Danny Green announced his retirement from the NBA on Thursday. He was the sharpshooting point guard who won an NCAA championship at North Carolina before assisting three NBA teams in winning NBA championships.
Green won NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, Toronto in 2019, and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, and was a starter for all three teams. He averaged 8.7 points over 15 pro campaigns.
“I’m officially moving on from the game of basketball and the NBA,” Green said on his YouTube channel. “It’s been a great run. I’m very proud to be able to walk away from the game. I’m at peace with it. I wasn’t at first, but I think it’s one of those things — once I turned 37, the body started reacting a little differently.”
Green is retiring with a record of 1,577 3-pointers, 43rd-most in NBA history. He is one of just 12 players to make that number of 3-pointers and shoot up to 40% from beyond the arc.
Danny is also ninth in postseason 3-pointers, 315 total.
“My body was letting me know. I was getting little calf strains here and there,” Green said. “But also, when you get older, teams aren’t calling as much. Unfortunately, my services weren’t as sought-after as they were when I was younger. It’s been a hell of a ride.”
His career may be referred to as an unexpected ride.
Green is one of four players – Rashard Lewis, Kyle Korver, and Trevor Aziza
Green is one of only four players to make as many 3-pointers as he did, joining the likes of Kyle Korver, Rashard Lewis and Trevor Ariza. He was the 46th overall pick in the 2009 draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, which waived him after one term.
The San Antonio Spurs then signed him and he became their starter for seven seasons, helping the team win a title in 2014. The Spurs traded him to the Toronto Raptors as part of the deal for Kawhi Leonard. He started for the Raptors squad that won a title in 2019 and was starter again on the Los Angeles Lakers club that won in 2020.
“People ask me, ‘How did you learn how to become a winner? How do you become a leader?’” Green said. “And it’s the people before me, the people that have taught me, my coaches. They prepared me to be successful because ultimately I’m just a normal kid. I had some height, but I was not freakishly athletic. I just worked very hard, and I had the good resources around me to learn how to be professional and do things the right way.”
Green tore his ACL and LCL when Joel Embiid landed on him during the Philadelphia 76ers season-ending playoff loss to the Miami Heat in May 2022. In the next two campaigns, he played in only 17 more matches; four of them playoff matches.
He said he is hoping to find a gig in the media and mentioned he has some opportunities waiting.
“I’m excited for the next chapter, the next journey,” Green said.
