Willie Green

Lore & Background

Green was a 1999 graduate of Cooley High School; after a college career at the University of Detroit Mercy, he was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the second round (41st overall) of the 2003 NBA draft. He was traded the same day to the Philadelphia 76ers for the draft rights to Paccelis Morlende 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. Green, in the final Sixers game of the 2006–07 season, had a career-high 37 points against the Toronto Raptors on April 4, 2007. Green beat out Rodney Carney for the Sixers starting shooting guard 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).

Green was traded to New Orleans with forward Jason Smith in exchange for forward Darius Songaila and rookie forward Craig Brackins on September 23, 2010. On December 22, 2011, Green signed with the Atlanta Hawks. On July 30, 2012, Green was signed-and-traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for the rights to Sofoklis Schortsanitis. On June 29, 2014, he was waived by the Clippers.

On June 30, 2014, Green was claimed off waivers by the Orlando Magic. On August 9, 2016, Green was hired by the Golden State Warriors coaching staff as an assistant coach. He won his first championship when the Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games of the 2017 NBA Finals. Green won his second straight championship when the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers in four games of the 2018 NBA Finals.

On June 26, 2019, he was hired as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns. On July 22, 2021, Green was named head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. 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 Pelicans would go on to beat the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers en route to their first playoff berth since the 2017–18 season.

Reader's Guide

Willie Green is a former NBA player and current assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks. He played for five NBA teams and was a second-round draft pick in 2003. As a coach, he won two NBA championships as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors and later became head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, leading them to the playoffs in his first season. He joined the Mavericks as lead assistant coach in 2026.