Danny Green American Basketball Player Born in 1987

Early life

Daniel Richard Green Jr. was born on 22 June 1987 in North Babylon, New York, on Long Island. He began high school at North Babylon High School, where he also played quarterback on the football team, and from his second year he attended St. Mary's High School, a private school in Manhasset. As a senior there he averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks per game. In 2005 the recruiting service Rivals.com rated him a four-star prospect, the eighth-best shooting guard and the 31st-best player in the country.

Career

Green played college basketball at the University of North Carolina from 2005 to 2009. He was a reserve in his first season and averaged 5.2 points in his second. After that season he thought about transferring, but he stayed. In his junior year he averaged 11.5 points. He declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA draft without signing with an agent, and on 16 June 2008 he decided to return to school. In his final season he was a captain together with Bobby Frasor and Tyler Hansbrough, started every game and averaged 13.1 points as North Carolina won the national championship. He finished with 1,368 points and 123 wins, which was a school record, and he played in more games, 145, than any Tar Heel before him.

The Cleveland Cavaliers took him with the 46th overall pick of the 2009 NBA draft. He played 20 games in his rookie season, and the team waived him at the start of the next one. A short spell with the San Antonio Spurs in November 2010 and a stint with the Reno Bighorns in the NBA Development League followed. He rejoined the Spurs in March 2011 and then signed a one-year contract with KK Union Olimpija in Slovenia, which contained an option to leave if the NBA lockout ended.

Green came back to the Spurs after the lockout and became their starting shooting guard in the 2011–12 season, finishing ninth in the voting for the Most Improved Player Award. He signed a three-year, 12 million dollar contract in July 2012. In the 2013 NBA Finals he made 27 three-pointers in the series, a Finals record at that time that was later passed by Stephen Curry. His first championship came in June 2014 when San Antonio beat the Miami Heat 4–1 in the Finals; he was the third former Tar Heel, after Michael Jordan and James Worthy, to win both an NCAA and an NBA title. He re-signed with the Spurs in 2015 and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2016–17.

In July 2018 he was traded to the Toronto Raptors, together with Kawhi Leonard, in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Pöltl and a first-round pick. He helped the Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors in six games in the 2019 Finals. The Los Angeles Lakers then signed him to a two-year contract. He scored 28 points on his debut, a franchise record, and in 2020 the Lakers beat Miami to win the championship. Along with LeBron James, he was then one of only four players to have won titles with three different teams. Later stops were the Philadelphia 76ers, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Cleveland Cavaliers again, and a second spell with Philadelphia in 2023. He announced his retirement on 10 October 2024.

Recognition

Green won an NCAA title in 2009 and three NBA championships, with the Spurs in 2014, the Raptors in 2019 and the Lakers in 2020. At North Carolina he was selected to the All-ACC third team and the ACC All-Defensive Team. As of 2009 he was the only player in Atlantic Coast Conference history with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 150 three-pointers, 150 blocks and 150 steals.

Personal life

Green's brothers Rashad and Devonte also played college basketball, and several cousins have played at a high level too. He became engaged to Blair Bashen in 2020 and they married in 2021. In 2018 he launched a podcast, Inside the Green Room, with the broadcaster Harrison Sanford, and he has said that he is interested in moving into sports broadcasting.