Getty 12-year NBA veteran Gerald Green throws down a dunk during warmups.
If Joe Johnson can make a comeback at 40, why can’t Gerald Green log some NBA minutes in a league where 10-day contracts are being handed out left and right?
On January 7, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the 12-year veteran is stepping away from his role as an assistant on the Houston Rockets coaching staff in pursuit of an NBA comeback. Green won’t be wavering too far from the Rockets franchise, as he’s set to join the team’s G-League affiliates, the Rio Grande Vipers.
As highlighted by CBS’ James Herbert, “the last time Green played in the G League, it was called the D-League. As a member of the Los Angeles D-Fenders (now the South Bay Lakers), he was the MVP of the 2011 D-League All-Star Game.”
The No. 18 overall selection for the Celtics back in 2005, Green spent a cumulative three seasons in Boston spread across two stints (2005-07 and 2016-17). Drafted directly out of high school, Green has appeared in 726 games over his career (including playoffs), starting 125. His most prolific campaign came in 2013-14, where he averaged a career-high 15.8 points per game as a member of the Phoenix Suns. In total, he’s played for eight organizations over his professional tenure, including stops in Minnesota, New Jersey, Dallas, Indiana, Miami and Houston. His career numbers check in at 9.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Green has also proven to be a sniper from 3-point range, knocking down 36.1% of his 2,668 career attempts from beyond the arc.
Green: ‘I’m Always Up for the Challenge’
Green, 35, hasn’t suited up for an NBA game since May of 2019. He missed the entirety of the 2019-20 season with a broken bone in his foot. The 2007 Slam Dunk Champion officially traded in his jersey for a clipboard on October 22 of last year when he announced he would be retiring from basketball to take a job on the Rockets staff as a player development coach.
However, it became fairly apparent over recent weeks that Green’s competitive juices were still flowing. With players such as the aforementioned Joe Johnson, Lance Stephenson and Greg Monroe — all players that Green has shared the hardwood with during his playing days — recently signing 10-day contracts, a comeback was clearly on the sharpshooter’s mind.
“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d love to hoop,” Green said on December 31, via Zach Allen of SB Nation. “We’ll see. You’ll never know. I’m always up for the challenge. I loved the opportunity and will never take it for granted. I’m a hooper.”
A hooper? Clearly. A quick glimpse through his Instagram feed and you see that Green still has plenty of hops. So much so in fact, that shoes have become optional for the Texas native.
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Green on His Love for Coaching & the City of Houston
While Green may be stepping away from coaching at the moment, it sounds as if he’ll most certainly find his way back to the sidelines whenever his comeback trail comes to a halt.
“Man, it feels good to be coaching him [Jalen Green] and feels good to be coaching these young guys, and they have a lot of potential,” Green told Allen. “Jalen has so much upside. Maybe one day he can be the face of this franchise and the NBA. He definitely has to put the work in, and I think he is willing to do it. He has been grinding his ass off. He has been doing things a rookie should do by being a sponge. I’m really excited for his future.”
As for Green’s love for the city of Houston, it remains as strong as ever.
“This is everything. This is home for me,” he noted. “I sleep, s—, eat, and bleed Houston, so you know what I mean. I’m all Houston. I love my last name Green, but if I could change it, I’d change it to Houston. That’s how much I am Houston. I’m a Green for life for sure.”
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Former Celtics 1st-Rounder Quits Coaching for NBA Return: Report