Washington Wizards: Jeff Green’s Long Road Home to D.C.
Over 10 years since starring at Georgetown, NBA forward Jeff Green is returning home to play with the Washington Wizards.
When you look at the resume of Jeff Green, it’s awfully impressive: Green was the Big East Player of the Year when the Big East was really the Big East, he’s one of the few remaining NBA players to have played for the Seattle SuperSonics, and he was LeBron James‘ sidekick in a run to the NBA Finals. There’s more, of course, but the latest notch on his belt might be his favorite: Green, raised in nearby Maryland before starring at Georgetown, is back home getting ready to start his first NBA season with his hometown team, the Washington Wizards.
Green, who has taken a lot of flack in the past because of a few crummy postseason performances, joins Washington alongside two other new guys with questionable reputations — coddled guard Austin Rivers and enigmatic former superstar Dwight Howard. Together, the trio will join John Wall, Bradley Beal, Markieff Morris, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Otto Porter Jr. to give the Wizards a solid rotation of experienced (and talented) players.
Porter Jr., like Green, played at nearby Georgetown University.
Before playing at Georgetown, Green starred locally at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, MD — less than 10 miles from Washington, D.C.. After three solid years with the Hoyas, highlighted by a deep NCAA Tournament run in 2007, the 6-foot-9 forward wore seven different NBA jerseys over an 11-year NBA career.
Washington will be his eighth NBA uniform.
Now reunited with his old coach from his days with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks, Green hopes to add an element that Washington has been missing.
Speaking to The Washington Post‘s Candace Buckner, Green talked about what he can add to a team that can’t quite get over the hump in the Eastern Conference.
“I don’t know what’s been the culture around here the last couple of years. I don’t know what’s been missing, but my job is to just be myself and speak up when need be,” Green continued. “I’m not a big talker, but when I say something I mean it and hopefully people listen. They didn’t necessarily say they needed me to be vocal and to be, like, the ‘voice of reason.’ My job was to go out there, lead by example, take what I’ve learned over the last year and how we got to the championship and what I’ve learned from some of the best that I had [played with] and bring that.”
In 783 NBA games, Green has averaged 13.2 points per game. Perhaps his best season came in 2013-14 when he played all 82 games for the Boston Celtics and led the team in scoring (16.9 PPG).
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The Wizards open their season up against Miami on October 18th at home.