 Green with the Clippers in December 2013. | |
| New Orleans Pelicans | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Head coach |
| League: | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Full name: | Willie Julius Green |
| Born: | July 28, 1981 Detroit, Michigan |
| Nationality: |  American
|
| Physical stats | |
| Listed height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight: | 205 lbs (93 kg) |
| National Basketball Association career | |
| Debut: 2003 for the Philadelphia 76ers | |
| Final game: 2015 for the Orlando Magic | |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Cooley (Detroit, Michigan) |
| College: | Detroit Mercy (1999–2003) |
| NBA Draft: | 2001 / Round: 2 / Pick: 41st |
| Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |
| Position: | Shooting Guard |
| Number: | 33, 34 |
| Playing career: | 2003–2015 (12 years) |
| Coaching career: | 2016–present (8 years) |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2003–2010 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2010–2011 | New Orleans Hornets |
| 2011–2012 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2012–2014 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2014–2015 | Orlando Magic |
| As coach: | |
| 2016–2019 | Golden State Warriors (assistant) |
| 2019–2021 | Phoenix Suns (assistant) |
| 2021–present | New Orleans Pelicans |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
| |
As coach:
| |
Willie Julius Green (born July 28, 1981) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played professionally in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic. He was selected in the second round (41st pick overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics and later acquired by the Philadelphia 76ers from Seattle in a draft-night trade for the draft rights to Paccelis Morlende (50th pick overall) and cash considerations. Green won back-to-back championships as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.
Professional career[]
Philadelphia 76ers (2003–2010)[]
Green was a 1999 graduate of Cooley High School; after a college career at the University of Detroit Mercy, he was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the second round (41st overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft. He was traded the same day to the Philadelphia 76ers for the draft rights to Paccelis Morlende and cash considerations.
Green was due to re-sign with the Sixers during the 2005 offseason, but suffered an injury the day of the contract signing, which put the contract in a state of limbo. On March 23, 2006, he officially re-signed with the Sixers, and on April 4, 2006, he was activated and played 11 minutes, scoring 9 points on 4-for-6 shooting in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Green, in the final Sixers game of the 2006–07 season, had a career-high 37 points against the Toronto Raptors on April 4, 2007.
Green beat out Rodney Carney for the Sixers starting Shooting Guard position. During the 2007–08 NBA season, Green had career highs in games played (74, all of them as a starter), minutes played (26.6), field goal percentage (.436), rebounds (2.5), assists (2.0), and points (12.4).
New Orleans Hornets (2010–2011)[]
Green was traded to New Orleans with forward Jason Smith in exchange for Forward Darius Songaila and rookie Forward Craig Brackins on September 23, 2010.
Atlanta Hawks (2011–2012)[]
On December 22, 2011, Green signed with the Atlanta Hawks.
Los Angeles Clippers (2012–2014)[]
On July 30, 2012, Green was signed-and-traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for the rights to Sofoklis Schortsanitis.
On June 29, 2014, he was waived by the Clippers.
Orlando Magic (2014–2015)[]
On June 30, 2014, Green was claimed off waivers by the Orlando Magic.
Coaching career[]
On August 9, 2016, Green was hired by the Golden State Warriors coaching staff as an assistant coach. He won his first championship when the Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games of the 2017 NBA Finals. Green won his second straight championship when the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers in four games of the 2018 NBA Finals.
On June 26, 2019, he was hired as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns.
On July 22, 2021, Green was named head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. After starting the season 1-12, Green led the Pelicans to a 36-46 record, finishing ninth in the Western Conference and securing a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Pelicans would go on to beat the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers en route to their first playoff berth since the 2017–18 season. Green and the Pelicans would ultimately fall to the Phoenix Suns, Green's former team, in six games in the First Round.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | Philadelphia | 53 | 0 | 14.5 | .401 | .311 | .728 | 1.2 | 1.0 | .5 | .1 | 6.9 |
| 2004–05 | Philadelphia | 57 | 21 | 18.7 | .366 | .286 | .776 | 2.3 | 1.8 | .6 | .1 | 7.7 |
| 2005–06 | Philadelphia | 10 | 2 | 15.3 | .424 | .526 | .800 | 1.5 | .5 | .2 | .0 | 7.0 |
| 2006–07 | Philadelphia | 74 | 36 | 24.9 | .411 | .325 | .667 | 2.1 | 1.5 | .8 | .1 | 11.3 |
| 2007–08 | Philadelphia | 74 | 74 | 26.6 | .436 | .285 | .757 | 2.5 | 2.0 | .7 | .3 | 12.4 |
| 2008–09 | Philadelphia | 81 | 60 | 22.6 | .435 | .317 | .729 | 1.6 | 2.0 | .7 | .2 | 8.5 |
| 2009–10 | Philadelphia | 73 | 18 | 21.3 | .457 | .346 | .833 | 1.8 | 2.1 | .4 | .2 | 8.7 |
| 2010–11 | New Orleans | 77 | 13 | 21.7 | .443 | .348 | .780 | 2.1 | 1.0 | .5 | .2 | 8.7 |
| 2011–12 | Atlanta | 53 | 2 | 17.4 | .471 | .442 | .857 | 1.5 | .8 | .4 | .1 | 7.6 |
| 2012–13 | L.A. Clippers | 72 | 60 | 16.5 | .461 | .428 | .719 | 1.3 | .8 | .4 | .2 | 6.3 |
| 2013–14 | L.A. Clippers | 55 | 9 | 15.8 | .376 | .339 | .824 | 1.4 | .9 | .4 | .2 | 5.0 |
| 2014–15 | Orlando | 52 | 2 | 18.3 | .386 | .347 | .824 | 1.5 | 1.3 | .5 | .1 | 5.9 |
| Career | 731 | 297 | 20.2 | .425 | .346 | .765 | 1.8 | 1.4 | .5 | .1 | 8.3 | |
Playoffs[]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Philadelphia | 5 | 0 | 12.6 | .444 | .222 | .900 | 1.8 | .6 | .2 | .0 | 5.4 |
| 2008 | Philadelphia | 6 | 6 | 23.7 | .431 | .200 | .643 | 1.3 | 2.0 | .8 | .7 | 9.0 |
| 2009 | Philadelphia | 6 | 6 | 24.7 | .412 | .364 | .333 | 1.0 | 1.2 | .0 | .2 | 7.8 |
| 2011 | New Orleans | 6 | 0 | 14.0 | .389 | .222 | .571 | .8 | .7 | .3 | .0 | 5.7 |
| 2012 | Atlanta | 5 | 0 | 12.6 | .462 | .250 | .000 | 1.6 | .6 | .0 | .0 | 2.6 |
| 2013 | L.A. Clippers | 3 | 0 | 6.7 | .667 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | .7 | .3 | .0 | 2.0 |
| 2014 | L.A. Clippers | 5 | 0 | 3.8 | .200 | .250 | 1.000 | 1.4 | .2 | .6 | .0 | 1.0 |
| Career | 36 | 12 | 15.0 | .418 | .256 | .711 | 1.3 | .9 | .3 | .1 | 5.2 | |