Shams Charania instantly breaks news in his ‘First Take’ debut (1:06)
In his “First Take” debut, Shams Charania reveals that Danny Green is retiring after a 15-year NBA career. (1:06)
Shams Charania, ESPNOct 10, 2024, 10:34 AM ET
After 15 NBA seasons, Danny Green says he is retiring from basketball.
Green, who announced his retirement on his podcast Thursday, is one of four players in NBA history to win championships with three different teams (2014 with the Spurs, 2019 with the Raptors, 2020 with the Lakers).
“I’m officially moving on from the game of basketball, the NBA. It’s been a great run,” Green said. “To me, I’m very proud to be able to walk away from the game. I’m at peace with it.”
Green, 37, was known as a 3-point marksman — he was a career 40% shooter behind the arc — and a leader in the locker room over the course of his career. He played two games for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2023-24 before he was waived following the trade that sent James Harden to the LA Clippers.
Drafted in the second round by the Cavaliers in 2009, Green spent one season in Cleveland before eventually finding his spot with the Spurs, where he spent the majority of his career and averaged a career-high 11.7 points while playing in 81 games in 2014-15. He also made the All-Defensive Team in 2016-17.
He finishes with career averages of 8.7 points and 3.4 rebounds in 832 games. His 1,577 3-pointers rank 43rd in NBA history, and he is one of only 12 players to make that many 3s and shoot at least 40% from beyond the arc.
He is also ninth in postseason 3-pointers, with 315.
“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.”
Green is one of only four players — Kyle Korver, Rashard Lewis and Trevor Ariza are the others — to make as many 3-pointers as he did without being a first-round draft pick. After winning a national title with North Carolina, Green was the 46th overall pick in the draft by Cleveland. He became a starter in San Antonio for seven seasons, helping the Spurs win a title in 2014. He was traded to Toronto as part of the Kawhi Leonard deal, was a starter on the Raptors team that won a title in 2019 and was a starter again on the Lakers team that won a title in the pandemic season of 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 teammate Joel Embiid fell on him during Philadelphia’s season-ending playoff loss to Miami in May 2022, and he appeared in only 17 more games (four in the playoffs) in the next two seasons.
He will now focus on continuing his broadcasting career, the GreenLight venture fund dedicated to empowering innovative entrepreneurs, the Between the Lines mentorship program, and The Throne basketball tournament powered by Green and the National Basketball Players Association.
“I’m excited for the next chapter, the next journey,” Green said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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