Green, who played in two Final Fours and won three Big Ten regular-season championships, won National Player of the Year honors in 2012 in addition to being a consensus First Team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year. The forward is one of just four players in Michigan State history to earn National Player of the Year honors, having been selected by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2012. A consensus First Team All-American, he also collected Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player accolades in 2012. In addition to First-Team All-Big Ten honors in 2012, he was a second-team honoree in 2011 and 2010, while also being named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year in 2010. As a senior in 2012, he also earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.
He is the all-time leading rebounder in Michigan State history, collecting 1,096 career caroms from 2008-09 to 2011-12. He also ranks second in career steals (180), sixth in career blocks (117) and 18th in career scoring with 1,517 points. He finished his career just 27 assists shy of MSU career Top 10. He is one of just four players in MSU history to record a triple-double, posting three, including two in NCAA Tournament competition.
Green becomes just the 10th player in Spartan men's basketball history to have a jersey retired, joining Scott Skiles (No. 4), Mateen Cleaves (No. 12), Steve Smith (No. 21), Johnny Green (No. 24), Shawn Respert (No. 24), Jay Vincent (No. 31), Greg Kelser (No. 32), Earvin "Magic" Johnson (No. 33) and Morris Peterson (No. 42). In addition to the retired jerseys, a banner also hangs in recognition of 19-year head coach Jud Heathcote.
A three-time NBA champion (2015, 2017, 2018) and three-time All-Star (2016-18), Green was selected by the Warriors in the second round (35th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft. Green and and Dennis Johnson are the only players in NBA history to be drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft and win at least three NBA Championships and make three NBA All-Star appearances. He earned All-NBA Second Team honors 2016 and All-NBA Third Team honors in 2017. The 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Green is a five-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection, earning three first-team honors from 2015-17 and second team honors in 2018 and 2019. In 2016, Green won an Olympic Gold Medal with Team USA at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Early next year, Green’s teammate Klay Thompson will have his #1 retired by Washington State’s University men’s basketball program when the Cougars host Oregon State on Jan. 18, 2020.
Category: Basketball news