| Los Angeles D-Fenders | |
|---|---|
| Shooting guard/Small forward | |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | January 26, 1986 |
| Place of birth | Houston, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | Gulf Shores Academy |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 1⁄2 in (2.02 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA Draft | 2005 / 18th overall |
| Selected by the Boston Celtics | |
| Pro career | 2005–present |
| League | NBA Development League |
| Career history | |
| Boston Celtics (2005-07) Fayetteville Patriots (2006) Minnesota Timberwolves (2007-08) Houston Rockets (2008) Dallas Mavericks (2008-09) Lokomotiv Kuban (2009-10) BC Krasnye Krylya Samara (2010-11) Foshan Dralions (2011) |
|
| Career highlights and awards | |
| 2004 ABCD All-Star Camp MVP, 2005 McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Contest Champion, 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion | |
Gerald Green, Jr. (born January 26, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League. He was selected by the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Boston Celtics with the 18th pick of the first round in the 2005 NBA Draft. He has performed well in many slam dunk competitions, having won the 2005 McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Contest and the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, while finishing as the runner-up in the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.[1]
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Green did not play high school basketball until his sophomore year, when he played junior varsity for J. Frank Dobie High School. In his junior year he made the varsity team, but his play was cut short because of academic issues.
He transferred to a charter school, Gulf Shores Academy in Houston,[2] where he repeated his junior year. In his senior year at Gulf Shores, he averaged 33 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocked shots per game. He was named an All-American and was the high scorer in the 2005 McDonald's All-American game scoring 24 points.,[3] which features two teams composed of the best high school basketball players in the US. Green also won the McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Contest that year, defeating future Duke player Josh McRoberts.
Green originally committed to attending Oklahoma State University, but later decided to enter the NBA Draft upon graduation. He hired an agent, thereby making himself ineligible to participate in NCAA athletics. Green was expected by many analysts to be one of the top few players chosen but he fell to the Celtics, who selected him with the 18th pick in the draft. His fall is attributed to his decision to give individual work outs only for the teams with the top six picks prior to the draft.
Green drew comparisons to former Houston Rockets teammate and star Tracy McGrady in the period leading up to the 2005 NBA Draft.[1]
Green was one of the last players to enter the NBA directly from high school, as the collective bargaining agreement between NBA owners and the NBA Players' Association now mandates that American players who enter the NBA Draft must be at least one year removed from the graduation of their high school class and reach age 19 no later than December 31 of the calendar year of the draft.
During the pre-season, Green averaged 8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game for the Celtics in the 2005 Las Vegas Summer League.[4]
After seeing limited playing time during the first part of the season, Green was placed on the Fayetteville Patriots of the NBA D-League by the Celtics in January 2006. He was recalled and activated to an NBA roster position on February 3. He was reassigned to the NBDL, to the Florida Flame, on February 16. He was recalled and activated again on February 21, and saw his first significant NBA game action on the following night, scoring 13 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in 23 minutes.
He appeared in 32 games and averaged 11.8 minutes, 5.2 points, and 1.2 rebounds during these contests. Gerald Green left marks on the league with his highlight plays including a shot clock beating half court three against Indiana and two SportsCenter top play dunks in the closing seconds in two games against Toronto.
Over the off-season, Green aimed at improving all aspects of his game in order to gain playing time. He had shown flashes of his capability during the end of the 2005-06 season, but started off the 2006-07 season slowly, earning a somewhat limited role and playing time behind captain Paul Pierce, and swingman Wally Szczerbiak. With injuries to Szczerbiak and Pierce, his playing time increased, but he was unable to nail down a starting role. Green started his first ever game early December against the Philadelphia 76ers, but then lost his job to a returning Szczerbiak. Green finished the 2006-07 season averaging 10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
On February 17, 2007, Green won the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, beating out Nate Robinson, Tyrus Thomas, and Dwight Howard.
The season was going very well for Green. On March 16, 2007, he scored a career-high 25 points in a Celtics' loss to the Dallas Mavericks,[5][6] and on April 10, 2007, Green topped that with 33 points (12-22 FG, 4-5 3FG) at Atlanta.[5]
On July 31, 2007 it was made official that Green was to be traded along with Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and draft picks, to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Garnett.[7]
At Minnesota, Green found himself stuck on the bench behind a number of players at his same position. In early January 2008, Green's agent asked the Timberwolves to trade his client.[8]
At the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Green opened the competition with a dunk he called "The Birthday Cake" in which he blew out a birthday candle on a cupcake set on the back of the rim while dunking. He followed that up with an alley-oop two-handed windmill. His first dunk of the second round was an alley-oop from behind the basket which he put between his legs before dunking. His final dunk of the night was a between-the-legs one-handed slam that he performed after taking off his shoes. He ended up finishing second to Dwight Howard, after Howard received seventy-eight percent of the votes cast by fans through text message.[9][10]
On February 21, 2008, Green was traded to his hometown team Houston Rockets for Kirk Snyder, a second round 2010 draft pick, and cash considerations. He was subsequently released by the Rockets on March 8[11] and became an unrestricted free agent in July.
On July 1, 2008, Gerald Green signed with the Dallas Mavericks. His agent Colin Bryant told Fox 26 Sports, "We have a verbal agreement with Dallas on a one year contract, We talked to a number of teams and there is more money out there, but this is the best situation for Gerald at this point in his career."[12]
Green was not supposed to go to the summer league but chose to go to learn the plays and get a feeling of the Mavs organization early and not let his chance slip away. In the Vegas Summer League he averaged an underwhelming 13.3 ppg and 3.8 rpg on 38% shooting from the field. On a bright note, he was 43% from beyond the arc. Following the Vegas Summer League, the Mavs and Gerald participated in the Rocky Mountain Revue, a summer league held in Salt Lake City, Utah. There in just 25.8 mpg Green averaged 17.7 ppg to go with 2.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1 spg, .5 bpg, and a respectable 2.2 topg. This time around, Gerald shot a much more impressive 45%, including going 12 for 26 from behind the three point line (46%), and 28-31 from the free throw line (90%). His overall performance was enough to earn him All-Revue Team honors.
Green was named to the Los Angeles Lakers roster for the 2010 NBA Summer League.[13]
On December 28, 2011, Green signed with the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League.
Green signed with Lokomotiv Kuban of Russia in 2009.[14] In 2010 Green signed with BC Krasnye Krylya Samara, also a Russian team.[15]
In October 2011 he moved to China, signing a one-year contract with the Foshan Dralions.[16] On December 2, 2011, Green was released by Foshan.[17]
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