Jeff Green (basketball)

Jeff Green

Green with the Celtics
Small forward / Power forward
Personal information
Date of birth	August 28, 1986 (1986-08-28)
Place of birth	Cheverly, Maryland
Nationality	American
High school	Northwestern HS (Hyattsville, Maryland)
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
College	Georgetown
NBA Draft	2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Pro career	2007–present
Career history
2007–2011	Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder
2011	Boston Celtics
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Rookie First Team (2008) Big East Player of the Year (2007)
Stats at NBA.com

Jeffrey Lynn Green (born August 28, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. Green attended Georgetown University until following his junior year, when he entered the 2007 NBA Draft. He was selected fifth overall by the Boston Celtics, and was subsequently traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in a trade including Ray Allen. The SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma following his rookie year and became the Oklahoma City Thunder. On February 24, 2011, Green was traded along with Nenad Krstić and a future first round draft pick to the Boston Celtics for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.

Early years

Jeff Green was born in Cheverly, Maryland to Jeffrey Green Sr. and Felicia Akingube. He attended Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he led the NHS Wildcats to the state basketball championship in 2004.

Jeff Green with the Hoyas in 2006

Green was recruited to Georgetown University by coach Craig Esherick in 2003. However, Esherick was fired before Green arrived on campus and John Thompson III was hired as the new coach. The two top recruits of Esherick's tenure, Green and center Roy Hibbert, would be the key components of Thompson's future success. Standing 6'9", Green played forward under Coach John Thompson III. He was the captain of the squad. Thompson stated in a Sports Illustrated interview: "You'll stop and think when I say this, but it's true: Jeff Green is the smartest player I've ever coached. You would know this better than most: that's a hell of a statement."

In Georgetown's upset victory over top-ranked and undefeated Duke University in 2006, Green played a pivotal role. During the 2006–2007 season, Green hit game-winning shots in the final seconds of multiple games, including a game-winning shot against Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. With the Hoyas down one, Green beat a double-team and hit a shot with 2.5 seconds left in the game.

Jeff Green won the 2005 Big East Rookie of the Year award along with Rudy Gay of the University of Connecticut. In addition, Green was named to the All-Big East Second Team in 2006 along with teammate Roy Hibbert. In 2007, Green and teammate Roy Hibbert were unanimous selections to the All-Big East First Team. After his 30-point performance in the 2007 Big East Tournament semi-final against Notre Dame and his 21-point performance in the championship against the Pittsburgh, Green was also named Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 Big East Tournament as the Hoyas went on to claim their first Big East title since 1989.

Green was named the 2007 Big East Player of the Year. Jeff Green led the Hoyas on an impressive, relentless run to the Final Four in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, beating Belmont and Boston College in the first two rounds. Green would be remembered for beating Vanderbilt off a game-winning shot in the game's closing seconds as well as fearlessly leading the Hoyas to victory against #1 seed UNC, in a stunning second-half comeback victory and bringing the Hoyas back to their first Final Four since Patrick Ewing led them to the 1985 National Championship game. The Hoyas eventually lost to Greg Oden and the Ohio State Buckeyes, bringing the Hoyas' remarkable title run to a close, as well as Jeff Green's collegiate playing career, as he would forgo his senior year and enter the NBA Draft.

NBA

Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder

On June 28, 2007, Green was taken 5th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. He was later involved in a blockbuster trade that sent veteran guard Ray Allen along with the fifth pick in the second round (#35 overall, LSU Tigers' Glen Davis) to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, the 5th overall selection and a future second-round selection to the Seattle SuperSonics. Since the deal was not made prior to the 2:00 pm deadline, the Celtics chose Green for the Sonics' with the fifth overall pick. Green shortly after signed a deal to be represented by David Falk, the agent of Michael Jordan, and became the first player to sign with Falk since John Lucas III in 2005.

After trading Ray Allen and drafting Kevin Durant, it was clear the Supersonics were in rebuilding mode. After talks of a new arena in Seattle broke down, it was evident that a big change was coming. The Supersonics finished the season at 20-62. Green had a productive rookie season, making the NBA All-Rookie First Team along with teammate Kevin Durant. Green averaged 10.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists and started 52 games. He also played in the 2009 Rookie-Sophomore Challenge where he scored 13 points and snagged 2 steals in the Sophomores' win.

After the season, the Supersonics were sold and moved to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder. Green wore the number 22, the same number he wore with the Sonics. The first season in Oklahoma City would be tough as the team did not have immediate success. The Thunder made big splashes in the draft, drafting Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. Green also made a big improvement from his rookie season, averaging 16.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and a steal a game. The Thunder struggled to 23-59, leading to the firing of coach P. J. Carlesimo in the middle of the season.

The Thunder again made big splashes in the NBA draft, this time drafting James Harden, and trading for rookie Eric Maynor as well as defensive minded guard Thabo Sefolosha. The Thunder had a big year and rebounded from years of losing. Green started in all 82 regular season games and averaged 15.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.6 steals and about a block a game. The Thunder finished a 50-32 and became the eighth seed in the playoffs, where they met Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Thunder were eventually eliminated 4-2. Green averaged 11.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in the series.

After such a good season expectations rose for the young Thunder bunch. However, the Thunder felt they lacked a interior presence and traded Green to the Boston Celtics, who initially drafted Green. Green was sent to Boston along with teammate Nenad Krstic and a Los Angeles Clippers 2012 first round pick for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.

Boston Celtics

In Boston, Green was thought of being a future replacement for aging All-Stars Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce. Green struggled getting acclimated with his new team. After averaging 15.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in Oklahoma City, Green only averaged 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and .7 assists in Boston. Green saw a big drop in minutes per game as well, dropping from 37.0 minutes to 23.4 minutes. The Celtics had a good year, making it to the playoffs as the number three seed in the Eastern Conference. They swept the New York Knicks in the first round. In the next round, however, they were later eliminated by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. Green became a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

On December 10, 2011 Green signed a contract reportedly worth $9 million for 1 year with the Boston Celtics. On December 17, Jeff Green was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm which would cause him to miss the 2011-2012 season.

NBA 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

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2007–08	Seattle	80	52	28.2	.427	.276	.744	4.7	1.5	.6	.6	10.5
2008–09	Oklahoma City	78	77	36.8	.446	.389	.788	6.6	2.0	1.0	.4	16.5
2009–10	Oklahoma City	82	82	37.1	.453	.333	.740	6.0	1.6	1.3	.9	15.1
2010–11	Oklahoma City	49	49	37.0	.437	.304	.818	5.6	1.8	.8	.4	15.2
2010–11	Boston	26	2	23.4	.485	.296	.794	3.3	.7	.5	.6	9.8
Career		315	263	33.6	.445	.337	.773	5.5	1.6	.9	.6	13.9

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2010	Oklahoma City	6	6	37.3	.329	.296	.850	4.7	1.7	.7	.5	11.8
2011	Boston	9	0	19.2	.434	.438	.722	2.7	.2	.6	.4	7.3
Career		15	6	26.4	.374	.349	.789	3.5	.8	.6	.5	9.1

• As of 12 March 2011 (2011 -03-12)

External links

• Jeff Green at NBA.com