revolving around the quartet of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginóbili.
By his third season with the San Antonio Spurs, Green had played extremely stable minutes, averaging 10.5 points and a 3-point shooting success rate of over 40%.
Danny Green played for the Spurs for 8 seasons. The most notable was the 2013-14 season when he and his teammates won the championship after 5 rounds. In the final series against LeBron James and the “super team” Miami Heat, Green shone brightly with a 45% 3PT shooting rate and an average of 2 steals per game.
Previously in 2013, Danny Green surpassed Ray Allen to break the record for total 3-pointers in an NBA Finals series. Here are all 23 3-pointers Green made against the Miami Heat that year:
Saying goodbye to San Antonio Spurs after 8 years, Danny Green brought his special skills and professionalism to Toronto Raptors, immediately winning the NBA championship with Kawhi Leonard in 2019.
Exactly one year later, Green continued to reach the pinnacle of glory with the throne with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, completing the collection of 3 championship rings in his career.
Danny Green is currently one of only four players to have won three championships with three different teams, including the Spurs in 2014, the Raptors in 2019 and the Lakers in 2020.
After the Lakers decided to restructure their roster, Danny Green moved to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies.
But in these last seasons, the 1987-born pitcher suffered a series of injuries. The most difficult was the rupture of two knee ligaments, which limited him to a total of 13 games in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
Despite being fully fit and ready to play again this summer, Danny Green was not contacted by any team ahead of the new season. Realizing this was the right place to end his career, he announced his retirement.
Despite not having the desired ending, Danny Green still had a pretty good career when he always played a pivotal role in 3 championship wins, whether it was San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors or Los Angeles Lakers.
A three-and-d player that many teams want to have to increase their competitiveness, Danny Green is on one hand defending the opponent’s best scorer, on the other hand moving flexibly off the ball, choosing a position to shoot long when the opportunity arises.
After a total of 832 games, 3 championship rings, and 1 NBA All-Defensive Team appearance, Danny Green hopes to continue pursuing his passion for basketball.
In the near future, he will shift to the media sector, continuing to make podcasts about basketball with the hope of one day appearing on major TV shows like ESPN or TNT.
