Willie James Green (born July 28, 1981) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player who is the head coach for the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played professionally in the NBA with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

and

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. He was selected in the second round (41st pick overall) of the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

by the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

and later acquired by the

from Seattle in a draft-night trade for the draft rights to

Paccelis Morlende Paccelis Morlende (born 19 April 1981) is a French basketball coach for U-17 team of the Hermine de Nantes Atlantique of the LNB Pro B and a former professional basketball player. Professional career Morlende's career started with JDA Dijon, w ...

(50th pick overall) and cash considerations.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2003–2010)

Green was a 1999 graduate of

Cooley High School Thomas M. Cooley High School is located at the intersection of Hubbell Avenue and Chalfonte Street, on the northwest side of Detroit, Michigan. The three-story, Mediterranean Revival-style facility opened its doors on September 4, 1928. The scho ...

; after a college career at the

University of Detroit Mercy The University of Detroit Mercy is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 ...

, he was selected by the

in the second round (41st overall) of the

. He was traded the same day to the

Green returns to Sixers after aborted summer deal - NBA - ESPN
/ref> for the draft rights to

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 The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. Green, in the final Sixers game of the 2006–07 season, had a career-high 37 points against the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

on April 4, 2007. Green beat out

Rodney Carney Rodney Dion Carney (born April 15, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Memphis and was selected in the 2006 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls and shortly afterwards traded to ...

for the Sixers starting

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

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 Darius Songaila (born February 14, 1978) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has represented the Lithuania na ...

and rookie forward

Craig Brackins Craig Lee Brackins (born October 9, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Shiga Lakestars of the Japanese B.League. Brackins played collegiately for the Iowa State Cyclones. A power forward, Brackins was the high ...

on September 23, 2010.

Atlanta Hawks (2011–2012)

On December 22, 2011, Green signed with the

Los Angeles Clippers (2012–2014)

On July 30, 2012, Green was signed-and-traded to the

for the rights to

Sofoklis Schortsanitis Sofoklis Schortsanitis (Greek: Σοφοκλής Σχορτσανίτης; born 22 June 1985) is a Greek former professional basketball player and Olympian. An All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2011, Schortsanitis won the EuroLeague title ...

. 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

Coaching career

On August 9, 2016, Green was hired by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

coaching staff as an assistant coach. He won his first championship when the Warriors defeated the

in five games of the

2017 NBA Finals The 2017 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2016–17 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeated the defending NBA champi ...

. Green won his second straight championship when the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers in four games of the

2018 NBA Finals The 2018 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2017–18 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff, the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champio ...

. On June 26, 2019, he was hired as an assistant coach for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

. On July 22, 2021, Green was named head coach of the

. 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 NBA Play-In Tournament is the preliminary National Basketball Association (NBA) postseason tournament. It determines the final two playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference and is played immediately prior to the NBA Pla ...

. The Pelicans would go on to beat the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

and the

en route to their first playoff berth since the 2017–18 season. Green and the Pelicans would ultimately fall to the

, Green's former team, in six games in the First Round. Green and the Pelicans started the 2022–23 season off strong, tied with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

for first place in the Western Conference at the start of 2023 with a 23–12 record. However, injuries to multiple players, including

Zion Williamson Zion Lateef Williamson (born July 6, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward position. Following a freshman-year stint with the ...

and

Brandon Ingram Brandon Xavier Ingram (born September 2, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the second overall pick in the ...

, saw the team regress significantly during the second-half of the season. The Pelicans ended up in ninth place in the Western Conference, making the play-in tournament for the second consecutive season. Their season ended with a 123–118 loss to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

on April 12, 2023. Despite their struggles, Green and the Pelicans finished the regular season with a 42–40 record, marking Green's first winning season as a head coach.

Awards

*Midwestern Collegiate Conference All-Newcomer Team: 2000HoopsHype – Willie Green
/ref> *Second Team All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference: 2001 *Horizon League Scoring Leader: 2003 *Horizon League All-Tournament Team: 2003 *All-Horizon First Team: 2003 *Horizon League Player of the Year: 2003 *Honorable Mention All-America by AP: 2003 *Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament Team: 2003

Career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 53 , , 0 , , 14.5 , , .401 , , .311 , , .728 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .1 , , 6.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 57 , , 21 , , 18.7 , , .366 , , .286 , , .776 , , 2.3 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .1 , , 7.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 10 , , 2 , , 15.3 , , .424 , , .526 , , .800 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .2 , , .0 , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 74 , , 36 , , 24.9 , , .411 , , .325 , , .667 , , 2.1 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .1 , , 11.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 74 , , 74 , , 26.6 , , .436 , , .285 , , .757 , , 2.5 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .3 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 60 , , 22.6 , , .435 , , .317 , , .729 , , 1.6 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .2 , , 8.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 73 , , 18 , , 21.3 , , .457 , , .346 , , .833 , , 1.8 , , 2.1 , , .4 , , .2 , , 8.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 77 , , 13 , , 21.7 , , .443 , , .348 , , .780 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 8.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 53 , , 2 , , 17.4 , , .471 , , .442 , , .857 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

L.A. Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, 72 , , 60 , , 16.5 , , .461 , , .428 , , .719 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .4 , , .2 , , 6.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 55 , , 9 , , 15.8 , , .376 , , .339 , , .824 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , .4 , , .2 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, 52 , , 2 , , 18.3 , , .386 , , .347 , , .824 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .1 , , 5.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 731 , , 297 , , 20.2 , , .425 , , .346 , , .765 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .1 , , 8.3

Playoffs

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2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

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, 5 , , 0 , , 12.6 , , .444 , , .222 , , .900 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .2 , , .0 , , 5.4 , - , align="left" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

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, 6 , , 6 , , 23.7 , , .431 , , .200 , , .643 , , 1.3 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .7 , , 9.0 , - , align="left" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

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, 6 , , 6 , , 24.7 , , .412 , , .364 , , .333 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , .2 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 6 , , 0 , , 14.0 , , .389 , , .222 , , .571 , , .8 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 5.7 , - , align="left" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

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, 5 , , 0 , , 12.6 , , .462 , , .250 , , .000 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.6 , - , align="left" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 6.7 , , .667 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 3.8 , , .200 , , .250 , , 1.000 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , .6 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 36 , , 12 , , 15.0 , , .418 , , .256 , , .711 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , .3 , , .1 , , 5.2

Head coaching record

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New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 36, , 46, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, , 6, , 2, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

First Round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

, - , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 42, , 40, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Southwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - class="sortbottom" , colspan="2" style="text-align:center;", Career , 164, , 78, , 86, , , , , , 6, , 2, , 4, , , ,

References

External links

ESPN.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Willie 1981 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from Michigan Basketball players from Detroit Cooley High School alumni Detroit Mercy Titans men's basketball players Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Los Angeles Clippers players New Orleans Hornets players New Orleans Pelicans head coaches Orlando Magic players Philadelphia 76ers players Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Shooting guards 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2003–2010)

New Orleans Hornets (2010–2011)

Atlanta Hawks (2011–2012)

Los Angeles Clippers (2012–2014)

Orlando Magic (2014–2015)

Coaching career

Awards

Career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record

See also

References

External links