Michael Kenneth Green (born August 6, 1951) is an American retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. After playing at

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

, Green played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and 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 St ...

(NBA) from 1973–1980 and was an All-Star in 1975.

Basketball career

Collegiate career

A 6'10"

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

from Higgins High School in

McComb, Mississippi McComb is a city in Pike County, Mississippi, United States. The city is approximately south of Jackson. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 12,790. It is the principal city of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statist ...

, Green attended

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research acti ...

, playing for Coach

Scotty Robertson Robert Scott "Scotty" Robertson III (February 1, 1930 – August 18, 2011) was an American basketball coach. He was the first coach for the New Orleans Jazz (now the Utah Jazz), and he later coached the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons. He al ...

. Green remains the Bulldogs' all-time leading scorer and rebounder. As a freshman in 1969–1970, Green averaged a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

of 17.5 points and 13.1 rebounds. As a sophomore he averaged 18.9 points and 16.6 rebounds. As a junior, Green averaged 24.0 points and 15.9 rebounds. As a Senior in 1972–1973, Green averaged 30.9 points and 15.7 rebounds for Louisiana Tech. He was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year as Louisiana Tech finished 20–6. For his Louisiana Tech career, Green averaged 22.9 points and 15.4 rebounds in 102 games. He totaled 2,340 points from 1970–73.

ABA/NBA career

Green was the 1st round pick (#4 overall) of 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 ...

in the

1973 NBA draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

. He chose to sign with the

Denver Rockets Denver () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States#State capital, capital, and List of municipalities in Colorado#, most populous city of th ...

of the American Basketball Association instead. Green played three seasons (1973–1976) in the American Basketball Association as a member of the Denver Rockets / Nuggets (1973–1975) and

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, ...

(1975–1976). He averaged 15.1 points and 8.7

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

during his ABA career, was named to the 1974 ABA All-Rookie team, and appeared in the

1975 ABA All-Star Game The eighth American Basketball Association All-Star Game was played January 28, 1975 at HemisFair Arena in San Antonio, Texas before an audience at 10,449. Kevin Loughery of the New York Nets coached the East, with Larry Brown of the Denver Nugge ...

. From 1976 to 1980, Green played in the

as a member of the

(1976–1977),

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 Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

(1977–1979), and

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division ( ...

(1979–1980). Green averaged 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in his NBA career. Overall, Green averaged 11.5 points, 6.9 rebounds 1.6 blocks and 1.3 assists in 459 ABA/NBA career games.

Personal

Green resides in Denver. He was injured in a freak parking lot accident as a car salesman in Denver that led to vertebral surgery. He has relied on a wheelchair since the surgery.

Honors

* Green was a 1996 inductee into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. * In 2015, Green was inducted into the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* 1951 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Mississippi Centers (basketball) Denver Rockets players Denver Nuggets players Kansas City Kings players Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball players People from McComb, Mississippi San Antonio Spurs players Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players Virginia Squires players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{1950s-US-basketball-bio-stub