Willie Green

Willie Green is a former basketball player and currently a coach. Willie Green has been in the NBA playoffs seven times in his 12-year career. For a dozen years, he excelled as a second-round draft pick who played starter minutes on certain nights and never off the bench on others.

He had a total of 731 games under his belt. He realized his time was over when, at the age of 34, he was asked to test out for teams against much younger players in the summer of 2015.

Childhood & Family

Willie Green was born on July 28, 1981, in Detroit, Michigan.

When Willie was growing up in Detroit, he had a strong support system that included his loving parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, coaches, and fellow parishioners at the family’s church, Greater Grace Temple.

Willie Sr. is his father. Green didn’t need much encouragement as a kid.

He was always the first one out the door when it was time to go to school.

He was also the first basketball player to beg that he be allowed to stay late in the gym to take extra shots.

As a child, he kept a sort of diary in which he stated his long-term goals.

His goals included becoming a great high school basketball player, earning a college scholarship, and eventually making it to the NBA.

Net Worth, Salary, and Earnings

Willie Green is said to have a net worth of $1.5 million, according to several sources.

Willie’s principal source of revenue is his coaching business.

He surely makes a lot of money as an NBA player’s coach.

The Sixers signed Green to a five-year, $17 million contract. For a player who earned about $600,000 in his second season in the league while averaging 7.7 points per game, the wait was well worth it.

When the Sixers announced the acquisitions of colleagues Samuel Dalembert and Kyle Korver, who were restricted free agents like Green in 2005, Green’s contract was placed on hold.

Facts of Willie Green

Career

Between 1999 and 2003, Willie, a native of Detroit, was a part of four winning seasons, including two 20-win seasons and two postseason appearances.

As a sophomore, Green assisted Detroit Mercy in reaching the NIT semifinals, as the Red, White, and Blue defeated Bradley, Connecticut, and Dayton on the road.

The Titans traveled to New York City’s Madison Square Garden. They finished the season with 25 wins, tying a school record, and qualified for the NIT the next season with 18 wins.

Willie still ranks fourth all-time in scoring with 1,779 points, including 678 as a senior, and is the ninth-best scorer in Titan history.

He was named Horizon League Player of the Year, an AP Honorable Mention All-American, and the 12th highest scorer in school history after averaging a league-best 22.6 points per game as a senior.

Season for Juniors

Green was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team as a freshman, and he was named to the Second Team All-League as a junior.

From 8.4 points as a freshman to 13.2 points as a sophomore, 13.7 points as a junior, and 22.6 points as a senior, he improved each season as a Titan.

As a senior, the basketball player led the team in scoring in 24 of the team’s 30 games, scoring 20 points in five of the team’s 30-point games, and two of the team’s 40-point games, including a career-high 43 points against UIC, the sixth most in school history.

The NBA Draft

Green graduated from Cooley High School in 1999, and after playing college basketball at the University of Detroit Mercy, the Seattle SuperSonics selected him in the second round (41st overall) of the 2003 NBA draft.

On the same day, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paccelis Morlende’s draft rights and cash.

In the 2005 offseason, Green was poised to re-sign with the Sixers, but he was injured on the day of the contract signing, putting the deal in peril.

Willie re-signed with the Sixers on March 23, 2006, and was activated on April 4, 2006, in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, scoring 9 points on 4-for-6 shooting in 11 minutes.

On April 4, 2007, in the Sixers’ final game of the 2006–07 season, Green set a career-best with 37 points against the Toronto Raptors.

He beat out Rodney Carney for the Sixers’ starting shooting guard position.

During the 2007–08 NBA season, Green set career highs in games played (74, all as a starter), minutes played (26.6), rebounds (2.5), field goal percentage (.436), assists (2.0), and points (12.4).

Teams in the NBA

Green was moved to New Orleans on September 23, 2010, along with forwarding Jason Smith, for rookie forward Craig Brackins and forward Darius Songaila.

On December 22, 2011, Green became a member of the Atlanta Hawks. On July 30, 2012, he was signed and dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Sofoklis Schortsanitis’ rights.

On June 29, 2014, the Clippers waived him. On June 30, 2014, the Orlando Magic claimed him off waivers.

Injury

After securing a lucrative contract with the Philadelphia 76ers over a decade ago, Green meant to take a vacation and relax.

Green injured his left knee, putting the $20 million, six-year contract he was about to sign in jeopardy.

He was efficient in the series opener, according to Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks, because he combined his game with the team’s offensive plans.

He returned home and set a career-best with 17 points in Game 1 of their first-round series against the second-seeded Detroit Pistons, bringing a happy ending to an otherwise tragic story.

Green was able to negotiate a prorated agreement to play ten games in the 2005-06 season after getting his knee back in condition at his alma university, Detroit Mercy.

Inspiration from the color green

Gary Green, a former Eastern Michigan University basketball player, taught basketball to his nephew Willie and a number of other Detroit kids.

He coached and mentored many Black Detroit youngsters and kept them off the streets by running a cafeteria/small basketball arena at Greater Grace Temple Church at night.

Gary Green stuffed up to 16 youngsters into an old church van and took them home if needed when it was time to leave.

After dropping off the last child, he worked the night shift as a Wayne County, Michigan, sheriff’s deputy.

During his final year at Cooley High School in Detroit, Gary Green coached his nephew on his AAU teams and as his head coach.

Throughout Willie’s NBA career, Gary Green was his strongest supporter, mentor, and confidant. Green’s uncle continued encouraging him that as his playing days faded, he would retire with a greater impact.

Green also showed promise as a coach in the NBA, according to Kerr.

Green died of a heart attack while attending a drive-by college graduation party for his niece, Precious, at Eastern Michigan University during the pandemic at the age of 64.

The Death of a Sister

After a Hornets-Pistons game in 2019, Green’s sister or cousin died in a car accident. Troy police responded to a call at about 12:40 a.m.

They spotted a 2008 GMC Envoy on northbound I-75 near Adams Road that had driven off the road, hit multiple trees, and rolled down an embankment.

Gary Benjamin Green, 27, a fellow UD Mercy alumnus, was reported to have been flung from the driver’s seat, with Tamara Lynette Green, 30, trapped inside.

Following the Hornets’ overtime loss, Green’s sister and cousin headed to a restaurant.

Green had already gone for another game in Indianapolis when the accident occurred, forcing him to return home under difficult circumstances.

Retirement

The 2010-11 season was Green’s only season in New Orleans, and it was also his first as an NBA head coach.

After a rocky 2011 summer that saw Chris Paul deal with the Clippers, Green signed as a free agent with Atlanta.

Williams and Green were teammates with Philadelphia at the start of the 2003-04 season until Williams was transferred and subsequently retired from the game.

Coaching

Green joined Golden State as an assistant coach in 2016-17 after concluding his NBA career with 52 games for Orlando in 2014-15.

He went on to win two back-to-back titles with the Warriors (also reaching the NBA Finals in 2019).

He joined the Phoenix and Williams coaching staff in 2019-20. After the Suns qualified for the Finals, Green has appeared in the league’s final round four times in the last five seasons.

Green is the ninth head coach in New Orleans Saints history, but the first to have played for the team.

On July 22, 2021, Willie was named head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. Green is the Pelicans’ third coach since Griffin took over the front office nearly two seasons ago.

Wife

Terrah Green, Willie Green’s lovely wife, is his life partner. Ross, Aliyah, and Mason are the names of the couple’s three children.

Terrah Green is the only one who has a good understanding of Willie. She is well-versed in the terms “calm,” “thoughtful,” and others that are commonly used to characterize her husband.

Even if it’s simply a game of golf with Mason, their 9-year-old son, Green’s super-competitive side is well-known to her, regardless of the game he’s playing or the opposition he’s up against.

As the 2015-16 NBA season came to a close without him in it, Green’s wife physically urged him to throw his hat into the coaching ring.

The Warriors, Clippers, and Denver Nuggets all approached Green about becoming an assistant coach. In the end, his friendship with Kerr led him to the Golden State Warriors.

Height, Weight, and Age

Willie Green has reached the age of 40.

The NBA coach is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs approximately 103 kilos. He is an American citizen with an African-American background.

Green was born under the Leo astrological sign.

Presence on social media

He has 350 followers on Twitter.